The Gass Schmiede
Comfort, Kendall County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This limestone-block building was built in 1890 as a blacksmith shop ("schmiede") for Jacob Gass (1845-1913). Rock mason J. Gottlieb Lorbeer worked on the lower level for almost a year, walking to the job each week from Sisterdale (5 mi. E). The upper level was finished quickly with machinery and was used as a residence. Paul Ingenhuett bought the building in 1903, and his family made it available for a museum and public library in 1932. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This limestone-block building rose in 1890 as a blacksmith shop—a 'schmiede'—for Jacob Gass in the German community of Comfort. Rock mason J. Gottlieb Lorbeer spent nearly a year on the lower level, walking in each week from Sisterdale, while the upper floor was fitted out quickly as a residence. Paul Ingenhuett bought the building in 1903, and in 1932 his family opened it for use as a museum and public library.
Why it matters
The Gass Schmiede reflects the craftsmanship and endurance of Texas's German Hill Country settlements, its old smithy repurposed to serve the community's memory and learning.
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Related people
- · Jacob Gass
- · J. Gottlieb Lorbeer
- · Paul Ingenhuett
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Ludwig Hein Home
Comfort, TX
Ludwig Hein came to Texas from Germany in 1877, married Rosa Treiber of Waring, and built this Victorian home in Comfort before 1900, running a blacksmith shop next door until the family moved to San Antonio in 1914. From 1923 to 1955 the house earned the nickname "nerve center" of Comfort, when the town's telephone switchboard operated inside it. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1987.
Hermann and Antoine Ingenhuett Homestead
Comfort, TX
In the German-settled Hill Country town of Comfort, Hermann and Antoine Ingenhuett built a life at the turn of the 20th century on land tied to Hermann's father, Peter. Around 1895 Hermann took over the family livery stable and cotton yard, and from 1908 to 1915 he served as Comfort's postmaster while the couple raised two daughters. Their homestead — house, barn, washhouse, smokehouse and cistern — anchored a family that stayed on the land until the century's end.
Paul Ingenhuett Home
Comfort, TX
Born in 1868 on this Comfort block, Paul Ingenhuett succeeded his father Peter Joseph in the family mercantile business, then branched into farming, sheep and cattle ranching, and helped found the Comfort State Bank. In 1897 he hired noted architect Alfred Giles—already at work on other Comfort buildings—to design this home, built of limestone quarried on family land.
Peter Joseph Ingenhuett Homestead
Comfort, TX
German immigrant Peter Joseph Ingenhuett (1833–1923) settled on a farm near Comfort in the 1850s, part of the wave of German settlers who gave the Texas Hill Country its distinctive character. After marrying Marie Karger in 1861, he moved into town and opened businesses along High Street—a hotel, saloon, and livery stable—and served nearly 25 years as postmaster. The small cottage behind the property was the family's first home until a larger house was built in 1888.