ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS

ANTON F. KRAUSE FARMSTEAD

Note:  These descriptions are taken from the National Register nomination and were written in 2007 primarily by Ron Bauml, Properties Restoration Manager for the San Antonio Conservation Society with the assistance and approval of Rose Parsons Collins, owner of the Anton F. Krause property.                                                ____________________

1. Anton F. Krause Log House (1876)

1-story single-pen modified log house with side-gabled roof and shed roofed porch across the length of the west elevation. 

The house measures 17’ x 16’. The horizontal logs are squared off and are chinked-in with plaster at the joints.  The logs, which vary in length from 7” to 8’, are cut to form full dove-tails at the corners. Most of the logs are approximately 5 inches in width although there is some variation.  A close examination of the logs reveals they were trimmed with an ax and a draw knife. The south elevation has vertical board and batten siding filling in the gable above the log wall. 

The first addition to the house was a board and batten lean-to, with shed roof, added to the east, the same width as the log house.  This addition was added during the first year of the family’s occupation.  It is built with 10 ¾ planks positioned vertically; the seams are covered with 3 ½’ battens.

There is a steep pitch to the roof.  The original roof was made of wood shingles.  The first metal roof was put on in the early 1920’s.  A new roof was put on around 1997 when the 1920’s roof began leaking.  At that time, the original wood shingles were still visible.  A recent exploration of the attic did not reveal remnants of the wood shingles. The present day roofing is metal v-crimp. 

The next addition was construction of native rubble sandstone and plaster at the northeast corner of the log house, in a rectangular plan, and was used as the kitchen.  It was built at the ground level with a dirt floor.  It was not originally attached to the house until other additions were added. This kitchen addition was added by stonemason, Henry Nentwich.  The sandstone was quarried from a hillside on the Krause property.  Linoleum flooring was added to the kitchen in the 1940’s.

A wood frame addition was then added to the north of the log house creating a hall (or dog-trot), connecting at the rear to the kitchen, and two rooms.  This north addition is sided with vertical board and batten on the west and asbestos shingles on the north gable end and has the same roof pitch as the log house.

The porch, approximately 8 feet in width, was built along the west wall of the house.  It has six bays, delineated by cedar post columns which are furred-in with 1x planks to create box columns. This porch was used for sleeping space as needed and was popular during the hot summer months.

All windows are 6 over 6 double hung wood with the exception of two small 1 over 1 and one 2 over 2 on the north elevation.  The entry doors off the front porch are four-light wood doors with one being centered on the west elevation of the log house and the other centered on the hall of the north addition.  Most of the windows and doors are aligned, providing cross ventilation. The historic photograph shows the doorways originally had attached wooden gates.

This same photograph seems to indicate a wooden shutter on the west side of the house.

The exterior of the house has been painted white.  The interior rooms have both wood and linoleum flooring.  The walls are paneled.  Electricity was added to the house in 1935.

Exact dates of all additions are unknown.  However, the historic photograph, dated about 1910-12, illustrates that all structural additions to the house had been made by this time.

Significance: Built by Anton Krause, Sr., founder of the Krause Farm, the house was continuously occupied by his family and descendants for more than 100 years.  The house is one of the few remaining log houses in Bexar County. It is associated with the agricultural heritage of the San Antonio area in south Bexar County.

2. Barn, 1876/1877

1-story wood frame structure with a front-gabled corrugated metal roof and vertical board and batten siding. A wood frame shed roof lean-to addition was added to the south elevation and a smaller one on the east gable elevation.  The barn was primarily used for housing the horses, the wagon and the carriage.  In recent years it has been used for storage

3. Feeding Trough, 1870’s

A livestock feeding trough is located at the south end of the barn.  The trough is carved out of a single large slab of cypress that is about 12 feet long.  It was carved by Anton Krause and used for feeding the hogs by members of the Krause family through the years.

This feeding trough provides an example of the resourcefulness of a German farmer using local materials to construct the necessary structures to carry out farm operations.

4. Water Well, 1870’s/ 1920’s

Located several feet off the northeast corner of the Krause House are the remains of a water well.  There is inoperable water piping projecting approximately 7 feet above ground level that is associated with the pumping operation after the well was mechanized.  This original well was hand dug and originally had a pulley and rope to bring up the water.  It was also used as a place to keep the milk and cream cold during the heat of the summer.  The water served household uses, watering the animals, and watering the garden and peach trees on the property.

The well and the location is an example of how farm families obtained water resources for their farm operations. The later mechanization of the well is typical of the transition made from rope and pulley to a modern pump.

5. Outbuilding, 1970’s

A small square plan wood frame outbuilding with horizontal wood siding and a corrugated metal shed roof.  The shed was built in the 1970’s in the backyard east of the Krause House.