MASON COUNTY HISTORIC MARKERS

homesite
photo by Lt. Col. Kendall Bergmann (Ret.)
July 29, 2020


KOTHMANN HOMESITE AND CEMETERY MARKER			Off Hwy 87, near intersection with Lower Willow Creek Rd. in Art, Tx			DEDICATION DATE 1984

KOTHMANN HOMESITE AND CEMETERY MARKER

Marker Text: Heinrich Conrad Kothmann (178-1881) and his wife Ilse Katherine Pahlmann (1810-1905) and their family sailed from Germany to Indianola, Texas in 1845. Among the first families to settle in Fredericksburg, the Kothmann's were issued a 640-acre land grant in Mason County in 1848. In 1856 they moved to Art and were among the first immigrant families in this area. A trained cabinet maker and musician, Kothmann began ranching and acquired another 640-acre tract of land.

Located on their former homestead, the Kothmann Cemetery is all that remains of the original ranch site. Containing only five graves, all of the Kothmann family members, the graveyard began with the burial of Heinrich Conrad Kothmann in 1881. His wife Ilse is buried beside him. Their son Karl, the 1st of their family born in Texas, is buried here along with his wife Katherine (Hoerster) Kothmann. A fifth unmarked grave is thought to be that of a grand-child.

Though most of the land was sold afer Ilse's death in 1905, the family retained one acre including the cemetery property. The concrete wall and slab were constructed after 1937 to provide protection and ease for maintenance for the five graves. The family maintains the cemetery. (1996)

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