Kleinert - Hoppe House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna pass it along to you. Now, Bastrop has its share of old bones, but this particular stretch of town carries something special: a whole neighborhood of homes raised up in the nineteenth century by German immigrants who decided Texas was where they were planting their roots. And right in among them stands the Kleinert-Hoppe House.

Charles and Maria Kleinert had it built between 1887 and 1890. Think about that. Someone drew up the plans, someone swung the hammers, and what came out the other side was something worth talking about more than a century later.

Pedimented architraves framing the windows. Jigsawn porch details, the kind of lacework in wood that takes patience and a steady hand. And then there's that octagonal bay, just sitting there on the facade like it's daring you to walk past without looking twice.

That's what the marker calls eclectic Victorian-era design, and honestly, the house earns that description. Now, the Kleinerts didn't hold onto it long. Right around 1890, a fellow German immigrant named A.

L. Hoppe came along. He was a local innkeeper, a man who understood something about keeping a good roof over people's heads.

He bought the property, and his family held onto it. Through the late nineteenth century, through two world wars, through decades of Texas sun and storm, that house stayed Hoppe family property all the way until 1961. Seventy-some years in one family's keeping.

You build something right, turns out, it tends to stay built.

What the marker says

Located among a number of homes built in the 19th century by German immigrants to Bastrop, this house was built between 1887 and 1890 for Charles and Maria Kleinert. Fellow German immigrant and local innkeeper A. L. Hoppe bought the property in 1890, and it remained in his family until 1961. A fine example of eclectic Victorian-era design, the house features pedimented architraves, jigsawn porch details, and a distinctive octagonal bay. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1990