DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the marker outside Eilenberger's Bakery in Anderson County has to say, and I'll tell it the way it deserves to be told. Now, if you think a German immigrant and a corner lot in East Texas couldn't add up to something the whole world would eventually taste — well, you haven't heard this story yet. F.
H. Eilenberger was born in 1878, and by the time he found his way to Texas, he knew his way around a bakery. He worked at bakeries in Galveston and Fort Worth — two Texas towns with very different personalities, and he took something from both.
Then, in 1898, he didn't go to work for somebody else's oven anymore. He started this company. The original location sat on the corner of John and Oak streets.
That's where it all began. But in 1918, the operation moved to this site — and Eilenberger didn't just move his business here, he moved himself here too, living on the property for several years. When a man sleeps next to his bakery, you can be pretty sure he's serious about the bread.
And the bread. His baked bread was distributed throughout East Texas, year after year after year. In 1949, Eilenberger sold the business — to his two sons and his son-in-law, so it stayed exactly where he could keep an eye on it.
And that bread kept rollin' out through East Texas all the way until 1968. But here's the thing that really lands this story. Today, Eilenberger's Bakery is noted for its fruit and pecan cakes.
Produced from a family recipe. Marketed worldwide. A German immigrant, a corner lot, and a family recipe — and somehow, East Texas ended up on tables all over the world.
F. H. Eilenberger, 1878 to 1959, would probably not say much about that.
He'd just go check on the oven.
What the marker says
F. H. Eilenberger (1878 - 1959), a German immigrant, worked at bakeries in Galveston and Fort Worth before starting this company in 1898. Originally located on the corner of John and Oak streets, the operation was moved to this site in 1918. Eilenberger also lived here for several years. Although he sold the business to his two sons and his son-in-law in 1949, his baked bread continued to be distributed throughout East Texas until 1968. Today the bakery is noted for fruit and pecan cakes, which are produced from a family recipe and marketed worldwide.