Historical Landmarks Guide

4  Whitehall, or the Cline-Harper House, was built in 1897. The Alex Klein family, which founded the Klein Funeral Home and Klein Grocery Store in Tomball, lived in the home in the ’20s and ’30s. Former Spring ISD Superintendent John Winship also lived in the house in the ’40s and ’50s.

5  The Bradley House was one of the first homes built by Robert L. Robinson, who began building homes in Spring in 1902. Many of the shops in Old Town Spring are housed in homes built by Robinson.

6  The Spring Bank building has been absorbed into the commerce of Old Town Spring. Built in 1910, the bank was destroyed in a fire in 1917 and was rebuilt. A legend that the bank was robbed by bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde has been disproven by local historians, but the bank was robbed twice in the ’30s during the Great Depression.

7  The Wunsche Brothers building has been a staple of Spring since it was built in 1902 as the Wunsche Brothers Saloon and Hotel. Carl Wunsche immigrated with his family from Germany in 1846. His grandsons built the structure to accommodate railroad employees. Prohibition forced the saloon to close, but it was later re-opened as a cafe.

8  The Wilhelm Lemm House still stands off of a private road. Lemm came to Texas in the 1840’s and settled on land provided by the Republic of Texas. He served in the Civil War and was given 160 acres for his service.

 

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[caption id="attachment_77065" align="alignright" width="460"] Klein Historical Landmarks[/caption]

1  The fourth Kohrville schoolhouse sits at the Klein, Texas Historical Museum. Kohrville was an African-American community formed in the Klein area in the 1860s mostly composed of freed slaves from Alabama and Mississippi. The first schoolhouse was built in the 1890s. This building—relocated from its original location—was built in 1949 and served as an educational facility for hundreds of black students until 1966, the year Klein ISD became fully integrated.

2  The home of Peter Wunderlich II sits at its original location on Wunderlich Farms. The structure—built in 1891—still features most of the original wood and many of the original farm buildings. Wunderlich was the son of Peter Wunderlich I, a German settler who arrived in Klein in 1852 and was killed in 1863 in a powder mill explosion during the Civil War.

3  Peter Wunderlich II also constructed a home for Maria Katharina Wunderlich, his mother. The house was built in 1874 at a different location on the family farm. It was sold and relocated to the Klein, Texas Historical Foundation in 1995.

4  The Hildebrandt house was originally located near the intersection of Spring Cypress and Falvel roads. The home was built in 1882 for the Kreinhops, one of the founding families of the Klein area. The Kreinhop family sold the home for $6,000 in 1917 to Ed Hildebrandt, who raised three children with wife Lydia Theiss.

5  A marker sits at this location on private land commemorating the Theiss family. One of the original founding families of the Klein area, the Theiss family—Johann Heinrich Theiss, his wife Katherina and their four children—immigrated from Germany in 1846. Johann Theiss bought 200 acres of land in Rosehill, and the family was integral in the creation of Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball.

6  Sitting behind the KISD Administration building rests the old Klein High School. KISD, originally named Rural High School District No. 1, was a consolidation of several local schools in 1928. The land for the high school was purchased from the Doerre family, and the 88-square-mile district immediately became one of the largest in Harris County.

7  Located behind metal gates along Spring Cypress Road, the Klein House was built by Adam Frederick Klein. Adam was a grandson of the first Klein family settlers in the region. The house was relocated several hundred feet from the original location but still rests on land purchased by Adam Klein Sr. for 33.5 cents an acre in 1854. The home is owned by Klein descendant and famous country music artist Lyle Lovett, who stays in the home when he visits the area.

8  This marker in front of Klein High School commemorates the Klein community. The marker notes the early settlements by German settlers in the mid-to-late 1800s and the establishment of KISD. The property—about 100 acres—was purchased by William Jefferey in 1904 for $2.50 an acre.

9  Although it has grown and changed over the last 140 years, Trinity Lutheran Church still serves the Klein community. Still featuring the same old church bell from the 1880s, Trinity Lutheran Church was originally chartered in 1874 by many of the founding families of the region, including the Theisses, Kaisers, Kleins, Brills, Wunderlichs, Benfers, Bernshausens and Lemms. The church served as a house of worship, Christian day school and social gathering place for the community.

10  Now a Music Rack location at 17934 Kuykendahl Road, the building was originally the Kuenhle House. Twins Johann and Jacob Kuehnle immigrated to Texas in the 1850s. Both brothers fought in the Civil War, and Jacob died from battle wounds. The home was relocated from FM 1960 near the Olde Oaks subdivision where the Kuehnle Cemetery still sits.

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