General Info:
The German Free School; built in 1857German Free School HistoryThe German Free School is the headquarters of the German-Texan Heritage Society, and is located in Austin, Texas at 507 E. 10th Street. The building is open for tours on Thursdays, from 12 pm to 4 pm, or by appointment.Why a German Free School?When a great number of German immigrants settled in Austin in the 1850s, they discovered to their dismay that there were no free public schools available. Most of the settlers were well educated, either as craftsmen or in fields like botany, geology, medicine, surveying, music, the arts and many more. They considered a good education of all children absolutely necessary for a healthy, progressive society. They decided to do something about it.Following the example of Germans in San Antonio, a public meeting was held in Austin and steps were taken to establish a school which had as its purpose “education of youth, the promotion of useful knowledge and the advancement of sciences…without regards to religious opinions”. They founded the “German Free School Association”. When the school opened in 1858, it was the first chartered school in Austin. Boys and girls were admitted, as were Catholics, Jews, Protestants and Freethinkers. No clergyman was allowed to teach. Languages used were English and German.Since financial help from the government was smaller than hoped for, the school was not tuition free except for orphans, children of widows and others in need, but it was free of religious instruction. The German Free School held classes until about 1878, shortly after Austin started its public school system.The Original BuildingThe location chosen for the new school house was just east of downtown on Mulberry Street, west of Waller Creek on a bluff which made it easier to defend in case of an attack by Indians. Wilhelm von Rosenberg donated the lot and $1,000 in gold to cover expenses. Construction began in the fall of 1857 and took place on Saturdays with volunteer labor. The outer walls were raised using the rammed earth technique, then new to Austin, wherein a wooden frame was filled with crushed limestone, water and lime, rammed down and let dry. The frame was then raised, and the process repeated.The original building was 20 x 100 feet, one floor, with a flue on both ends for two pot belly stoves. Since the house is on a slope, only the north part has a basement which was stocked with sauerkraut, dried meat and water in preparation for that Indian attack that never occurred. Windows on the east and the west side allowed for a breeze. The roof consisted of cypress shingles from Louisiana. Wide pine planks were used for the floor. A folding door divided the rectangular space into two rooms, one for boys, the other one for girls. Undivided, the school house could serve as a public meeting hall.The outside was painted yellow with red and black decorations under the windowsills. (Black, red and gold [yellow] were the colors of the banner flown then by Germans back home who fought for democracy. It is also the flag of present day Germany.) There was a cistern on the north part of the lot, a playground and an area for gymnastics. There is no known drawing or photograph of the 1857 original structure.The Two Story AdditionIn 1872, the principal, Julius Schutze, arranged to have a two story addition built on the north end of the building. It served at times as additional class rooms, but also as living space for his growing family. The second floor was accessible by an outside staircase similar to the Sunday houses in Fredericksburg. What is now a balcony was then used mainly as a screened-in sleeping porch.The walls of this section were not rammed earth but limestone. Their northern exposure causes reoccurring fungus problems. A fire in 1919, which destroyed the roof and much of the interior of the original building, saved most of the 2 story addition which now has the only original door left. It lea...