The Hofheinz House
New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Hofheinz House German Native Frederick Hofheinz came to the New Braunfels area with his family in 1852. He later settled In Kendall County and wed Emilie Wilke. He served as Grand Lodge president of the Texas Sons Of Hermann and ran for Texas lieutenant governor before moving to New Braunfels In 1905.The couple built this home the next year. Converted to apartments during World War II, the house was also owned by Charles Knibbe and Bruno and Elizabeth Schoenfeld. It retains much of its original Queen Anne detailing, including a central tower above a porch accented with spindled friezework. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
German native Frederick Hofheinz arrived in the New Braunfels area with his family in 1852, later settling in Kendall County and leading the Texas Sons of Hermann as its Grand Lodge president. After a run for lieutenant governor, he returned to New Braunfels and in 1906 built this Queen Anne home, its central tower and spindled porch friezes still intact. Converted to apartments during World War II, the house passed through several owners while keeping its distinctive detailing.
Why it matters
It embodies the prosperous German-Texan community whose fraternal orders and fine homes shaped the Hill Country.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
New Braunfels was born of one of the great immigration stories in Texas history. In the mid-1840s, a society of German nobles sponsored settlers to come to Texas, and in 1845 the town was founded beside the clear, spring-fed Comal River and named for Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. Thousands of German immigrants followed over the next years, and the Texas Hill Country took on a distinctly German character that you can still hear in its place names.
These newcomers brought their language, their churches, their singing and shooting clubs, and a strong habit of forming associations. Through the late 1800s, German Texans built farms, businesses and towns across the region, including the communities that became Kendall County, organized in 1862 northwest of New Braunfels.
By the early 1900s the immigrant generation's children and grandchildren were prosperous and well-established. They held public office, ran businesses, and built comfortable homes in the fashionable styles of the day. Then the twentieth century brought its own pressures. During World War II, housing shortages across the country pushed many large older homes to be split into apartments.
People & events
Frederick Hofheinz was born in Germany and came to the New Braunfels area with his family in 1852, part of the steady flow of German families into the young Texas settlements. As an adult he moved to Kendall County, another center of German life in the Hill Country, and married Emilie Wilke.
Hofheinz became a prominent figure in German Texan public life. He served as Grand Lodge president of the Texas Sons of Hermann, a fraternal order that kept German heritage alive while giving members mutual aid and support. He also ran for lieutenant governor of Texas, which shows how far a boy who arrived as an immigrant child had risen in the state's civic life.
In 1905 Frederick and Emilie moved to New Braunfels, and the next year they built this house. Later the home was owned by Charles Knibbe and then by Bruno and Elizabeth Schoenfeld, and during World War II it was converted into apartments. Through all those changes it kept much of its original Queen Anne character, and it was recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 2002.
Its place in the American story
The Hofheinz House tells a story that played out across much of America in the 1800s: immigrants arrive with little, settle, prosper, and within a generation become leaders in their adopted home. German immigrants were among the largest groups to come to the United States in that century, and Texas's Hill Country became one of their most distinctive regional homes.
Fraternal orders like the Sons of Hermann were central to that experience. They helped immigrants and their descendants support one another through illness and hardship, preserve their language and customs, and build a shared identity that was proudly German and fully American. A Grand Lodge president was a person of real standing in that world.
The house itself carries the national story in its architecture. Queen Anne was one of the most popular American styles around the turn of the century, with towers, porches and decorative woodwork. Its later conversion to wartime apartments echoes the millions of American homes reshaped by the housing pressures of World War II.
If you visit
Look for the details the marker calls out: a central tower rising above the porch, and porch friezes trimmed with spindlework, the lathe-turned wooden pieces that gave Queen Anne houses their lacy, festive look. Even a quick look from the sidewalk shows why the style was so admired in its day.
This is a historic home, so enjoy it from the street and respect the privacy of anyone who lives or works there. Take a moment to imagine it in 1906, newly built for a couple who had spent a lifetime in the German communities of the Hill Country.
New Braunfels makes a wonderful base for a Hill Country road trip. The spring-fed Comal River, the town's German heritage, and its historic downtown are all worth your time, and the drive northwest toward Kendall County follows the same landscape the Hofheinz family knew. Pair this marker with others in town for a walk through New Braunfels's German past.
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
- · Frederick Hofheinz
- · Emilie Wilke Hofheinz
Themes & tags
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