John Peter Tatsch Home, 1856

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do it justice. Somewhere in Gillespie County there stands a stone house, and the stone it's built from didn't come far, because John Peter Tatsch had the good sense to use what the land around him already had to offer. Tatsch built this home in 1856, and he was no stranger to working with his hands.

The man was a cabinet-maker and a turner by trade, and when it came time to do the woodwork on that house, he did it himself. No sense hiring out what you already know how to do. He was born in Germany in 1822, and he made it all the way to 1907, which means he had a long time to sit in that house and appreciate his own craftsmanship.

Now, when the place first went up, Tatsch didn't floor the whole thing right away. Just the front rooms, laid down with wide boards. That's worth picturing: a stone house in the Texas Hill Country, those wide boards underfoot in the front, and the rest of it still waiting.

The north front room had the only fireplace in the early going. One fireplace for warmth, one room for gathering. The rear gallery kitchen, with its own fireplace and oven, came along later, added on when the family needed it.

And there was a family to need it. His wife was Maria Elizabeth, born in 1828, and she shared this home until 1885. Together they raised five children: Elizabeth, Sophie, Caroline, Wilhelmina, and Richard.

During the Civil War, Tatsch served as a minute man, ready to move when called. A German-born cabinet-maker in the Texas Hill Country, building in local stone, laying wide boards, adding a kitchen when the time came, raising five children inside those walls. That house wasn't built all at once.

It grew the way a life does, piece by piece, room by room.

What the marker says

Built by Tatsch (1822-1907), using local stone. A cabinet-maker and turner, did woodwork himself. At first floored only front rooms, using wide boards. North front room had the only fireplace. Rear gallery kitchen, fireplace and oven were added later. Tatsch, from Germany, during Civil War was a minute man. Wife was Maria Elizabeth (1828-1885). Children: Elizabeth, Sophie, Caroline, Wilhelmina, Richard. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965