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Civil WarReconstruction & Gilded Age

John Hermann Kampmann

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Born to Peter and Elizabeth (Finniman) Kampmann in Waltrop, Westphalia, John Hermann Kampmann completed three years’ architectural training in Cologne. At age 14, he began a pragmatic study of interrelated vocational trades, including carpentry, masonry and stonecutting. Following three years in the Prussian Army, Kampmann focused on architectural projects sponsored by members of the German nobility. Revolutionary unrest in central Europe in 1848 motivated him to immigrate to North America. Stopping briefly in New Orleans he then sailed to Indianola. Kampmann arrived in San Antonio in May 1848. Two years later, he married Caroline Bonnet, also a German immigrant. Together they had five children. Kampmann worked as a stonemason for several years before becoming a contractor. He supervised the 1859 expansion of the Menger Hotel under architect John M. Fries, and invested in real estate. Commissioned a captain during the Civil War, he recruited and equipped Confederate Army volunteers. After improving coastal defenses in Brownsville and Galveston, his infantry regiment fought in Arkansas and Louisiana. Promoted to major before the Confederate surrender, Kampmann managed production of army materiel at La Grange. Returning to San Antonio, he resumed his enterprises and opened a door, window-blind and sash company. His influence in construction may be seen in the old lone star brewery, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, the German-English School, Casino Club, Eager House,Kampmann Building, and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. In 1877, Mary Menger hired him to renovate the original Menger Hotel and initiate a forty-room addition. Upon retiring in 1881, Mrs. Menger sold the hotel to Kampmann, who became its second owner. He died in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A special train transported his coffin to San Antonio for burial at Alamo Masonic Cemetery.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Trained as an architect in Cologne and schooled in the building trades, John Hermann Kampmann fled the revolutionary upheavals of 1848 in central Europe and reached San Antonio that May, one of the German immigrants who reshaped the young Texas city. He rose from stonemason to leading contractor, leaving his mark on the Menger Hotel, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, the German-English School, and much else. Commissioned a Confederate captain in the Civil War, he recruited and equipped volunteers and managed army supplies before returning to his enterprises, ultimately buying the Menger Hotel he had helped build.

Why it matters

Kampmann embodies the skilled German immigrants of 1848 whose craftsmanship literally built the institutions of nineteenth-century Texas cities.

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  • · John Hermann Kampmann
  • · Caroline Bonnet Kampmann

Themes & tags

ImmigrationIndustry & InventionCivil WarMemorial

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