Plehwe Complex

The trio of buildings that forms the Plehwe Complex represents an important survival of a mid-19th-century homestead in central Texas. Constructed as the residences of the Prussian immigrant Charles Felix George von Plehwe and his wife Sophie, the buildings also served as a stagecoach stop for the stage lines operating out of San Antonio.

The three structures comprising the Plehwe compound reflect the simple character of central Texas vernacular architecture during the mid-19th century. Hewn-log construction is combined with rough limestone masonry on two of the three buildings. The largest of the structures, the one-and-a-half-story residence of Mrs. Plehwe (structure No. 1), is perhaps the most characteristically German. It resembles the so-called Sunday-house form that is so prominent a feature of the Fredericksburg landscape. While all of the buildings have undergone some alterations over the years, their original form and character are readily apparent and worthy of study.

The builder of these structures, Charles Felix George von Plehwe, was born in Berlin in 1823. Part of a family noted for its military service, Plehwe rose to the rank of captain in the King's Guard attached to the court of Frederick William II of Prussia. In 1848 he married Sophie von Pless, a ward of the court and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth of Bavaria. It appears that the revolution of 1848, combined with Captain Plehwe's poor health, induced the couple to emigrate to the United States in 1851. Plehwe purchased 1,000 acres of land near Leon Springs in Bexar County, which surrounds the complex of buildings in question. Soon after the completion of the homestead structures, Plehwe contracted with the stage line that operated between El Paso and San Antonio to use his farm as a coach stop, where water and fresh horses could be obtained. The stage line stopped there once a week on its way west from San Antonio.

Captain Plehwe also affiliated himself with John Meusebach, the former head of the Adelsverein, whose goal was to encourage the settlement of Germans in Texas. Plehwe also served as a Justice of the Peace in Bexar County for a number of years. After his death in 1882, Plehwe's widow continued to reside on the property until her death in 1901. The property was acquired by the Altgelt family, the Plehwe's neighbors, who leased the structures out to tenants. The Altgelts sold the property in the 1940s, and it went through a series of owners until it was acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell Martin in 1976.