St. Barnabas Episcopal Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just as it stands. Way back in the early days of Fredericksburg, when the town was still finding its footing, a German settler by the name of Peter Walter got to work. He threw up a log cabin on his lot first, the way a practical man does, then turned his attention to something more lasting.

In 1846, he began building a permanent home using fachwerk construction. Now that's the old-world timber-frame technique the German settlers brought with them, and Walter put it to use right there in the Hill Country. That house would go on to become one of the earliest homes in Fredericksburg.

He owned and farmed the surrounding land, and on top of that he plied his trade as a wagoner, hauling out to Fort McKavett. A man keeping busy on multiple fronts, which tends to be the only way anything gets built in new country. The house stood.

Decades passed. Then, in 1952, a parish was formed, and that parish bought the old Walter place. They saw something in those fachwerk walls worth saving.

The house was restored as a mission, and on St. Barnabas Day, December 16, 1954, Bishop Everett H. Jones came and consecrated it.

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. A German settler's labor from 1846, still standing and still in use more than a century later.

Some things, it turns out, are built to last.

What the marker says

Originally one of earliest homes in Fredericksburg. built by German settler Peter Walter. Walter built log cabin on lot, then began permanent home of fachwerk construction, 1846. He owned and farmed surrounding land while plying his trade of wagoner to Fort McKavett. House was bought by parish formed in 1952. Restored as a mission, it was consecrated by Bishop Everett H. Jones on St. Barnabas Day, dec. 16, 1954. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962