Witte-Schmid Haus Museum
Independence Trail Region
In 1860, Dr. Ernest Witte and his wife built their retirement home on 1,400 acres in Texas. Natives of Blomberg, Germany, they built a German-style fachwerk home — with a broad central passage that functions as an additional room. The Wittes raised cattle and cotton on their farmstead where the house sits atop a hill for catching the breeze. After Witte’s death in 1869, the home – lovingly called “Das Haus” – remained with his descendants until 1986, when it was given to the Texas German Society by Annie Schmid and her son, Sanford. Besides being one of the oldest examples of German-Texan architecture in Austin County, the house is a living museum of early frontier history.