Pantermuel House

Duane's take

The official marker's the one tellin' this tale, and I'm just along for the ride. Now, out here in Comal County, if you know where to look, you'll find a house that has been standing its ground since about 1865. That is not a typo.

About 1865. Think on that a moment. The Pantermuehl house.

Built when the ink on the end of the Civil War was barely dry, and it is still here. Limestone and native cedar, the way the German settlers of this area knew how to build. Not fancy.

Not fragile. Just solid, the way you have to be when you are starting from nothing in a new land. Heimrich Pantermuehl was born in 1842, came to Comal County from Germany, and he and his wife Pauline put down roots in a way that was meant to last.

The limestone they pulled from this very soil. The cedar from the land around them. Small, yes.

A farm cottage, the marker calls it, and that is exactly right. It was a working home, not a showplace. But here is the thing about small and honest, it endures.

Heimrich lived until 1921. Pauline beside him through all of it. And the house they built together, with those two humble materials, limestone and cedar, it is still telling the story of what German settlers brought to this corner of Texas.

Determination, craft, and the understanding that if you build it right, you might just outlast everyone who doubted you.

What the marker says

Pioneer home of Heimrich Pantermuehl (1842 - 1921) and wife Pauline, German-born settlers of Comal County. Built about 1865, its use of limestone and native cedar is typical of small German farm cottages of this area. RTHL - 1972