Shiner-Welhausen Homestead

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1875, a man named Henry B. Shiner purchased this land right here in Lavaca County, and he had one thing in mind: cattle.

This was going to be his cattle raising enterprise, and by all accounts, that's exactly what it became. But the story doesn't stop there. It rarely does in Texas.

In 1887, when the railroad came pushing through the area, Henry Shiner made a move that would echo down through history. He donated land for a townsite. That townsite was later named in his honor.

So when you pass a sign that says Shiner, well, now you know the man behind it. Now here's the wrinkle that makes this homestead's story a little more layered than most. Shiner had already sold this very property to a man named Charles Welhausen back in 1884, three years before that railroad even arrived.

Sold it, and yet the Shiner family kept right on livin' here until 1890. You have to appreciate that kind of arrangement. Then the Welhausens took up full residence, building their own chapter into these grounds, until 1895, when they packed up and moved into the town of Shiner itself.

The town that bears the name of the man who sold the land to the family that now owns it. That's a circle worth appreciating. And own it they still do.

Welhausen descendants hold this property to this day, and over the years it has been the site of picnics, cattle round-ups, baseball games, and all manner of community gathering. Some pieces of land just seem to hold people together. This is one of them.

What the marker says

Henry B. Shiner purchased this land in 1875 for his cattle raising enterprise. In 1887, when the railroad was built through the area, he donated land for a townsite, which was later named in his honor. Although the homestead was sold to Charles Welhausen in 1884, the Shiner family continued to reside here until 1890. The Welhausens lived on the homestead until 1895, when they moved into the town of Shiner. Still owned by Welhausen descendants, this property has been the site of picnics, cattle round-ups, baseball games, and other community activities.