DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm going to tell it to you. Somewhere in DeWitt County, there stands a house that knows exactly what it is. It is not shy about it.
Not one bit. We're talking imported leaded glass windows catching the light just so, metal lace trim running along the roofline like something a jeweler designed on a dare, turned columns holding up their end of the bargain, and Italian tile underfoot. Italian tile.
In Cuero, Texas. In 1895. Now that right there tells you something about the man who built it.
The architect was A. O. Watson out of Austin, and the contractor was C.
A. Fuess of Cuero, and between the two of them they put together something the marker calls typical of a prospering nineteenth century city. Typical.
That word is doing a lot of work. The house was built for Louis Gohmert, born in 1859, and his wife Martha, née Binder. Louis had come over as a boy from Germany, and by the time he commissioned this place he was secretary-treasurer of the Breeden-Runge Wholesale Firm.
He lived in that house until 1931. Then the years moved on the way years do. But here is the part of the story that doesn't always get told about a fine old building.
Somebody has to decide it's worth keeping. In 1952, Mr. and Mrs. E.
T. Summers, Jr. took on that responsibility, and they preserved the house. The leaded glass, the metal lace, the Italian tile, all of it.
Still there. Still standing. Not every prospering city gets to keep its proof.
What the marker says
Typical of prospering 19th century city, this late Victorian house has fine details: imported leaded glass windows, metal "lace" trim, turned columns, Italian tile. Architect was A. O. Watson, Austin; Contractor, C. A. Fuess of Cuero. Built 1895 for Louis Gohmert (1859-1931) and wife Martha (Binder). Gohmert, who came as a boy from Germany, was secretary-treasurer of Breeden-Runge Wholesale Firm. House has been preserved since 1952 by Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Summers, Jr. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972