Hochheim (Hoch's Home)
Hochheim, DeWitt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded near home and stage stand of Valentine Hoch on old Austin - Indianola Road, 1856. In 1864, German Methodist Church was built; post office opened 1869. County's first Protestant church (organized 1841 on Cuero Creek by J. M. Baker and James N. Smith) moved here in 1882 as Hochheim Presbyterian Church. The Baptist church was founded later (1923). Concrete Lodge No. 182, A. F. & A. M. (Chartered 1856 with F. J. Lynch, first worshipful master), became Hochheim Lodge, 1884, buying (1885) upper story of schoolhouse for Lodge Hall; in 1921 bought lower story, housing school until 1938.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Hochheim grew up in 1856 around Valentine Hoch's home and stage stand on the old Austin–Indianola road, its very name meaning "Hoch's home." German settlers built a Methodist church in 1864, a post office opened in 1869, and the county's first Protestant congregation relocated here in 1882 as the Hochheim Presbyterian Church. A Masonic lodge, chartered in 1856, anchored community life, buying and later fully occupying the schoolhouse that served the town into 1938.
Why it matters
Hochheim captures the German immigrant communities that dotted central Texas, where a stagecoach stop blossomed into a town bound together by church, lodge, and school.
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Related people
- · Valentine Hoch
- · J. M. Baker
- · James N. Smith
- · F. J. Lynch
Themes & tags
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