Lindenau

Duane's take

Now here's my telling of what the official marker says about Lindenau, out in DeWitt County. Settle in, because this little community packed a whole lot of living into a stretch of South Texas prairie. By 1891, German farmers had put down roots in this corner of DeWitt County.

Two men, Charles and Daniel Wild, gave the settlement its name: Lindenau. Just how they landed on that name, the marker doesn't say, but it sounds like it came from the old country, and it sounds like it meant something to the people who carried it here. Now, two years after those first farmers arrived, in 1893, a schoolhouse went up.

And that schoolhouse wasn't just for lessons. It served as a community center and a place of worship, which tells you everything you need to know about how these folks operated. You use what you've got, and you use it for everything.

But here's the thing about Lindenau: it didn't stop there. Before long, this settlement was boasting a church, a cemetery, a mercantile store, a blacksmith shop, a drugstore, a post office, and a cotton gin. A cotton gin.

That is not a humble little crossroads. That is a community with ambitions. Then, in 1901, the rifle club formed, and they didn't just form, they built a hall.

And that hall became the social center of Lindenau. You've got to appreciate that. The rifle club outlasted the schoolhouse as the heartbeat of the place.

Now, 1906 brought a decision that only makes sense when you remember what a railroad meant to a farming town. Lindenau was moved, the whole settlement shifted, to be near the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad. Think about that for a moment.

Not the railroad coming to the town. The town going to the railroad. That is commitment.

The post office kept its doors open until 1947, and when it finally closed, Lindenau School consolidated with Westhoff. The town had changed shape more than once, but the people? Many descendants of those German farmers remain in the area to this day.

Lindenau moved for a railroad, outlasted a post office, and it's still here in the people who carry it forward. That's not a small thing.

What the marker says

By 1891 German farmers settled in this area which Charles and Daniel Wild named "Lindenau." A schoolhouse built in 1893 served as a community center and for worship. The settlement boasted a church, cemetery, mercantile store, blacksmith shop, drugstore, post office, and cotton gin. The present rifle club formed in 1901 and erected a hall which became the social center. In 1906 Lindenau was moved to be near the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad. The post office closed in 1947 and Lindenau School consolidated with Westhoff. Many descendants remain in the area.