Klockman - Elzner Home

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Klockman-Elzner Home in Bastrop County. Henry Klockman and his wife bought this land in 1894, and by about 1895 they had built themselves a home right here. Henry ran a blacksmith shop, working that trade until his death in 1897.

He was born in 1852, and the marker doesn't linger on the loss, but you feel it. A man builds a home, builds a business, and then he's gone. His widow didn't fold.

She kept the place going, supporting their son by taking in boarders. That's a kind of quiet toughness that doesn't always make the history books, but it kept a household alive. She sold the residence in 1910, to a man named P.

O. Elzner, Jr., and that's how his name got attached to this place alongside the Klockmans. Then spring of 1926 brought a fire.

After that fire, a man by the name of D. F. Holland purchased the property, and the first remodeling of the home was done.

Holland eventually died too, and his widow carried on in her own way, renting part of the dwelling to young adults who went on to become some of Bastrop's leading citizens. Think about that. This one house, these rooms, helped shape a community.

And Holland's widow kept her own record of it all. Her extensive diaries about life in the house are sitting right now in the Bastrop County Museum, waiting for anybody curious enough to read them. The home was restored by Dr. and Mrs.

R. H. Carpenter in 1976.

Some houses just hold on, and some houses hold everything.

What the marker says

Henry Klockman (1852-1897) and his wife bought this land in 1894 and built this home about 1895. Klockman operated a blacksmith shop until his death. His widow supported their son by taking in boarders. She sold the residence in 1910 to P. O. Elzner, Jr. After a fire in the spring of 1926, D. F. Holland purchased the property and the first remodeling was done. When Holland died, his widow rented part of the dwelling to young adults who became some of Bastrop's leading citizens. Her extensive diaries about life in the house are in the Bastrop County Museum. (1979) Incise in base: Restored by Dr. and Mrs. R. H. Carpenter, 1976