Schwarz Building
Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This limestone commercial building was constructed in 1907 by Charles Schwarz, a prominent early merchant of the area, and his wife Mary. Located on the site of the Louis Dietz home, it included ground floor space for Schwarz' General Merchandise and Dry Goods store and second floor living quarters for his family. The building later housed a variety of businesses and also provided meeting space for local youth groups and a veterans' organization. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built of local limestone in 1907 by merchant Charles Schwarz and his wife Mary, this Fredericksburg building followed the practical Hill Country pattern of a store below and family living quarters above. Its ground floor held Schwarz's general merchandise and dry goods store, and over the years it also sheltered youth groups and a veterans' organization.
Why it matters
It reflects the merchant culture and durable stone architecture that powered small-town commerce in German Texas.
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Related people
- · Charles Schwarz
- · Mary Schwarz
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Schmidt-Dietz Building
Fredericksburg, TX
Ludwig Schmidt raised this two-story stone building in the German colony town of Fredericksburg in the 1860s to serve as a hotel. Leased to Louis Dietz in the 1890s, it operated as the Central and then Dietz Hotel before merchant Charles Schwarz bought it in 1899 for a store. Over the decades it also held a saloon, a drugstore, and the offices of doctors and lawyers — a one-building record of a Hill Country town's commercial life.
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