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’s 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. (See "New Team
Members" update below.)
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.
New Team Members: Fisher Heck Architects
About Lewis S. Fisher...
Lewis S. Fisher
For another example, in the early 1990s, Lewis took an interest in the redevelopment of
the urban area adjoining the King William historic district. This Texas state-sponsored
Main Street Alliance project became known as SouthTown. Under Lewis’s leadership, the
Alliance was able to secure funding for lighting, sidewalk improvements, and paving
upgrades for St. Mary’s Street, its major corridor.
As a result of this collaborative effort, SouthTown residents and businesses now have greater
leverage to support future improvements. Through the SouthTown project, they also have a
brand name with which to promote local tourism tied to the area’s restaurants and galleries.
Lewis’s many other preservation leadership credentials include Past President of the
prestigious King William Association. His service to the community has also
included board membership on the Antiquities Advisory Committee of the
Texas Historical Commission, and the San Antonio Development Agency.
Lewis and business partner Jim Heck founded FisherHeck Architects in 1982, and recently
marked their 25th anniversary year in architecture. Their thriving practice has projects
in San Antonio and smaller communities throughout the region.
To put it in his own terms, the architect says, “My greatest satisfaction comes from seeing
people using and enjoying the urban spaces that we have helped create or restore.”
Several of the early phases of restoration work to the historic Knights of Pythias,
Jewel Lodge is now complete. After stabilizing the building’s outer shell, providing
upgrades to the facade and making needed repairs to window sashes, the next major
milestone is to complete the public spaces that will house exhibits, displays, and
other museum functions. Having successfully secured $1 million in federal funding
from the Economic Development Administration and an additional $345,000 from
a Save America’s Treasures grant, the CTHM is now ready to begin the work that
will bring the project closer to becoming a heritage destination.
In December 2007, our preservation architect of record, David Hoffman, was obliged to
resign the Museum project due to health concerns. Board member Tom Batts chaired the
process of selecting a new architect, and after reviewing qualifications of four regional
firms, the Board selected Fisher Heck Architects of San Antonio to continue the work
so well begun by Hoffman.
Fisher Heck has a long and distinguished resume in historic preservation from saving
local treasures like the Vance Ranch House, an Alfred Giles home, to the restoration
and technical upgrade of the Mission Revival Atascosa County Courthouse (the only
surviving example of its type). They also served as local architects for the major
restoration of the San Fernando Cathedral, a landmark building in downtown San Antonio.
We are especially pleased that Lewis Fisher, AIA, one of the founding partners of the
firm, will personally oversee our project.
Depth of experience in preservation architecture was a key
qualification chiefly because so many of our relationships with national, state, and
local agencies and organizations depend on carefully maintaining the historic status of
the building and close environs. The Board is confident that Fisher Heck will be able to
help us stay within required guidelines, and will become a solid partner and invaluable
resource in this very exciting next phase of the Museum’s progress.
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