Jacob Leser House
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
After purchasing this land in 1859, German-born Jacob Leser (1827-1901) erected a log cabin and a frame structure to house his soap and candle factory. Before 1864, when he married Henrietta Schroeder (1841-89), Leser added this stone wing to the cabin. He built the porch and the brick-and-frame Victorian rooms in the 1880s. Cabin was later removed. Occupied until 1951 by Leser heirs, the home was bought in 1952 by Gen. and Mrs. Felipe A. Latorre, who restored and enlarged it. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
German immigrant Jacob Leser bought this Austin land in 1859 and built both a log cabin and a small factory for making soap and candles. Over the following decades he expanded the house with a stone wing, a porch, and Victorian brick-and-frame rooms, and his heirs lived here until 1951 before a restoring family enlarged it.
Why it matters
It preserves the layered life of a 19th-century immigrant craftsman-manufacturer, a reminder of how German newcomers helped build Austin's early economy.
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Related people
- · Jacob Leser
- · Henrietta Schroeder
Themes & tags
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