Henkel Square was created to preserve
and perpetuate an authentic representation of local Texas life
as it was in the 19th Century. |
The Henkel House |
The Zapp-Von Rosenberg House |
The Scherrer House |
The Weaver's House |
Schuhmann House |
Muckleroy House |
Mary Phelp's House |
Polasek Cabin |
The Apothecary |
Palmer Barn |
Haw Creek Church
Open Thursday - Sunday, Noon to 5 PM.
Bus Tours and School Groups are also
welcome at other times with reservations.
Round Top’s
Henkel Square is recognized nationally as an authentic restoration of Anglo-American
and
German-American
19th
Century
culture,
where families can enjoy the living traditions of the pioneers who settled
here.
Round Top’s first settlers belonged to Stephen F. Austin’s
original band of colonists in the early 1820s. Thirty years later, when
a wave of
wealthy German immigrants came to Texas in search of water and land, the
Anglo settlers moved on and Round Top became a German-Texan community.
German Settlers Made what They Needed
The town’s new citizens were a cultured and highly educated group.
Yet when they first arrived in this frontier setting, they had many obstacles
to overcome. Nearly everything these pioneers needed they had to build
themselves. Because many of these items were handmade by the very individuals
who used them, they are one-of-a-kind reflections of their makers.
Frederick Olmsted described the homes of these German immigrants in his
1861 book A Journey through Texas: “There is something extremely
striking in the incongruities and bizarre contrast of the backwoods life
of these settlers. Coffee in tin cups upon Dresden saucers, barrels for
seats, to hear a Beethoven symphony on the grand piano… a bookcase
filled half with classics, half with sweet potatoes. Those educated men
were still able to sustain their intellectual life and retain their refined
taste… while under the necessity of supporting life in the most frugal
manner by hard labor.”
Living Museums of 19th Century Life
Henkel Square was created to preserve and perpetuate an authentic representation
of local Texas life as it was in the 19th Century. It delights the senses
and excites the imagination of the young and old by telling a story of
courage, hardship and the perseverance of the people who made these fine
examples of early Texas architecture their homes.
Three of Henkel Square’s structures stand where the owners built them
originally. Most of the other buildings moved to Henkel Square, as well
as the textiles, pottery, tools and furniture exhibited in them, came from
no further than 15 miles away.
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