by Trudy Hutton
Board President
Sept 1, 2010

2010 is the Gillespie County Historical Society’s 75th anniversary! Our Diamond Anniversary. What a milestone to celebrate. We have been blessed with a pair of match challenge grants totaling $75,000 from the Dian Graves Owen Foundation and Kathryn Harrison. Every dollar we receive in donations will be matched until our goal is met. That means every dollar donated from the community is like a two dollar donation.

We are almost half way to matching the $75,000 challenge grants. Our rich history of Fredericksburg and Gillespie County represents such a splendid tapestry of times gone by and cannot be allowed to go dormant. We ask for the support of our community and friends of the Pioneer Museum to help us to reach and exceed the goals of our two challenge grants.

The Historical Society was chartered in 1935 by a group of Fredericksburg citizens to rebuild the Vereins Kirche. The city had received its first WPA check and the reconstruction of the Vereins Kirche was among the projects funded. The Chamber of Commerce appointed a committee to oversee the reconstruction and that committee became the Gillespie County Historical Society.

The Vereins-Kirche (Society Church), the first public building in Fredericksburg, was designed by a Dr. Schubert of the Adelsverein and built by the first settlers of Fredericksburg in 1847. It followed an ancient German style known as the "Carolingian octagon," exemplified by the original portion of the cathedral of Charlemagne at Aachen. The original Vereins Kirche stood in the middle of main street and served as a church for all denominations in the community as well as a school, community center, town hall and fort. After falling into disrepair, the original building was demolished in 1896 following the 50th Anniversary of Fredericksburg celebration. The reconstructed building housed the Gillespie County Historical Society's Pioneer Museum until 1967, when the museum was moved to its present complex on Main Street. The GCHS still maintains and operates the Vereins Kirche as part of its museums.

Since the establishment of the Gillespie County Historical Society, the Pioneer Museum has acquired, renovated and maintained 11 buildings in addition to the Vereins Kirche, 10 of which now reside on the shaded grounds of the Pioneer Museum Complex. Among the buildings open for visitation are the Kammlah House (oldest house in Fredericksburg in its original location), Kammlah barn, the Cox log cabin, the White Oak one-room School, the Weber Sunday House, and the Fassel Roeder House and the Arhelger Bath House. Each of these buildings represents a different facet in Fredericksburg’s rich history.

The 75th anniversary year of the GCHS will culminate with the Tannenbaum Ball on December 4 and the Holiday Home Tour on December 11. Another event in the fall includes Log Cabin Days, October 9, featuring living history presentations along with demonstrations of rope making, the making of pioneer toys, blacksmithing, butter churning, quilting and sewing, and appearances by Chief Standing Bear and representatives of the United Indian Tribes. The public is invited to all of these events.