Schmid Bros. Building

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Back in 1880, a Swiss immigrant by the name of Josef Schmid walked into Brenham and started himself a mercantile business. Now that right there is already a story worth telling.

A man crosses an ocean, crosses a continent, and plants his flag in Washington County, Texas. But Josef wasn't done yet. By 1889, he'd brought his brothers Benjamin and Sigmund into the fold, and together the three of them became Schmid Bros.

Three brothers, one name on the door, and ambitions that apparently required a building worthy of the enterprise. So in 1899 and into 1900, they erected exactly that. What went up on that Brenham corner was built in the Renaissance revival style, with multi-bay configurations on both floors and round-arched windows dressed up with hood moldings.

This was not a modest little storefront. This was a statement. The Schmids were here, they were serious, and they wanted Brenham to know it.

The building housed their business enterprises through the decades, right up until 1934, when Schmid Bros. sold it. But here's the thing about a building that's built with that kind of intention: it doesn't just disappear from the story. It has remained a vital part of Brenham's business district ever since.

Josef came a long way from Switzerland. Turns out, so did that building.

What the marker says

Swiss immigrant Josef Schmid began a mercantile business in Brenham in 1880. He was joined by his brothers Benjamin and Sigmund to form Schmid Bros. in 1889, and in 1899-1900 they erected this building to house their business enterprises. Built in the Renaissance revival style, it features multi-bay configurations on both floors and round-arched windows with hood moldings. Sold by Schmid Bros. in 1934, it has remained a vital part of Brenham's business district.