The Stockman Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1867, somebody put up a brick building on this spot in Bexar County, and the man behind it was Diedrich Heye. Born in Germany in 1837, Heye was what you'd call a master leather craftsman, and he wasn't making trinkets.

He was turning out the fine saddles, the bridles, the harness that the ranching and trail driving life absolutely depended on. You didn't move cattle across Texas on a handshake. You did it on good leather, and Diedrich Heye was the man who made it.

Now, the marker makes a point of telling you who came through that door to do business. Captain Richard King, of King Ranch fame, was among his customers. King Ranch.

Other historic cattlemen too. That's the kind of clientele that tells you something about a man's work without needing to say another word. The building itself has got a story worth noting on its own.

Victorian brick facade, native limestone walls, handsome arched windows, and an elaborate cornice with a parapet up top. And there's a cartouche on that building that shows the name of the builder, right there in stone, because some men build things meant to last and they know it when they do it. Diedrich Heye lived until 1896, and that building outlasted him by quite a stretch.

By 1970, the Stockman Corporation had taken it on themselves to restore the original facade and preserve those walls, calling it a tribute to the building's history. So next time you pass a building that's been standing since 1867, still wearing its original face, still carrying a craftsman's name in stone, you might stop and think about the saddles that were stitched inside, and the cattlemen who came riding in to claim them.

What the marker says

Erected 1867 to house shop of Diedrich Heye (1837-96), German-born master leather craftsman who made in this building the fine saddles, bridles, and harness required for ranching and trail driving. He was merchant to Capt. Richard King of King Ranch and other historic cattlemen. The Stockman Corporation, in tribute to its history, in 1970 restored and is preserving the original Victorian brick facade and native limestone walls. The architecture features handsome arched windows and an elaborate cornice with parapet. Cartouche shows the name of the builder. (1971)