Hedwig's Hill Dogtrot House

The beautiful Hill Country of Texas beckoned settlers with its Llano River running clear and forests of cypress, pecan and oak trees growing thick throughout the river valley. Louis Martin was a month the first of some 7,000 Germans who traveled to Texas in 1844 as part of an agreement between the government of the Republic of Texas and German officials. Martin worked as a wagon freighter and trader, acquiring wealth and prominence in the German community that grew rapidly in the new state. (Texas joined the Union on Dec. 29, 1845.)

A man of political influence, Martin served as sheriff of Gillespie County. He also sold goods to nearby Fort Mason. In 1853, Martin moved his family to the north bank of the Llano River, where he operated a general supply store and built a house, naming the location Hedwig’s Hill for his mother and daughter, the first white child born in Fredericksburg, Texas.

In 1855, Martin bought several sections of land in what was then Gillespie County. With it he purchased, for an additional $1,200, cattle, oxen, other livestock, a wagon, farm equipment and household items. Records indicate that he is the builder of his second home, the dogtrot-style house preserved at the NRHC.