Rheingold School, Gillespie County, Texas
Encyclopedia
Rheingold School is located at 334 Rheingold School Road, in Gillespie County, Texas
Gillespie County, Texas
Gillespie County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 24,837. It is located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Gillespie is named for Robert Addison Gillespie, who came to Texas in 1837. He was a Texas Ranger, an Indian fighter, a...

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In 1949, the school was consolidated with Fredericksburg Independent School District
Fredericksburg Independent School District
Fredericksburg Independent School District is a public school district based in Fredericksburg, Texas .In addition to Fredericksburg, the district serves the unincorporated communities of Stonewall, Luckenbach, Willow City, and Albert...

. The building is now used as a community center. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas on May 6, 2005.

Community background

The Rheingold community was founded in 1859 on North Grape Creek, 13.5 miles (21.7 km) northeast of Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Texas
Fredericksburg is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census estimate, the city had a population of 10, 530...

. Colonists included Heinrich Herbert, Gottfried Ottmers, Conrad Bock, Peter Herber, Heinrich Eckhardt, and Peter Fahrenhorst. The settlement became known as Rheingold, because the majority land and business owners were the widows and sons of German immigrants Jacob and Peter Gold, victims of a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 epidemic. At one time, Rheingold had a general store, cotton gin, dance hall, blacksmith shop and a gasoline service station, most of it owned by the Gold family. William Grobe was the postmaster when the community received a post office under the name Rheingold in 1878. The post office continued under the original name of Rheingold until 1907, when the mail service was transferred to Willow City
Willow City, Texas
Willow City is an unincorporated community in Gillespie County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had an estimated population of 75 in 2000. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas on May 6, 2005, NRHP Reference...

. The original name of Rheingold was officially shortened to Gold when the area received a new post office in 1908. The Gold post office was discontinued in 1931, and the community received its mail from Johnson City
Johnson City, Texas
Johnson City is a city in Blanco County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Blanco County. It was the hometown of President Lyndon Johnson and was founded by James Polk Johnson, nephew of Samuel Ealy Johnson, Sr., cousin to President Johnson....

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School

In 1873, William Gold donated 2 acre (0.00809372 km²; 0.00312500276304357 sq mi) of land to accommodate the need for a school for the community's children. Labor and materials for the schoolhouse came from area families. The first structure was a 12' x 14' log house. A replacement frame schoolhouse was later built. The school had an indoor wood stove for heat, and separate outhouses for girls and boys. The water supply came from a hand pump in the yard. August Schuchard was the first teacher, who taught grades 1 through 8. The school was tuition free for the first six months, but required a payment of tuition if the student continued to the end of the school year.

The school was consolidated with the Fredericksburg Independent School District in 1949. Rheingold School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas on May 6, 2005. The building is now used as a community center.

External links

Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools
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