Burger Home

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. We're talking about the Burger Home, right here in Bastrop County. Now settle in, because this one's got some miles on it.

Richard Burger made his way over from Germany, somewhere around 1859, and if you think that was the quiet life he was looking for, well, history had other plans. Before long, he was riding with Terry's Texas Rangers through the Civil War. Terry's Texas Rangers.

That is not a outfit you join for the scenery. When it was over, Burger came back to Bastrop, and here's where a man with good taste makes a move. He bought himself a Greek Revival home, newly built, somewhere between 1868 and 1869, and he bought it from Sallie and W.

C. Powell. Clean lines, proper columns, the kind of house that says a man has arrived and intends to stay.

He married Clara Linke, and together they had two children, Mina and August. Now Clara, she had a particular gift that not everybody could claim. She was skilled in German hair art.

That is a real and exacting craft, and she brought it with her into that home. Richard, for his part, worked as a tailor, and later as a clerk over at P. O.

Elzner's store. And as if that weren't enough, he was an original stockholder in something called The Casino, a local cultural center right there in Bastrop. A Civil War veteran, a tailor, a clerk, a stockholder in culture itself.

One house, a whole lot of living. That is the Burger Home.

What the marker says

Richard Burger imigrated from Germany about 1859 and served during the Civil War in Terry's Texas Rangers. He returned to Bastrop and bought this newly built (1868-69) Greek Revival home from Sallie and W. C. Powell. Burger married Clara Linke and had two children, Mina and August. Clara was skilled in German "hair art." Burger was a tailor and later a clerk at P. O. Elzner's store. He was an original stockholder in "The Casino," a local cultural center. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1979