HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Seelhorst-Lehrmann House

Brenham, Washington County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Handsome Victorian residence with 18' x 18' ground floor rooms; 13" plastered brick walls; and a copper roof from which rain is piped to cistern on back porch. Constructed about 1879 by W. E. Seelhorst, a German settler who built many fine Brenham houses. About 1883 a nephew Adolph and wife, Louisa (Winterfelt) Seelhorst, moved here. Their family owned the house 1891-1944. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lehrmann purchased it in 1944. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1973

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

This handsome Victorian residence — with 18-foot-square rooms, 13-inch plastered brick walls, and a copper roof piping rainwater to a cistern — was built around 1879 by W. E. Seelhorst, a German immigrant known for many of Brenham's fine houses. His nephew Adolph and wife Louisa moved in around 1883, and the Seelhorst family held the home until 1944, when the Lehrmanns bought it. It survives as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and a showcase of German-settler craftsmanship.

Why it matters

The house reflects the German immigrants whose skilled building traditions shaped the architecture and character of central Texas towns like Brenham.

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Related people

  • · W. E. Seelhorst
  • · Adolph Seelhorst
  • · Louisa Seelhorst
  • · Henry Lehrmann

Themes & tags

Nearby & related markers

Brenham Fire Department

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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.

Evangelical Lutheran Colleges of Texas

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The Brenham Maifest

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