[Historic Marker Application: Remschel House] Page: 3 of 32

                                
REMSCIIEL IIOUSE
Gonzales, the present county seat of Gonzales County, Texas, was established April 14,
1825. It was chosen as the capital of Green DeWitt's Colony. Geographically it was to be
located two and one-half miles from the confluence of the Guadalupe and San Marcos Rivers on
James Kerr Creek. James Kerr, surveyor and attorney for DeWitt, completed the town plot,
containing four square leagues of land, on May 26, 1832. A small area within the tract, composed
of forty-nine blocks, was designated as Inner Town and saints were used to name the streets. The
remainder of the four leagues was referred to as Outer Town.'
Due to trouble with Native Americans and the Runaway Scrape, the area was sparsely
populated in 1832. After Texas won its independence from Mexico, the abundant water supply
and rolling, well-drained land lured new settlers to the area. Cattle raising and farming were the
main sources of income. Cotton became the number one crop. Timber in the area provided fuel
as well as walnut for the many cabinet makers. As the head of the Chisholm Trail was in nearby
Seguin, cattle drives came through the city after the Civil War until the railroad arrived in 1882.
In 1888, a second railroad, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad, was built through
Gonzales.2 With the arrival of the railroad, business in Gonzales experienced growth. One of
these newly established businesses was the Remschel Lumber Company located on the west side
of the 700 block of St. Paul Street. The company was founded by Julius H. H. Remschel
(September 20, 1832-May 13, 1894), a native of Berlin, Germany, who came to America via the
then thriving port of Indianola.3 The lumber company, later moved to the corner of St. Andrew
and St. Peter Streets, was a vital business that provided building materials for the people of
Gonzales as well as a large portion of Central Texas.4 Many of the structures standing today were

1