Richard J. and Annie Brieger House
Bastrop, Bastrop County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Theodore and Mary Hasler, owners of a general merchandise store, hired architect Gus Brieger to build this house for their daughter Annie and her husband (Gus' brother) Richard J. Brieger. Built about 1910, the late Victorian Queen Anne style house was home to the Briegers and their five children, and often the setting of social gatherings. During World War II, it also provided temporary housing to wives of soldiers from nearby Camp Swift. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1995
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Around 1910, Bastrop merchants Theodore and Mary Hasler hired architect Gus Brieger to build a home for their daughter Annie and her husband — Gus's own brother, Richard. The late Victorian Queen Anne house, home to the Briegers and their five children, became a favorite setting for social gatherings. During World War II it took on a new role, sheltering wives of soldiers stationed at nearby Camp Swift.
Why it matters
A gracious small-town home became, for a few wartime years, part of the vast home-front machinery that housed and supported the families of soldiers training for World War II.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Around 1910, Bastrop was a settled Texas town with a long history, set among the pines along the Colorado River. Small-town merchants, builders, and professionals formed the backbone of places like this, and a fine new house was both a family home and a statement of a family's standing in the community.
The late Victorian Queen Anne style was still popular in American towns at the time, prized for its lively shapes, decorative trim, and generous porches. It was a style made for sociability, built for families who entertained and welcomed neighbors.
Three decades later, World War II transformed Central Texas. In 1942 the Army opened Camp Swift near Bastrop, a huge training post that brought tens of thousands of soldiers to an area that had never seen anything like it. Housing for the families who followed them became scarce almost overnight.
People & events
This house began as a family affair. Theodore and Mary Hasler, who ran a general merchandise store, hired architect Gus Brieger to build a home for their daughter Annie and her husband, Richard J. Brieger, who happened to be the architect's own brother. Built around 1910, it brought together two families in one project.
The Briegers raised five children here, and the house became a well-known setting for social gatherings. It is easy to imagine its rooms and porches filled with neighbors, friends, and family over the years.
When World War II came, the house took on a new purpose. The wives of soldiers stationed at nearby Camp Swift needed places to stay, and this home offered temporary housing to some of them. For these women, often far from home and waiting on uncertain news, a room in a welcoming house was a real kindness.
Its place in the American story
The war years touched nearly every American town, and one of the most common ways was housing. As military camps grew rapidly across the country, the families who followed soldiers often found that there was nowhere to live. Ordinary homeowners opened spare rooms, and private homes became part of the home-front effort.
This house reflects that quiet, widely shared story. The women who stayed here were part of a vast wartime movement of families following loved ones to training camps, and the households that took them in were part of how communities supported the war.
The house also tells a longer story of family and community life in small-town America, from a gift between parents and their married daughter to decades of gatherings to wartime service. It was recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1995.
If you visit
The house is in Bastrop, a historic town with many older homes and a pleasant downtown. Look for the features typical of the Queen Anne style, such as varied rooflines, decorative details, and welcoming porch spaces. Please view it respectfully from the street, as it may be a private residence.
As you look, picture two very different scenes: the Brieger family hosting friends in the early 1900s, and a few decades later, soldiers' wives finding a temporary home while their husbands trained at Camp Swift.
Bastrop makes a good stop on a Central Texas road trip, with its historic streets and the nearby pine woods that give the area its character. It's an easy place to spend a few unhurried hours exploring.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Richard J. Brieger
- · Annie Brieger
- · Gus Brieger
Related events
- · World War II
- · Camp Swift
Themes & tags
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