Reue-Eickenhorst House
Brenham, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Reue-Eickenhorst House Wilhelm Reue grew up in the Sandy Hill area and married Alma Muegge from the William Penn Community in 1914. A year later, with a new daughter, the couple finished their home here near Prairie Hill. For decades the home was the site of community events, including parties, dances and meetings. In 1950, the couple sold the house and property to Wilhelmina (Swarze) and Henry Eickenhorst, who continued to farm here. The Queen Anne-style house retains original features, including an L-shaped porch, roof cresting, porch brackets with a star and ribbon motif, and an oval glass inset in the front door. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Wilhelm Reue, who grew up in the Sandy Hill area, married Alma Muegge of the William Penn Community in 1914 and finished this home near Prairie Hill the following year. For decades it hosted community parties, dances, and meetings before the couple sold it in 1950 to Wilhelmina and Henry Eickenhorst, who kept farming the land. The Queen Anne house still shows its original L-shaped porch, roof cresting, star-and-ribbon porch brackets, and an oval glass inset in the front door.
Why it matters
It preserves the domestic and social life of Washington County's German farming communities, whose homes doubled as the gathering places that held rural neighborhoods together.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Wilhelm Reue
- · Alma Muegge Reue
- · Henry Eickenhorst
- · Wilhelmina Swarze Eickenhorst
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Fritz Paul and Emma Schroeder House
Independence, TX
Fritz Paul Schroeder built this one-and-a-half-story farmhouse in 1914 on land he bought from his stepfather, using locally sourced materials and the vernacular building traditions of his community. It stood in Sandy Hill, a rural settlement north of Brenham that at the time was made up entirely of German immigrants. The home reflects the close bond between builder, family, and the traditions of a German-Texan farming world.
Lewis Kraatz
Independence, TX
This marker honors a German-born immigrant who fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive 1836 clash that won Texas its independence. Like many European newcomers, he cast his lot with the Texian cause and made his home in the new republic, dying near Independence in 1857.
Brenham Fire Department
Brenham, TX
Brenham's two volunteer fire companies were founded in May 1867, ostensibly to battle blazes but in reality doubling as armed companies meant to keep order in the turbulent Reconstruction years until 1874. Over the following decades the firemen installed an alarm bell and cistern on the courthouse square and bought the second steam fire engine in Texas. In 1881 they launched the Brenham Maifest, a German-rooted spring festival they sustained for sixty years, even building a pavilion for it in Fireman's Park.
First Methodist Church
Brenham, TX
Brenham's first congregation, First Methodist Church was founded in 1844, the very year the town itself took shape. An early member published the Methodist magazine Christian Advocate here in 1846, and by 1868 the church hosted the statewide Texas Methodist Conference. A German Methodist mission begun in 1872 grew alongside it—establishing Blinn College in 1883—before the two congregations merged in 1939.