Bracht House

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of the Bracht House in Aransas County. Adolph L. Bracht was born right here in Rockport, in 1872, and he came up the way a lot of ambitious young men did in those days.

He worked at lumber stores, worked at grocery stores, learned the trade from the ground up. Then, in 1899, he struck out on his own and established his wholesale and retail grocery business. Once Adolph Bracht decided to do something, he did not do it halfway.

He shipped vegetables raised by growers in the area and all the way down in the Rio Grande Valley. He was a charter member of the Intracoastal Canal Association. He was active in the Chamber of Commerce and in Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

He ran that grocery business clear through until his retirement in 1947. Adolph and his wife Gertrude, born a Prophet before she became a Bracht, raised nine children together. Nine.

Now, a man with nine children and a thriving wholesale and retail operation needs a house with some substance to it, and the Bracht House delivers. Built somewhere around 1898 to 1902, it's a Prairie-style two-story with lap siding, a low-pitched hip roof with dormers, a wraparound porch held up by Doric columns set on cast stone footings, and an asymmetrical façade with a bay window looking out at the world. It is the kind of house that says: we are here, we are staying, and we built something that lasts.

Adolph Bracht was born in 1872 and died in 1961, and that house is still standing to tell the tale.

What the marker says

Adolph L. Bracht (1872-1961) was born in Rockport and worked at lumber and grocery stores before establishing his own wholesale and retail grocery in 1899. He was a charter member of the Intracoastal Canal Association and active in the Chamber of Commerce and Sacred Heart Catholic Church. For many years he shipped vegetables raised by growers in this area and the Rio Grande Valley. He ran his grocery business until his retirement in 1947. Adolph and his wife Gertrude (Prophet) had nine children. Their Prairie-style two-story house (built c. 1898-1902) features lap siding, a low-pitched hip roof with dormers, wraparound porch with Doric columns and cast stone footings, and an asymmetrical façade with bay window. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2010