Historical Markers in La Grange, Texas

Christian G. Wertzner · 1936

A San Jacinto veteran; first permanent German settler of Fayette County. Born in Germany; died, 1852.

Fayette County · 1936

Formed from Colorado and Bastrop counties. Created December 14, 1837. Organized January 1, 1838. Named in honor of Marquis de LaFayette. 1757-1834. Nobleman and republican friend of Washington and of the United States.…

John Henry Moore · 1936

Noted Indian fighter; commander of the Texians at the Battle of Gonzales, October 2, 1835. Born in Tennessee August 13, 1800; died December 2,1880. His wife Eliza Moore, born April 23, 1809 died February 25, 1877.…

Site of a Twin Blockhouse · 1936

Built about 1828; used as a place of defense against the Indians and known as Moore's Fort in honor of its builder and owner, John Henry Moore, 1800-1880, noted Indian fighter and commander of the Texans at the Battle…

The First U. S. Postal Rural Mail Route in Texas · 1936

Authorized effective August 1, 1899. La Grange, Fayette County. Erected by the State of Texas 1936

James Seaton Lester · 1962

Star and Wreath Delegate to the 1835 Consultation, San Jacinto Veteran, member of four Republic of Texas Congresses. Erected by the State of Texas 1962

The Faison House · 1962

Started 1841 as two rooms of local pine wood. Acquired 1855 and enlarged by S. S. Munger. Owned 1866-1961 by estate of N. W. Faison (1817-70), who joined 1842 Dawson expedition resisting Mexican invaders. Captured near…

The Old Masonic Building · 1962

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William Gorham · 1962

Star and Wreath Served in the Texas Army 1835-36. A San Jacinto Veteran. Erected by the State of Texas, 1962

Fayette County, C.S.A · 1964

Although voted 600 against to 580 for secession, began Confederate recruiting in June 1861. La Grange was headquarters for 22nd Brigade, Texas State Troops, Brig. Gen. Wm. G. Webb commanding, of which 18 companies…

St. James Episcopal Church · 1964

Built in 1885 for parish formed in 1855. On lot donated by Shropshire family. In continuous use as only Episcopal church in Fayette County. Original furnishings, handmade by rector and congregation, still in use.…

First Roadside Park in Texas · 1968

Established fall 1933, when a local state highway official built tables and benches (since then replaced ) here to encourage motorists to stop and rest. Texas was one of the first states to sponsor building of roadside…

Kaulbach Home · 1968

Built 1885 by H. B. Kaulbach (1839-1919), insurance agent. The Victorian style exhibits two-story columnar gallery, graceful arches supported by thin, turned columns. This structure includes 5 rooms of house previously…

City Library Building · 1970

Erected 1852 as J. C. Stiehl family home; sold to Etairio Club in 1912 and given to city of La Grange in 1938. Architecture is German "fachwerk," using handmade brick and hand-hewn cedar timbers joined with wooden pegs.…

Gotcher Trace · 1973

Opened about 1828 by James Gotcher from Alabama, a settler on Rabb's Creek in present Lee County, as route from San Felipe, in Stephen F. Austin's original colony, to Bastrop in second or "little" colony. A short,…

Old City Cemetery · 1973

Used for burials by 1840, this site was deeded by J. S. Lester to trustees who conveyed it to La Grange after incorporation of the city on July 3, 1854. Fourteen townswomen on April 17, 1873, formed what was probably…

Philadelphia Evangelical Lutheran Chuch · 1974

Second oldest congregation in the Texas-Louisiana Synod, United Lutheran Church in America. The founding occurred on March 24, 1867, under leadership of the Rev. C. C. Rudi, who had just moved to the Swiss Alp area. A…

W. S. Robson · 1982

(Feb. 4, 1851 - Oct. 7, 1905) Georgia native William Sion Robson migrated to Texas with his parents in 1852. After settling in Round Top (17 miles NE), the family moved to the La Grange area in 1863. After working as a…

Beer Office and Bottling Company · 1983

F. W. Grassmeyer commissioned German-Texan stonemasons to construct this Italianate style commercial building between 1856 and 1859. The structure served as a hotel until 1893, when German immigrant Fritz Presun…

Birthplace of the SPJST · 1983

On December 28, 1896, twenty-five Czech-Texans gathered in the district courtroom of this courthouse to establish a new fraternal benefit insurance society, the Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas, more commonly…

James J. Ross · 1985

Born in South Carolina in about 1787, James Jeffres Ross was a member of the "Old Three Hundred." He arrived in Stephen F. Austin's colony in late 1822 or early 1823, moving onto the league granted him near Eagle Lake…

Lenert House · 1987

Albert Charles Lenert (1841-1902) and his wife Amelia (1853-1952), both of whom immigrated to Fayette County from Germany as children, moved to La Grange in 1894 and built this home for their family. A fine example of…

Czech Catholic Union of Texas · 1989

On March 24, 1889, a group of Czech immigrants gathered here to form the Katolicka Jednota Texaska (KJT), or Czech Catholic Union of Texas. A fraternal benefit society, the KJT was chartered on July 4, 1889, with six…

Site of First Methodist Annual Conference in Texas · 1990

The Rev. Martin Ruter (1785-1838) came to Texas as a missionary for the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1837. A town called Rutersville and Rutersville College, both located here, were named in his honor. Bishop Beverly…

Bradshaw-Killough House · 1991

Built in 1886 for local merchant Amzi T. Bradshaw and his wife Sarah, this house was purchased in 1908 by their daughter Nellie and her husband John Killough. In 1924, the Killoughs extensively altered the Victorian-era…

Meerscheidt House · 1994

Tax records indicate this house was built in 1884, the same year the property was purchased by Paul Meerscheidt from his relative, attorney Axel Meercheidt. German immigrants and prominent local farmers John Speckels,…

Rabb's Prairie · 1996

This portion of Fayette County is named for William Rabb (1770-1831), a prosperous miller from Pennsylvania who came to Texas in 1821 with members of his family. Rabb claimed a site on the east side of the Colorado…

Fayette County Courthouse · 2001

About 1890, the structural safety of Fayette County's third courthouse came into question, and plans began for the building of this structure to serve as the seat of justice for the county. The commissioners court hired…

Plum Grove Baptist Church and Cemetery · 2001

This cemetery is the enduring physical reminder of the Baptist congregation that worshiped at this site from 1870 until about 1904. Plum Grove Baptist Church and the Pleasant Retreat Baptist Church of Christ combined…

Black Jack Springs Cemetery · 2002

The Black Jack Springs Community, now called O'Quinn, was established by a group of Anglo and German families who settled near the headwaters of the Black Jack Branch of Buckner's Creek by 1840. Pioneer Charles Luck…

Brandt Cemetery · 2002

Eilert Gerhard Brandt and his wife, Sophie Friedrich Wilhelmine Westing Brandt, immigrated from Oldenburg, Germany to this area in April 1888. They purchased nearly 400 acres of land near the community of Pecan…

Kreische Complex · 2002

Kreische Complex German immigrant Heinrich Kreische (1821-1882) purchased nearly 175 acres of property in Fayette County in 1849. A stonemason by trade, he built a house, barn and smokehouse here on the high south bluff…

Monument Hill Tomb · 2002

Monument Hill Tomb In September 1848, the remains of Texans killed in the 1842 Dawson Massacre and the 1843 "Black Bean Death Lottery" were reburied at this site in a sandstone vault. The Kreische family did its best to…

Hermes House · 2004

German native Dr. William A. Hermes moved to La Grange in 1855 to practice medicine. He opened Hermes Drug Store the following year with his partner, Dr. Eck. His two sons, August and William, Jr., earned pharmacy…

Kallus House · 2004

Built in 1885-86, the house became the residence of the Kallus family in 1916. Moravian native Frank J. Kallus (1872-1951) came to Texas in 1890 and later taught school in nearby Ellinger. He married Elizabeth Weisner,…

La Fayette Masonic Lodge No. 34 A.F. & A.M. · 2012

La Grange's Masonic lodge organized in 1847, with John Murchison as the first worshipful master. Historically, Masons have supported many civic causes including education. The La Fayette lodge laid the cornerstone for…

Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1867 · 2016

From the time of the first European settlers in Texas, Yellow Fever was a serious concern. Transmitted through mosquitoes, epidemics in the summer months were prevalent in coastal cities all over North America in the…

Casino Hall · 2017

Commissioned by the Casino Association of La Grange, construction of the Casino Hall began in 1880. Designed by James Wahrenberger of Austin, the 10,000-square-foot structure was built by John T. Campbell for $12,000.…

Fayette County Jail · 2017

When the congress of the Republic of Texas established Fayette County in 1837, La Grange became its seat of government. A county jail was built in 1838 and used for ten years before it was sold. In 1853, the county…

Webb-Schneider House · 2018