The Old Zimmerman Home
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Edward E. Zimmerman came to Texas, 1844, from Germany; settled here, 1854, with wife Regina Reinhard. They had 5 children. Zimmerman built this early Texas farmhouse, 1861, of hand-hewn cream colored rock from nearby hills; lumber from Bull Creek mills. One of first residences on route of Shawnee Trail (used by traders, immigrants, Indians and famous as a cattle trail in 1850's and 1860's). Regina once shot a bear at back door. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Edward E. Zimmerman left Germany for Texas in 1844 and settled with his wife Regina near Austin a decade later, part of the German immigration that reshaped the Hill Country. In 1861 he built this sturdy farmhouse of local cream-colored stone and Bull Creek lumber, along the Shawnee Trail that carried traders, immigrants, and great cattle drives of the 1850s and 60s. Family lore even recalls Regina shooting a bear at the back door.
Why it matters
The homestead ties together two defining threads of the American West: European immigrant settlement and the frontier cattle-trail economy that ran right past the family's front door.
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Related people
- · Edward E. Zimmerman
- · Regina Reinhard Zimmerman
Themes & tags
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