The Fritz Schroeder Home

Jacob and Dorothea Schroeder, the first settlers in the Spring Branch area, built a log cabin in about 1839 in what is now Hedwig Village. Their son, Friedrich "Fritz" Schroeder (1833-ca. 1903), was born in Germany and immigrated to Texas with his parents. In 1859, Fritz purchased farmland in what is now Smithdale Estates in the City of Piney Point Village. He married Dorathe Bleker in about 1860, before serving in the Confederate army. The couple built their home on the farm in about 1865, using timber from the nearby Rummel-Hildebrandt-Bauer sawmill. Over the years, the house passed through several owners and was renovated in the mid-twentieth century as a country home. In the early 1990s, the property was purchased and developed into Smithdale Estates, and the Schroeder house was donated by the developers, Memorial Builders, to the City of Piney Point Village. It was moved to 435 Piney Point in 1993, where it is now owned and maintained as a private residence by the Memorial Villages Water Authority, and a front porch and spindle railings were added at that time. The Schroeder home appears to be the oldest remaining residential structure in west Houston, and it and the 1864 St. Peter Church on Long Point Road are the only known remaining buildings of the German pioneers who settled the Spring Branch area.

Piney Point Village, Texas · United States