Texas- the Witte-Schmid House

The 1860 Witte-Schmid Haus was donated 

to the Texas German Society in 1986 

by Annie Schmid and her son, Sanford Schmid.  

The German fachwerk structure known as "Das Haus" 

was listed on the National Register
 of Historic Places in December, 1997.

  It is located in the Schoenau community 

between Industry and Shelby in Austin County, Texas.

The first owner of the house was Dr. Ernst Witte, 

a lawyer born in Blomberg, Germany, in 1793. 

After a successful career 

in law and politics in his native land,

 he followed his sons to America,

 and with his wife, Lisette,

 bought 1422 acres of land in Texas.

 He turned his attention
to raising cattle and cotton.

Shortly thereafter, the Wittes 

began construction on the house,

 which reproduced many of the details

 of the Wittes' house in Germany. 

The structure is of stone and timber,

 with two levels and a cellar. 

The first level has a sandstone perimeter

 with a stucco finish;

 the upper level is faced with clapboard siding. 

Interior walls are of half-timber,

 or fachwerk construction

 filled-in with adobe bricks.

Dr. Witte died in 1869 and was buried

 in a small cemetery a short distance 

southeast of the house. 

His wife died in 1883 but was buried at Shelby

 because wet weather 

made the road to the 

family cemetery impassable.

The house remained in the family

 until December, 1986,

 when it was given to 

the Society by Annie Schmid

 and her son Sanford Schmid. 

It is an excellent example of 

19th century German-Texan construction

 and is among the oldest surviving

examples of German architecture

 in Austin County.

(Texas German Society Website)

While in Texas, 

we had the chance
 to visit this historic house. 
Artifacts include original items
 from the home 
and some "period pieces" donated.

 A home that included many 

children through the years.

The details show the horsehair

 in the walls upstairs-

 to give strength and stability. 

                                                     A gathering to celebrate

 in the "Family HOME"-

and to give thanks for all the blessings 

that have been given from the land

 to this hard-working- German-Swiss Family.