The Schandua Building
Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Erected in 1897 of hand-hewn limestone, this structure was the home of John (d. 1900) and Bertha (Klein) Schandua (d. 1943). They lived upstairs with their children and John's hardware store was downstairs. For a time, the Masonic Lodge met upstairs in exchange for some construction costs. After John died his brother Henry married Bertha. Enlarged the building, and continued the hardware business on the first floor. Hardware businesses were operated here until 1972. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1979
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1897 of hand-hewn limestone, this Fredericksburg building followed the German settlers' practical custom of home over shop: the Schandua family lived upstairs while John ran his hardware store below, and for a time the Masonic lodge met on the upper floor in trade for help with construction costs. After John's death his brother Henry married his widow, enlarged the building, and carried on the business. Hardware was sold here until 1972.
Why it matters
It is a durable emblem of the German merchant culture that gave the Texas Hill Country its distinctive stone-built commercial streets.
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Related people
- · John Schandua
- · Bertha Klein Schandua
- · Henry Schandua
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Old Central Drugstore
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Swiss-born jeweler and watchmaker Alphons Walter raised this two-story building in the heart of Fredericksburg in 1905, then sold it in 1909 to civic leader Robert Striegler, who ran the Central Drugstore on the ground floor. A drugstore would occupy the site for more than 70 years, while the upper floor housed the town's telephone exchange, doctors' offices, and a photographer's studio.
Maier-Alberthal Building
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Built around 1860, this sturdy German vernacular stone building was acquired in 1866 by Anton Maier, a native German who became a Fredericksburg merchant and held several Gillespie County offices. He passed it to his son-in-law August Alberthal, and over the decades the building served as a grocery, a soda water factory, an auto repair shop, and even a mission congregation's place of worship. Its thick stone walls reflect the building traditions the town's German settlers brought with them.
Felix Van Der Stucken Home
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Belgian immigrant Felix Van Der Stucken bought this Fredericksburg site in 1864 and raised the original one-story limestone section soon after, adding a second story later. He ran a steam-powered mill nearby that grew into the Reliance Roller Mills, and his home blended Victorian and Greek Revival details in native stone. The Hennig family bought the house in 1940.
Henry Cordes House
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