06/03/2026
Open House at Meusebach Creek and Grapetown Schools THIS SATURDAY
By Myra Klinksiek of the Grapetown Community
Former Gillespie County country schools at Meusebach Creek and Grapetown will host their annual open house on Saturday, June 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visits to both schools on Saturday are very convenient due to their close proximity. This proximity was also handy when students attended these schools. Trustees of the
two schools worked out arrangements to even share a teacher, and, in later years, students traveled between the communities to com
pete in baseball games at the end of the week.
Meusebach Creek School is one of the 12 schools that comprise The Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools. Meusebach had
three school buildings before the fourth and final school building was built in the 1930s. The first was a square cabin with only
96 square feet of space on the Fritz Lochte property. The walls consisted of logs filled with mortar, and the roof was constructed of
shingles. Due to the growth of the western part of the district, a new school was built on the Fritz Lochte property in the 1880s. In
1897, trustees decided to erect a new, third structure. Louis Bonn donated one acre for the frame building, and this was the first land
owned by the school. The building was 1½ stories high, with the half story being used as an attic for storage. In the 1930s, the
district was finally in a financial position to build a modern school. This was the fourth and last building. The new frame building had nine windows and two entrances. It had a large classroom, a library
and a cloakroom.
The Meusebach Creek School was consolidated with the Fredericksburg Independent School District in 1954, after providing education to the community’s children for 90 years. In 1999, the Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools started its mission to preserve the remaining one-room schools for the communities they
served.
The Grapetown School had parallel experiences with multiple buildings.
The first school building was a donated residence of Ferdinand Doebblers in 1859. The young wife had grown unhappy with the rural lifestyle, and the husband moved her to Fredericksburg. Since student travel was unsafe during the Civil War, schooldays were suspended until after hostilities. In 1869, students attended school in a log cabin on property just north of the current school. At that time, the parents of the Meusebach Creek School arranged to share a teacher. Professor Hartwig taught three days at the Meusebach Creek School and three days at Grapetown. This arrangement ceased in the late 1870s. On April 1, 1882, Friedrich Baag donated
land for a school building, with the stipulation that no political or religious activities be held on the property. Completion of the one-room native limestone structure came in 1884, erected entirely by
volunteer labor from local farms and ranches.
Before long, since teachers were married and had families, a teacherage became necessary. The school grounds were small. So,
on Dec. 21, 1886, under the trusteeship of William Kallenberg, Robert Hohenberger and Theodor Hohenberger, a small parcel of land adjoining the school grounds was bought from Carl Barth and his wife Johanna for a $30 fee. A two-room dwelling with a porch was erected of stone. It was completed in 1887. Edward Schmidt
and family were the first residents. Later, a kitchen, storeroom and breezeway were added. These were built of lumber and have
since been removed. Only married teachers or single male teachers were allowed to live in the teacherage. It was deemed improper for single female teachers to live alone, so they had to board with local families instead of living in the teacherage.
In 1905, the school became Grapetown Line School, District 14. It was located near the Kendall County line and served students from both Gillespie and Kendall counties. Due to low attendance numbers, Grapetown students attended school in Cain City from 1945 to 1949. In 1949, the school district was consolidated with the
Rocky Hill School District. A total of 28 teachers taught in the Grapetown schools. The Grapetown Community Club was formed in 1950 in order to purchase the property from the Rocky Hill Consolidated School District, preserve the school and teacherage, and continue using the facilities for community events. The schoolhouse became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1984.
Both schools had high expectations in academics and citizenship. Some subjects were taught in both German and English until schools were required to teach in English. Textbooks were bought by families and shared with siblings.
At this year’s open house, Meusebach School will feature an exhibit, “Art and Utility in One: A Collection of Native American Basketry.” One of Meusebach’s community members will display her personal collection of Native American baskets and will be on hand to talk about her experiences with the makers.
On this 82nd anniversary of D-Day and the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, Grapetown will
feature a video of its former students who served in the military. Service to our country has been a commitment taken very seriously in the history of Gillespie County and Grapetown. Unfortunately, only one student who attended school at Grapetown is still living, and she is older than 100. It is said that a soldier dies twice: once when he leaves his physical being and again the last time his name is said aloud. We strive to remember all of our students, and tributes to each student are available to read in addition to seeing the school with the furnishings the students actually used.
In the spirit of D-Day and service to our country during this 250th anniversary year, a memorial video of all Gillespie County veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice and references to materials about
these heroes will be presented in the teacherage. Some referenced materials will be available for perusal.
Experience the culture and history of these two schools and communities in one outing this coming Saturday. www.HistoricSchools.org
Thank You to the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post for accepting and publishing the above in this week's edition of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post.
Dedicated to the preservation of German one-room schoolhouses Fredericksburg Gillespie County in the Texas Hill Country, listed on the NHRP of historic places.
