| |
| | The
Judge Stiehl House
Photo by John Troesser, 6-2004 |
One
of Texas’ early libraries was opened in a small fachwerk cottage that had been
built in 1852 as a residence. Shaded by one of the area’s huge Live Oak trees
– it remains in use today - to hold art meetings. Fachwerk buildings were once
common in areas with healthy German populations, but as times changed – the style
was abandoned.
Originally it was the home of Judge John C. Stiehl and
family. Stiehl was the first German-born Fayette County Judge. As the initial
Anglo settlers sold off their land to the newly-arrived Germans, the vacancies
in public office were filled by men elected by the people they represented. |
When
the judge moved into housing more in tune with his office, he sold his house to
the literary society for $700. The library was organized in 1888 and in 1902 it
was officially “born.” The library’s very first volume was Robert Louis Stevenson’s
St. Ives (one of his lesser-known efforts). The book's donor was mentioned only
as “a doctor’s wife.”
The “Etaerio” Club formed in 1912. The Latin name
means “companionship” The society took their motto from Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor
Lost:
“Learning is but an adjunct to ourselves, and where we are learning
is likewise.”
Despite their catchy motto, the Etaerio Club disbanded in
1938 but not before they had assembled 1,500 volumes. The first librarian was
Miss Norma Willrich followed by Miss Minnie Crum and then Miss Agnes Robson. |
| The
globe of the porch light attracts wasps each year. |
| The
structure – an excellent example of what the neighborhoods must’ve looked like
in the mid 1800s - got the attention of preservationists and the house was rebuilt
in the late 1960s. The bricks were cleaned and all exterior boards replaced with
weather-resistant redwood. |
| | Another
view of the first library building in La Grange
Photo by John Troesser,
6-2004 | |
|
