Crabapple, Texas

Crabapple, Texas
Crabapple, Texas Location within the state of Texas
Coordinates: 30°26′35″N 98°50′15″W / 30.44306°N 98.8375°W / 30.44306; -98.8375Coordinates: 30°26′35″N 98°50′15″W / 30.44306°N 98.8375°W / 30.44306; -98.8375
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Gillespie
Elevation	1,775 ft (541 m)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code
Area code(s)	830
FIPS code
GNIS feature ID	1379606[1]

Crabapple, Texas is an unincorporated farming and ranching community 10.5 miles (16.9 km) north of Fredericksburg in Gillespie County, Texas located on Crabapple Creek,^[2] about halfway between Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock State Park^[3] at an elevation of 1,775 feet. ^[4] The school was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 10022 in 1994.^[5] The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas on May 6, 2005, NRHP Reference #:05000390^[6].

Settlers and community

The initial European settlers in Crabapple were German immigrants Friedrich Welgehausen, Jacob Land, Adam Pehl, Mathias Schmidt,^[7] Nicolaus Rusche,^[8] James Riley, Heinrich Kneese, and Jacob^[9] and Adam Fries ^[10] in the mid 19th Century.^[11]

On December 15, 1847, a petition was submitted to create Gillespie County. In 1848, the legislature formed Gillespie County from Bexar and Travis counties.

For more details on this topic, see List of Petitioners to Create Gillespie County, Texas.

While the signers were overwhelmingly German immigrants, names also on the petition were Castillo, Pena, Munos, and a handful of non-German Anglo names.

Crabapple School and post office

Farmer Mathias Schmidt donated the land for a Crabapple school, earning the privilege by running a footrace with neighbor Crockett Riley who had also offered to donate land.^[12] Area families built the native limestone structure with their own labor. The 1878 school had a single classroom, with an adjoining room for the teacher living quarters. An outer staircase led to a second story storage space. An additional room was added later.

The original schoolhouse also served as a post office from 1887-1910. The first postmaster was John J. Stein.^[13] There were a total of nine postmasters before the mail was routed to Willow City in 1910.

A second limestone school was built in 1882 that also served as a Lutheran church, until the St. John's congregation erected its own building in 1887.

Twenty-eight teachers taught at Crabapple School before it consolidated with Fredericksburg Independent School District in 1994.

Balanced Rock

Balanced Rock ^{[14] [15]} was a famous local landmark that perched atop Bear Mountain in the Crabapple Community.^[16] The natural stone pillar, about the size of a small elephant, precariously balanced on its small tip. It fell prey to vandals^[17] who dynamited it off its base in April 1986.

See also

• Cherry Spring
• Cherry Springs Dance Hall
• Doss
• Enchanted Rock
• Fredericksburg
• Loyal Valley
• Sisterdale
• Texas Hill Country
• Willow City

References

1. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ Crabapple Creek from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Texas State Historical Association
3. ^ Kennedy, Ira. "Enchanted Rock". Tourin' Texas. http://www.texfiles.com/tourintexas/july2003/enchantedrock/index.htm. Retrieved 29 April 2010.  TexFiles
4. ^ "Geographical Names Information System, Crabapple". U.S. Dept of the Interior. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=135:3:506600786398600::NO:3:P3_FID,P3_TITLE:1379606,Crabapple. Retrieved 29 April 2010.  U.S. Dept of the Interior
5. ^ "Crabapple School". Texas Historical Markers. William Nienke, Sam Morrow. http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5171010022. Retrieved 29 April 2010. 
6. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
7. ^ "Schmidt, Mathias, Gravestone". Fredericksburg Geneaological Society. http://www.fbgtxgensoc.org/photos/sjl/pages/Schmidt,Mathias_jpg.html. Retrieved 29 April 2010.  Fredericksburg Geneaological Society
8. ^ "Rusche, Nicolaus, Gravestone". Fredericksburg Geneaological Society. http://www.fbgtxgensoc.org/photos/rus/pages/Rusche,Nicolaus_jpg.html. Retrieved 29 April 2010.  Fredericksburg Geneaological Society
9. ^ "Fries, Jacob and Emily, Gravestone". Fredericksburg Geneaological Society. http://www.fbgtxgensoc.org/photos/eck/pages/Fries,Jacob&Emily_jpg.html. Retrieved 29 April 2010.  Fredericksburg Geneaological Society
10. ^ "Fries, Adam, Gravestone". Fredericksburg Geneaological Society. http://www.fbgtxgensoc.org/photos/stm1/pages/Fries,Adam.html. Retrieved 29 April 2010.  Fredericksburg Geneaological Society
11. ^ Kohout, Martin Donell: Crabapple, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Texas State Historical Association
12. ^ "Crabapple School and Community Center". The Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools. http://www.historicschools.org/crabapple.htm. Retrieved 29 April 2010.  The Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools
13. ^ "Crabapple Postmasters". Jim Wheat. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txpost/gillespie.html. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Jim Wheat
14. ^ "Balanced Rock Postcard". Playle's Online Auction. http://www.playle.com/listing.php?PHPSESSID=evb0p1qghdkh2q2hqbifdq81o0&i=ETEXBILL5244. Retrieved 29 April 2010. Playle's Auctions
15. ^ "Balanced Rock Pillar". Mountain Zone. http://www.mountainzone.com/mountains/detail.asp?fid=2925056. Retrieved 29 April 2010. 
16. ^ Kennedy, Ira. "Crabapple Community". Tourin' Texas. http://www.texfiles.com/tourintexas/july2003/crabapple/index.htm. Retrieved 29 April 2010.  TexFiles
17. ^ "Vandals Blast Balanced Rock". Schenectady Gazette. 26 April 1986. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5wkhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WXIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2947,6106926&dq=balanced+rock+texas&hl=en. 

External links

• Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools
• Gillespie County Historical Society