I love to visit Texas Museum Houses. I am blessed to have two Texas Museum Houses that once belonged to family members. One of the family Texas Museum Houses is the Valentine Hoch House in Hochheim Texas. The other home that is a Museum House is the Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture. I visit both as often as I can.
Dan Moody House Museum – Taylor Texas
Vibrant and growing Taylor Texas has a great house museum that was the childhood home of Dan Moody. Dan Moody was a Texas Governor and also fought the Klu Klux Klan in court and won. The Moody Museum is located at 114 W. 9th Street in Taylor Texas.
The Stagecoach Inn – Hochheim Texas
One Museum House that has been in my family is The Stagecoach Inn in Hochheim Texas. The Stagecoach Inn did not start out as an inn but as a personal home built by Valentine Hoch, a German immigrant and forefather of mine. After coming to the Republic of Texas from Germany, he built his home out of limestone he obtained from the banks of the Guadalupe River nearby. Over time, immigrants on the stagecoach run from the seaport of Indianola Texas, near Galveston to Austin Texas began stopping there and it became a stagecoach stop and inn. Those times are long gone and now Indianola Texas is a ghost town and the stagecoaches no longer run. The Valentine Hoch home is now a Museum House maintained by the Hochheim Prairie Insuranse Company.
The Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture – New Braunfels Texas
The second Texas Museum House that was once owned and inhabited by my family is the Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture at 1370 Church Hill Drive in New Braunfels, Texas 78130 in Heritage Village. My grandmother was a Breustedt and this was her grandmother’s grandparent’s, Johann Andreas Breustedt (1825 – 1911) and Caroline Dauer Breustedt’s (1831-1901) 1858 farm house. The Breustedts had 9 children that included sons and daughters. The Breustedt House in New Braunfels TX is open regularly throughout the year for tours, check the Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture website for current hours of operation.
The Kreische House – La Grange Texas
I love the 1850’s German Kreische House because it is truly amazing! Built into the earth, it is earth sheltered and has fachwerk as well. Kreische House tours take place Sundays at 2:00 pm and at 3:00 pm from January though the month of November. The Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Historic Site is one of my favorite state parks because there is so much to see and do – the trails, the Kreische House, the Kreische Brewery and Monument Hill. At Christmas the Friends of Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery sponsor a Trail of Lights complete with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus. The Kreische House will be decorated for Christmas in all its splendor. The Kreische House is located within the park at 414 State Loop 92, La Grange TX 78945 979-968-5658
The French Legation – Austin Texas
The French Legation is located on the East Side of IH 35 in Austin Texas. The French Legation dates back from when Texas was a republic and is the oldest wood framed house in Austin Texas that is still in place on its original site. I have visited this Texas Museum House many times.
The Texas Governor’s Mansion – Austin Texas
The Texas Governor’s Mansion is located just south of the Texas State Capital grounds at 1010 Colorado Avenue, just off Congress Avenue. Abner Cook, an Austin Texas architect was the designer and builder who was awarded the contract for the house.
The Neill-Cochran House Museum – Austin Texas
The Neill-Cochran House Museum is a 1855 Greek Revival style Museum House located at 2310 San Gabriel Street in Austin Texas 78705 and owned by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Texas. I love to go see the actual bluebonnet painting hanging on the wall there that is the reason why the bluebonnet is our official Texas State Flower today.
Fulton Mansion – Rockport Fulton Texas
I have visited this Texas Museum House for many, many years and never tire of seeing it. This 1877 French Second Empire styled Fulton Mansion is located at 317 S. Fulton Beach Road in Rockport, Texas on the Aransas Bay on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The Fulton Mansion is amazing and was such a trendsetter in its day because of the advanced systems it employed including gas lighting, central heating and indoor plumbing. You could call it the Biltmore of South Texas! Call the Fulton Mansion at (361) 729-0386
Betty Saenz Historic House Specialist REALTOR®
Contact Betty Saenz Historic House Specialist REALTOR® at 512-785-5050 or contact Betty Saenz by e-mail to buy or sell your Texas historic home. Betty is a Certified Historic House Specialist and loves Texas Historic Homes. Betty will treasure your Texas Historic Home as she expertly markets it. Texas Historic Home Buyers can expect an expert guide to help locate and purchase your very own Texas Historic Home.