Johann Breustedt emigrated to the United States in 1845, settling in New Braunfels. He married Caroline Dauer and acquired 200 acres at the edge of town. Breustedt had built a four-room home with a large central hall, and as the family grew he built a separate rock kitchen off the house. The Breustedts risked imprisonment – or death – by sheltering Union sympathizers during the Civil War.
The Breustedt home today is the Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture, housed within Heritage Village, and which exhibits more than 70 pieces of Texas Biedermeier furniture, most of it made in New Braunfels.