East Main Street Historic District

The East Main Street Historic District in Pflugerville, Texas, includes four brick buildings that retain architectural integrity and reflect the historic character of the community and its commercial development at the tum of the twentieth century. The district is nominated under Criterion A in the Area of Community Planning and Development for its association with the development of the small rural community that grew into a commercial center for this agricultural region along the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT, or "Katy") Railroad line to Austin. The small district is oriented perpendicular to the railroad tracks, and includes the most substantial commercial properties that served the community. The district is nominated under Criterion C in the area of Architecture for its collection of one- and two-story early 20"'-century commercial buildings, finished with decorative detailing typical of the Late Victorian and early 20"' century period throughout Texas, and much of the United States. The period of significance is 1909-1912, the period during which the buildings were constructed. The district is located in a fast-growing area of central Texas, and city has seen its population increase threefold to over 46,000 since 2000. The City of Pflugerville is committed to maintaining the historic core of the community, and listing in the National Register of Historic Places will further assist the property owners in their goal to retain the character of the city's Main Street.

Pflugerville was named for Henry Pfluger (1803-1867), who brought his family to the area from the Hesse region of Germany in 1849. Pfluger and his wife Catherine Leise lived in Altenhausungen, and had six children: Conrad, Catherine, George, Marie Elizabeth, Ludwig, and William. Catherine died in the 1840s, and Henry then married Anna Christina Kleinschmid of Balhom, who would give birth to six additional Pfluger children, five of whom survived past infancy: Henry, John, Charley, August, and Elizabeth.^ Pfluger was a successful farmer in Germany, but lost his property in the 1848 Revolution of the German States ("March Revolufion"). Relatives in the United States encouraged him to emigrate, so Pfluger sent his sons Conrad and George to Texas 1849. They landed at Indianola, and continued to the vicinity of Austin, where their uncle John Leise lived. The rest of the Pfluger family arrived in Galveston in January 1850 after a thirteen-week voyage.'' Henry Pfluger purchased 160 acres east of central Austin, where the family settled for three years. In 1853, John Leise sold Pfluger 960 acres located at the forks of Wilbarger Creek, in an area known as Brushy Knob, approximately five miles east of present-day Pflugerville. The family built a five-room house and established a farm, bringing their products (including com, cotton, and sheep) into Austin for trade on a monthly basis. Sons William and Ludwig served in the Confederate army, while George and Conrad hauled freight for the CSA. Henry Sr. lived at the homestead until his death 1867. His wife Catherine remained in the home until about 1892, when she moved to the home of her daughter Elizabeth Braker in nearby Taylor, Williamson County, where she died in 1897. The rest of the Pfiuger children remained in central Texas.

The community was comprised of small farms without a core business district through the remainder of the 19* century. Residents established a one-room school in 1872, and a Lutheran church in 1874. The community lacked a general store until 1890, when Louis Bohls opened one near the present-day intersection of Pecan and Immanuel roads, about 0.75 miles east of the nominated district. Prior to the opening of Bohls' store, residents had traveled to Austin, Round Rock, or Manor for supplies. The Pflugerville post office was established at the store in 1893, with Bohls serving as the first postmaster. By the mid-1890s Pflugerville had a population of 250, and a small assortment of businesses, though residents did their banking and shipping in Round Rock, eight miles northwest in Williamson County.