Hirshfeld Cottage

Duane's take

The official marker's the word on this one, and here's how Duane tells it. Now, most stories about a stone cottage in Austin start quiet. This one starts in Germany.

Henry Hirshfeld was born in 1834, and by the time he was fifteen years old, he had already crossed an ocean. He came to the United States, found his footing working alongside his two uncles down in Mobile, Alabama, and then — as men of ambition tend to do — he kept movin. He landed in Georgetown, twenty-eight miles north of where we're standing, and there he enlisted in the Confederate Army.

He served, the war ended, and Henry Hirshfeld pointed himself toward Austin. That decision would shape this city in ways nobody could've predicted standin on a Georgetown street corner. He stepped into the mercantile business, and by 1868 — the year he married Jennin Melasky — he already owned a clothing store and was building a reputation as one of Austin's prominent businessmen.

Three years after that wedding, Governor E. J. Davis took notice.

Davis appointed Hirshfeld as the first vice president of the newly created State Board of Trade. First. That word follows Henry Hirshfeld around like a loyal dog.

Because he wasn't done. He was also a founder and the first president of Congregation Beth Israel, an early cornerstone of Austin's Jewish community, established in 1876 — and get this — on the second floor of his own Congress Avenue building. The man was runnin a clothing store downstairs and helpin build a congregation upstairs.

Now. The cottage. In 1873, Henry Hirshfeld had this one-story stone place built for his family.

The builders were Ed Christian, Ferdinand Dohme, and S. Loomis, and they did not cut corners. There's jigsaw detailing on the porch that'll catch your eye, and up on the roof — a widow's walk.

Just sittin up there, quiet and watching over Congress Avenue like it always has. The family lived here until 1888, when they moved to their new residence on the adjacent east lot. After that, Hirshfeld kept the cottage on as rental property.

Henry Hirshfeld died in 1911. But the cottage he built in 1873 is still right here — stone walls, widow's walk, jigsaw trim and all. Some things a man builds outlast everything else he ever owned.

What the marker says

German native Henry Hirshfeld (1834-1911) migrated to the United States at the age of fifteen. After working with his two uncles in Mobile, Alabama, he moved to Georgetown (28 mi. N), where he enlisted in the Confederate Army. Following his service in the Civil War, Hirshfeld moved to Austin and entered the mercantile business. By 1868, when he married Jennin Melasky, he owned a clothing store and was becoming a prominent businessman of the city. Three years later Governor E. J. Davis appointed him as the first vice president of the newly created State Board of Trade. Active in civic development, Hirshfeld was also as early leader of Austin's Jewish community. He was a founder and the first president of congregation Beth Israel, established in 1876 on the second floor of his Congress Avenue building. Hirshfeld had this one-story stone cottage built for his family in 1873. Construction by Ed Christian, Ferdinand Dohme,and S. Loomis. It features a widow's walk on the roof and jigsaw detailing on the porch. After the family moved to their new residence on the adjacent east lot in 1888, the cottage was maintained as rental property. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962