The L. A. and Adelheid Machemehl House, a Texas Historical Landmark of the Texas Historical Commission, was built in the early 20th century. The house was a center of social activity for the German Texan community in Bellville, Texas, United States. [1]
The Machemehl family and companions were brought to Texas by Johann Machemehl, (1816–1880), [2] and his father, Michael Machemehl, in 1849. Once in Texas, they settled in the Bellville area of Austin County, Texas. Johann, university educated, was formerly the forester for the city of Annaberg in Saxony. His wife Henrietta (1814–1850) [3] died in Texas in 1850 and is buried at the Machemehl Cemetery. Johann married twice more, had four more children, died in 1880 and is also buried at the Machemehl Cemetery. [4] [5]
Johann's son Paul Machemehl (1845–1932) is known for his participation in the passage to Mexico that numerous German Texans endured during the American Civil War. Documents located at the Eula and David Wintermann Library in Eagle Lake, Texas report that local German Texans were "discussing the hostility between the North and the South with Paul Machemehl of Bellville. Many Germans did 29°56′34″N96°15′17″W / 29.9429°N 96.2547°W not believe this was their fight and many joined Paul Machemehl." [6]
Paul's son Louis A. Machemehl, (1881–1952), was a German Texan civic leader as well as a rancher and land and cattle broker. He married Aldelheid Reichardt (1882–1949) of Cat Springs. [7] She was the daughter of Charles Reichardt (1852–1882), a Colorado County farmer who died a month before Aldeheid was born on August 24, 1882. [8] [9] [10] [11]
Louis and Adelheid Machemehl's son, Charles W. Machemehl (1922–2005), served in the European theater as a forward observer. He received several medals including two Bronze Stars and a Silver Star. At the end of the war he had attained the rank of captain and was a member of the staff of General Matthew B. Ridgeway, 1st Allied Airborne Army. [12]
In 1920, Louis A. Machemehl commissioned Houston architect, Alfred C. Finn, to design the L.A. and Adelheid Machemehl House in Bellville, Texas. The structure is a 1+1⁄2-story house built in Airplane Bungalow style. The upstairs portion is set behind a large wrap-around porch. Many festivities and social occasions took place on that porch for the local community. These festivals including dances for the youth of the city to the music of a Victrola. The house has a southwestern view of the historic German Texan settlement of Cat Springs. In its present condition, large oaks and magnolias trees surround the house. It is located one and a half miles from the town square. [13] The architect's original watercolor rendition and floor plans are in the archives of the Houston Public Library. [14] The structure is recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark of the Texas Historical Commission. It was originally built for Louis A. Machemehl, his wife Adelheid Machemehl (d. 1949), and their five children (including Charles W. Machemehl). The landmark remained in the Machemehl family until 1953. [15] [16] [17]
Austin County is a rural, agricultural dominated county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,167. Its seat is Bellville. The county and region was settled primarily by German emigrants in the 1800s.
Bellville is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Austin County. The city's population was 4,206 at the 2020 census. Bellville is on the eastern edge of the Texas-German belt, and Bellville is known for its German culture and descendants of those Germans still call Bellville home.
Eagle Lake is a city in southeastern Colorado County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,442 at the 2020 census. It is home to a golf course, the largest private lake in Texas, and the Eagle Lake Regional Airport, which serves light aircraft.
Fulshear is a city in northwestern Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, and is located on the western edge of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The population was 16,856 as of the 2020 census.
The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the U.S. state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas.
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La Villita Historic Arts Village is an art community in downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. There are art galleries, stores selling souvenirs, gifts, custom jewelry, pottery, and imported Mexican folk art, as well as several restaurants in the district. La Villita connects to the San Antonio River Walk and its outdoor venue, the Arneson River Theatre. It is close to the Alamo, the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Rivercenter Mall, and HemisFair Park. It is within walking distance of most downtown hotels.
Liendo Plantation is an historic cotton plantation in Waller County, Texas, United States. Named after its original owner, José Justo Liendo, the plantation was purchased in 1873 by sculptor Elisabet Ney and her husband, physician Edmund Montgomery.
Alfred Charles Finn was an American architect. He started in the profession with no formal training in 1904 as an apprentice for Sanguinet & Staats. He worked in their offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. His credits during his tenure residential structures, but firm was a leader in steel-frame construction of skyscrapers.
Clara Driscoll, was a Texas-born philanthropist. In 1967, a Texas Historical Marker honoring Driscoll was placed at 2312 San Gabriel Avenue, Austin. In 1978, Texas Historical Marker number 1287 honoring Driscoll was placed at the Driscoll Family Mausoleum, Alamo Masonic Cemetery, East Commerce St., San Antonio.
Texas Gulf Coast is an intertidal zone which borders the coastal region of South Texas, Southeast Texas, and the Texas Coastal Bend. The Texas coastal geography boundaries the Gulf of Mexico encompassing a geographical distance relative bearing at 367 miles (591 km) of coastline according to CRS and 3,359 miles (5,406 km) of shoreline according to NOAA.
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The architectural structures of Fredericksburg, Texas are often unique to the Texas Hill Country, and are historical edifices of the German immigrants who settled the area in the 19th Century. Many of the structures have historic designations on a state or national level. The Gillespie County Historical Society is actively involved in assisting with preservation.
Zodiac is a vanished Mormon settlement established in 1847 on the Pedernales River, located 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Fredericksburg, in Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The area it was located on eventually converted to private acreage, and no trace of the settlement remains today. It was the first Mormon colony established by Lyman Wight in Texas. The second settlement was Mormon Mill in Burnet County in 1851, and his third and final settlement was Mormon Camp in 1854 in Bandera County. In 1936, Zodiac was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, Marker number 10133.
The Llano County Courthouse and Jail were erected separately, but added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas on December 2, 1977 as one entry. The courthouse, located in the middle of Llano's historic square, was built in 1893. The exterior is made of sandstone, marble, and granite. The interior of the courthouse was damaged by fire in 1932 and again in 1951. It is still in use today by local government. The jail was erected in 1895, with the prisoner cells on the second and third floors, and the ground level solely for the office and living accommodations for the sheriff and his family. The jail was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 1979, Marker 9448. The courthouse was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 1980, Marker number 9446.
Center Point is an unincorporated community settled in 1865 by freed slaves. It is located in Camp County in the U.S. state of Texas, nine miles southeast of Pittsburg at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2057 and County Road 4247. In 1979, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No. 9790 was designated to commemorate the founding of Center Point.
Alfred Giles was a British architect who emigrated to the United States in 1873 at the age of 20. Many of the private homes and public buildings designed by Giles are on the National Register of Historic Places and have been designated Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks. Based in San Antonio, his buildings can be found predominantly in south Texas and northern Mexico. Giles is credited with "a profound influence on architecture in San Antonio."
Travis County has had two locations named Montopolis. The first was during the Republic of Texas period north of the Colorado River. The second is today's Montopolis neighborhood in Austin, Texas south of the river. Located southeast of the city's urban core, today's neighborhood is in ZIP code 78741. Montopolis is bounded by Lake Lady Bird on the north, by Grove Street and the Pleasant Valley neighborhood on the west, to the south by Texas State Highway 71, and by U.S. Route 183 on the east. The southeast corner abuts Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Montopolis is in City Council District 3.