Lindemann Store

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Lindemann Store in Austin County, Texas. Now settle in, because this one's a story about roots that go deep and branches that just keep spreadin'. It starts in 1884, in the German community of Industry, when two men, Edward Lindemann and Franz Getschmann, opened up a general store together.

Edward Lindemann had been born in 1859, and he had the kind of steady ambition that doesn't make a lot of noise but does make a lot of progress. By 1889, the business had prospered so well that Lindemann bought out his partner's share entirely. Just like that, the whole enterprise belonged to one family, and it would stay that way.

The store in those early days wasn't just a place to buy things. It was the heartbeat of the community. Farmers from the surrounding regions came through those doors to exchange produce for manufactured goods, and the shelves held just about everything a family could need: groceries, medicines, dry goods, fabrics, notions, housewares.

You name it, the Lindemann Store likely had it. But Edward Lindemann wasn't the type to wait for customers to come to him if he could help it. After 1889, the store rolled out what they called a peddle wagon service, carrying goods directly out to the farms and hauling produce back to town by wagon.

That's a man who understood that sometimes you bring the store to the people. Then in 1892 the railroad came through the area, and the Lindemann Store did what savvy operations do when the world changes around them. It expanded its freighting operation to match the moment.

The decades kept turning, and by the early 1940s, agricultural products were in great demand, and the store shifted its whole emphasis from general merchandise toward agri-business. Edward Lindemann, who had started all of this back in 1884, passed away in 1931, but the family kept right on going. A family business throughout its entire history, the Lindemann Store has continued providing needed services to Industry and the surrounding area, right on up to the present day.

Some stores are just stores. This one's a testament.

What the marker says

The history of the Lindemann Store dates to 1884, when Edward Lindemann (1859-1931) and Franz Getschmann opened a general store in the German community of Industry. By 1889, the business had prospered so well that Lindemann bought his partner's share of the store. In the early days, the Lindemann Store served as a community gathering place as well as a center where items such as groceries, medicines, dry goods, fabrics, notions, and housewares could be purchased. Farmers from the surrounding regions came to the store to exchange produce for manufactured goods. After 1889 the store offered a "peddle wagon" service, whereby goods were brought directly to the farms and produce was taken to town by wagon. When the railroad came through the area in 1892, the Lindemann Store expanded its freighting operation. By the early 1940s, agricultural products were in great demand, and the store's emphasis changed from general merchandise to agri-business. The Lindemann Store, which has remained a family business throughout its history, continues to provide needed services to Industry and the surrounding area. (1984)