Kleinert Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it right along to you. Now, Bastrop has always drawn folks from far-off places, and one of the more interesting arrivals was a Prussian immigrant by the name of Carl Kleinert. He came with his wife, Marie, born a Wilke, and the two of them settled in Bastrop in the early 1860s.

They weren't alone, mind you. Carl was one of many early German merchants who'd put down roots in that town, and he fit right into that tradition. In 1868, he built himself a grocery and mercantile right here on this site.

A man plants a building, he's saying something. He's saying he intends to stay. And stay they did.

Now, the building you see today doesn't look quite the way Carl left it in 1868, and there's a reason for that. At some point in the early 1890s, the Kleinert building and the adjacent Kesselus building suffered a fire. What came back from that was a structure with pressed metal cornices, a wood storefront, and cast iron columns, much of that detailing dating right to that rebuilding period after the fire.

The bones of the place carry the story of that recovery. The building stayed in the Kleinert family all the way until 1931, passing through the hands of time and business and change while Bastrop itself grew up around it. It has housed many businesses across those years.

And today, standing on that corner, it serves as a reminder of Bastrop's early commercial district. A Prussian immigrant and his wife moved to Texas, built something solid, and it is still here to tell the tale.

What the marker says

Prussian immigrant Carl Kleinert and his wife, Marie (Wilke), moved to Bastrop in the early 1860s. One of many early German merchants in Bastrop, Kleinert built his grocery and mercantile on this site in 1868. The building has housed many businesses and retains its historic detailing, including pressed metal cornices, wood storefront and cast iron columns, much of which dates to the early 1890s, after the Kleinert and adjacent Kesselus buildings suffered a fire. The building remained in the Kleinert family until 1931 and, today, serves as a reminder of Bastrop's early commercial district. Recorded Texas Historic Llandmark - 2003