Art Community Club in Art, Texas

History of the Art Community

In 1856 three German families, living in Fredericksburg, finally received their Fisher-Miller Land grants from the state of Texas. Each family that was willing to move into the 5,000 square mile area, primarily between the Llano and Colorado Rivers would receive their own square mile of real-estate from which to make their new home.

These three families’ grants did not initially boarder each other. Having sailed together in 1845 from Germany to the Texas coast, the Jordan, Kothmann and Hoerster families developed close friendships during their 10 year migration from the gulf inland to Fredericksburg. The three families sold and repurchased land that joined each other on the fertile banks of Willow Creek. Each of their 640 Acre parcels shared a common corner where the town of Art Texas stands today.

Soon other Fredericksburg based German families moved to the area including, the Dannheims, Hasses, Donops, Leifestes, Lehmbergs, Bauers, and Pluennekes. And so, the Art Community was born.

In 1858 Ernst Jordan donated one half acre of land to be used to construct a log building to serve as a school and church. In 1883 J.A. Hoerster opened the first dry goods store in downtown Art. In 1885 Hoerster sold the store, barn, and house to Otto Plehwe who then opened the first post office. Otto renamed the town after himself, calling it Plehweville. After much trouble with mail being mis-directed to Pflugerville, the 1920 postmaster Eli Dechert officially changed the name to Art, Texas.

The families who settled the Upper Willow Creek area were not only farmers and ranchers but were also trained as teachers, ministers, pharmacists, physicians, nurses, lawyers, masons, carpenters, as well as having many other enterprising skills. So it should not be a surprise that today’s Upper Willow Creek residents often have similar occupations to those early pioneers.