The Edward Mugge House
Cuero, DeWitt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1870s by a key man in the activities and ideology that gave the town of Cuero its economic leadership role in late 19th century south Texas. Edward Mugge (1839-97), a native of Germany, arrived in the now-extinct seaport of Indianola (80 miles southeast) on Aug. 20, 1854. Seizing opportunities to rise through hard work and resourcefulness, he attained in two decades the eminence of partnership in the pioneer banking firm of H. Runge and Company. In his diverse enterprises he offered many other young men -- particularly those of similar Teutonic - American heritage -- chances to invest work and skill in development of this area. Beginning this house as a typical comfortable home of the region, he originally built seven rooms -- three of these milled in Saint Louis and assembled here. Over ensuing years he made additions as surprise gifts to his wife (Nee Pauline Blumenthal) and six children: Edward, Lilly, Anna, Henry, Oscar, and Fred. The house grew to 15 rooms, five halls, three porches. On grounds were a summerhouse, greenhouse, bath house, wash house, smokehouse, huge cistern (still existent), and stables (which later became a garage for some of the first automobiles in Cuero). The Mugge house illustrates the history of its builder and period. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Edward Mugge, a German immigrant who landed at the now-vanished port of Indianola in 1854, rose through hard work to a partnership in the pioneer banking firm of H. Runge and Company and helped make Cuero a commercial hub of late-19th-century South Texas. The home he began in the 1870s grew from seven rooms — three of them milled in St. Louis and assembled on site — into a fifteen-room showplace, expanded room by room as gifts to his wife and six children. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1971.
Why it matters
Mugge's house embodies the German-immigrant merchant class whose banking and enterprise built the towns of postbellum South Texas.
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Related people
- · Edward Mugge
- · Pauline Blumenthal Mugge
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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