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About Our Building

>Watch our museum's restoration progress...

photo: Building as Moore and Sames wholesale grocery c.1910 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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[Page Updated 2008/01/24]