R. Grosse and Sons

Duane's take

Here's how the marker tells it, straight from the official record of Mason County. Now, most folks who build things in the Texas Hill Country learn the hard way that the land has its own opinions about what belongs here. Richard E.

Grosse, though, he came prepared. Born in 1860, educated as an architect in Germany, he arrived in Mason County in 1882 with a set of skills that this rugged limestone country was going to put to very good use. He settled first in Plehweville, the community that goes by Art these days, and he got to work as a stonemason.

In 1886 he married Louisa Carolina Von Donop, and life in the Hill Country was taking shape. Then came the sons. And when those boys arrived, Grosse did what any proud father with a head for business might do.

He named the whole operation after them. R. Grosse and Sons.

Just like that, a family legacy had a name on it. He opened a lumberyard, built the business up, and in 1895 he moved the operation to Mason itself, where he kept right on running it. Now here is where it gets interesting.

The Grosse firm didn't just put up plain, practical buildings and call it a day. Many public and private buildings across that area were designed by the firm, some of them featuring a unique utilization of local materials worked into elaborate architectural styles. A man trained in Germany, working with Hill Country stone, leaving his mark on a landscape that was still figuring out what it wanted to be.

Richard E. Grosse lived until 1944, and long after he was gone, the buildings remained. That is how you make something last in Texas.

You use what the land gives you, and you build it to stay.

What the marker says

Born and educated as an architect in Germany, Richard E. Grosse (1860-1944) came to Mason County in 1882. Settling first in Plehweville (Art), he worked as a stonemason and married Louisa Carolina Von Donop in 1886. He opened a lumberyard and, upon the births of his sons, named his business "R. Grosse and Sons." Moving to Mason in 1895, Grosse continued to operate his lumber business. Many public and private buildings in the area were designed by the Grosse firm, some featuring unique utilization of local materials in elaborate architectural styles. (1988)