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About Our Building
 Watch our museum's restoration progress...
From the inception of the
Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum in the early months of 2000, the idea of
preserving a historic structure to house the museum was of utmost importance
to our organization. The Board of Trustees considered several sites,
including building a new facility on or near the now legendary
Cardwell Flats, where in 1866 Crockett Cardwell gathered some 1,800
head of Longhorns to be driven to St. Joseph, Missouri. However, since
historic preservation is an important component of our organization's
mission, the search continued for an historical structure. Ultimately,
in May 2002, the organization purchases the Knights of
Pythias Hall (c. 1903). located in Cuero, Texas.
The United States Congress chartered the Knights of Pythias organization in 1864
to begin healing the wounds created by the Civil War. The first Texas Chapter
was established in Houston in 1872 and in 1889 several prominent Cuero
citizens successfully filed a chapter application. In 1902, the Knights of
Pythias hired James Wahrenberger, who studied mathematics and architecture
in Switzerland and Germany, (the first Texas architect with a professional
architectural degree), and built the Knights of Pythias Hall, Jewel Lodge, No. 103.
The upstairs portion of the building served as the recreational, dining
and ceremonial space, while the ground floor was one large open space,
made available for lease which supplemented the ongoing costs of building
maintenance. A photograph taken on January 26, 1910, (pictured with this text)
shows wagons filled with cabbage waiting to be unloaded into the Moore & Sames
wholesale grocery business, which operated out of the ground floor level
of the building. Another photograph taken in approximately 1915 shows the
tenant as the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicles & Nagel Garage.
Located in the 300 block of North Esplanade in Cuero, the building comprises
10,000 square feet on two floors and features some of Wahrenberger’s creative
use of fanciful brick work in Romanesque Revival style. Cuero’s Jewel Lodge
produced two grand chancellors for the state organization. Mr. D.P. Blake
served in the 1899-90 term and Mr. John T. Wofford served in 1910 (he died in
office while serving as the leader of the state organization.) In 1988, the
Knights of Pythias Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
as part of the Cuero Commercial Historic District. In 2003, the
Texas Historical Commission
awarded the property a Registered Texas Historic Landmark designation.
Proper Restoration of the Building:
Considered to be an equally important component in the establishment of our Museum,
the Board of Trustees selected one of Texas’ most respected preservation
architects, David Hoffman, to provide a restoration master plan. Working
with the Board of Trustees and a museum planning group, Hoffman developed
an analysis of existing conditions, adaptive use feasibility, a plan for
phased development, and cost determinations for building restoration. This
master plan is our organization’s road map for restoring and converting
the former lodge into a regional museum and educational facility.
After graduating from the University of Texas School of Architecture in the
early 1970s, Hoffman became a partner in the firm of Bell, Klein & Hoffman.
In the late 80s, he went into private practice and currently resides with his
wife, Binnie, near Evant, Texas Lampasas County. Over the past 30 years,
David Hoffman’s primary contribution has been the restoration under his direction
of more than 100 historic buildings throughout Texas. These include the 1892
Victoria County Courthouse, the Tyrell Historical Library, Sam
Houston’s Woodland home and log law office, the Austin History Center, a master
plan for the University of Texas at Austin, Hermann Hospital, Sam Houston’s
Steamboat House, and Roy Bean’s Opera House, Town Hall and Seat of Justice. The
Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum is fortunate to have such a talented preservation
architect to provide a master plan for our building's restoration.
The Board of Trustees also selected The Douglas Group, a Houston based museum
planning/exhibit and environmental graphics design firm, to provide a concept
plan for museum floor plans and project overview. The Douglas Group, with offices
in Houston and Washington, D.C., has provided a written overview
of the project with conceptual floor plans for each level of the museum. They have
also produced renderings to guide our project team as it defines the anticipated
journey of the visitor through the facility. The museum's storyline, the level of
involvement for each visitor, and most importantly, the learning experience for the
visitor, have all been developed by the Douglas Group with guidance from board members.
The Board of Trustees of the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum knows the two master
plans for the project will provide the solid groundwork for the successful development
and planning for the museum.
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