Kohrville

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Kohrville, out in Harris County. Pull over if you can, because this one's got some real roots to it. Way back before this stretch of Harris County had the name you'd recognize today, it was known as Pillotville.

That's on account of Eugene Pillot, French-born, who came out here with his son Nick and his son-in-law J.C. Sellers. The three of them ran the Pillot and Sellers Sawmill, right there on Pillot Gully, through the 1860s.

Sawmill country. Thick timber, hard work, and not much else for company. Then the 1870s rolled in, and with them came Paul Kohrmann, arrived from Baden, Germany.

The following year he was naturalized. In 1872 he married Agnes Othila Tautenhahn. And near this very site, the Kohrmanns set up a general store.

Now, a general store in a sparsely settled place like this wasn't just commerce. It was the whole world in one building. And from 1881 all the way to 1911, that store also housed a post office.

Paul Kohrmann was the first postmaster. Served in that role until his death in 1894. That's when Agnes stepped up, appointed postmistress, and she kept that post office running until it finally closed in 1911.

Thirty years of mail and neighbors and news and conversation, flowing through one family's hands. In the late nineteenth century, people were arriving from Prussia, Denmark, Ireland, and England, along with families from several Southern states. African Americans moved in from the Piney Point area, west of Houston.

The community grew enough to support multiple schools, churches, sawmills, and a cotton gin in the early twentieth century, though the population stayed sparse until suburban growth eventually changed the character of the place. Agnes Kohrmann died in 1932, and she and Paul both rest here in the Kohrmann Family Cemetery. The general store and the Kohrville post office, the marker tells us, served as the social center of a widely dispersed population.

That's the thing about a place like this. The land doesn't hold on to buildings forever. The sawmill's gone.

The store's gone. The post office, long closed. What remains is an area designated as Kohrmann Park, sitting right next to that family cemetery.

Two quiet things, holding the weight of everything that came before.

What the marker says

Early settlers came to this part of Harris County from distant lands. French-born Eugene Pillot, his son Nick and son-in-law J.C. Sellers operated the Pillot and Sellers Sawmill on Pillot Gully in the 1860s, when the area was known as Pillotville. By 1870, Paul Kohrmann had arrived from Baden, Germany. The following year, he was naturalized, and in 1872 he married Agnes Othila Tautenhahn. Near this site, the Kohrmanns owned a general store, which also housed a post office from 1881 to 1911. Paul Kohrmann was the first postmaster, serving until his death in 1894, when Agnes was appointed postmistress. She served until 1911 when the post office closed. Agnes died in 1932, and both she and Paul are buried here in the Kohrmann Family Cemetery. The general store and Kohrville post office served as the social center of a widely dispersed population. In the late 19th century, families arrived from Prussia, Denmark, Ireland and England, as well as several Southern states. African Americans also moved here from the Piney Point area west of Houston. The locale had multiple schools, churches, sawmills and a cotton gin in the early 20th century but remained sparsely populated until suburban growth occurred. All that remains today of the original historic Kohrville to remind us of the Kohrmann family and other early settlers and their contribution to the community is an area designated as Kohrmann Park, adjacent to the Kohrmann Family Cemetery. (2006)