First Solo Road Trip: History and Fun

Splattered during my visit to the Painted Churches were interesting places I discovered along the way: A couple of historical sites along with a fun one. 

Historical Site some Texans may not know about

Since I didn't grow up in Texas, I don't know a lot of that state's history except as it pertains to Tennessee. When I planned my route on Google Maps, the Kreische Brewery and Monument Hill showed up. I did a little bit of digging and decided to stop and see what this place was all about.

Heinrich Ludwig Kreische,  was a German stone mason who immigrated to Texas. In 1849, he bought 172 acres of land along the Colorado River (along with Dawson/Mier Tomb), built a 3-story house and brewery that was to become one of the first commercial breweries in Texas.

The brewery is now in ruins

When a new batch of beer was ready, the brewery would hang a banner with "Frisch Auf!" (literally, "Fresh On!") so the community would know they could gather for beer and fun.

The house is still in relatively good shape

The kitchen

A bedroom

View from the downstairs bedroom

The cistern. The girls would do their sewing here to make use of the good light.

The Monument Hill was a piece of fascinating Texas History. In 1842 and 1843, the Dawson Massacre and Black Bean Death Lottery (respectively) took place. Captain Dawson's company of 53 men answered the call for volunteers after San Antonio was captured. To make a long story short: They were intercepted by 500 "irregular Mexican cavalry". 36 of Dawson's men were killed; 15 were taken prisoner. Dawson attempted to surrender but was shot; the same fate was met by the soldier who took up the flag and rode toward the Mexican lines. The Black Bean Death Lottery occurred when 176 Texan Prisoners of War were recaptured following an escape. At first, all prisoners were going to be executed, but then it was decreed that every 10th man would be shot. Their fate would be decided by having each man draw either a black or white bean from an earthen jar. In 1848, the bodies from both events were buried at Monument Hill.

The tomb in front of the monument. The Kreische Family took care of the tomb when they owned the land.

Close-up of the monument. In 1936, the monument was erected.

Ewen Cameron was a Scot who was a Texas Hero. The town where my mother grew up is named for him.

First Shot of the Texas Revolution

In 1831, Gonzales, TX, was in Mexican Territory and had been on the receiving end of raids from Native Americans. The Mexican Government gave Gonzales a small cannon so it could protect itself from the raids. 4 years later, Santa Ana was the dictator and gave orders for the Mexicans to take the cannon, but without engaging. The Guadalupe River was high, and the Mexican in charge yelled across the river to surrender the cannon. He was told that the Texian leader was out of town and would be back the next evening, allowing reinforcements to arrive. There was a heavy fog, so the Mexicans didn't see the reinforcements arrive. The 2 leaders met with no resolution, and a flag that said "Come and Take It" was unfurled on the cannon. The cannon was then fired, and the Mexicans (with orders from Santa Ana not to fire) retreated. You can find more on the history here.

Monument of the First Shot of the Texas Revolution; intersection of State Hwy 97 and  State Hwy 95 Spur

Behind the Monument is a road that will take you to the location of 3 battles. The Children's Monument is down that road.

A close-up of the Children's Monument

Sam Houston Oak

Not far from where the First Shot happened, and down a dirt road (County Road 361), is the Sam Houston Oak. It is said that, after burning Gonzales to keep it out of the Mexican's hands, Houston's troops rested under this oak. Santa Ana is also said to have stayed under this oak a few weeks after Houston left.

The tree is on private property but can be seen from the road.

The McClure-Braches house (on the left in the distance) was built in 1843 and is still owned by a member of the Braches Family.

Now for some fun

As you read in my Painted Churches post, I visited Shiner, TX. Why wouldn't I tour the Spoetzl Brewery? Shiner is a really small town (under 3000 people) so the brewery was very easy to find. Upon paying for the tour, I received a couple of tokens for beer. The gift shop had a lot of Shiner merch, so make sure you have time to shop. I went into the shop first, then to the bar and waited for my group to be called. Upon calling for the group, the guide told us to make sure we had a cup of beer for the tour. This was the first brewery/distillery tour I've been on that did that. It was great! 

I was really impressed with how Shiner uses all Texas products to brew and bottle their beer, except for the Czech hops. Shiner is also distilling spirits, so I made sure to purchase a bit before I left and received a couple more tokens. The "Rickhouse" is a new restaurant; construction was still going on when I was there, but I did buy some sausage from the deli style restaurant. It was delicious and there was a lot of food. At the end of the tour, we were given a ticket and told to make sure we go by the admission booth for a surprise. We were gifted with a 12-pack of Shiner Bock!

The bottling section

My "parting gift"!

One Last Thing...

Weikels Bakery in La Grange. THE place to get some amazing Kolache! Before I headed out of TX, a cousin suggested a kolache place to grab a couple on my way out. Her husband said I was going to be disappointed after having Weikels'....he was right! They were so soft and fluffy...just incredible!

Kolache on the top, Klobasniky on the bottom

PSA: Please do not call these kolache!

If you're traveling to Tx between Austin and Houston, I hope I've given you some ideas of places to visit.