Bluff, Texas, Fayette County ghost town. (original) (raw)

Joseph Hausmann, Jr.s Blacksmith Shop, circa 1898-1900; now located at the Marburger Farm Antique Venue near Warrenton, TX
Courtesy Fayette County Hist. Comm.; submitted by Carolyn Heinsohn, FCHC member

History in a Pecan Shell

Although Bluff now contains the site of Monument Hill and the Ruins of the Kreische Brewery, it will be of interest to visitors that the site was once a thriving community in its own right.

Granted to David Berry as a Mexican land grant in 1832, after the Texas Revolution, it was bought by Carl George Willrich, one of many Germans fleeing conscription back in the old country. H. L. Kreische bought the property in the late 1840s and began the Herculean task of hauling rock for his home and brewery (a task that would end his life).

Kreische had donated land for the burial of victims of the misguided Mier Expedition and the Dawson Massacre. Among the interred was the former owner of the property, David Berry.

Before mail was delivered from La Grange in 1903, Bluff had its own post office (see postmark).

Prior to the damming of the Colorado River, Bluff enjoyed an economy that thrived without competition from the county seat. But as bridges replaced ferries, access to La Grange became easier, Bluff waned, although the brewery remained a popular destination.

Vandalism of the graves and the cracked �Tomb of Texas Heroes� became commonplace and as the 1936 Texas Centennial approached, the cemetery was totally restored and improved � with an inscribed tomb, iron fencing and a dramatic bronze statue by French sculptor Raoul Josset.

Schuetzen Verein Pavilion (German Shooting Club); late 19th century
Courtesy Fayette County Hist. Comm.; submitted by Carolyn Heinsohn, FCHC member

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