Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites
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Kreische, Henry L., Brewery and House
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The ruins of the Kreische Brewery. Decks were added for the interpretive tours.
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| Location | La Grange, Texas |
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| Coordinates | 29°53′17″N 96°52′35″W / 29.88806°N 96.87639°WCoordinates: 29°53′17″N 96°52′35″W / 29.88806°N 96.87639°W |
| Built | 1836 |
| Architect | Kreische, Henry Ludwig |
| Architectural style | Other |
| NRHP reference # | |
| TSAL # | 256 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 16, 1975 |
| Designated TSAL | 6/28/1983 |
Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites is a historic state park located at 29.888° -96.876°, just off U.S. Route 77, south of La Grange, Texas. The park sits on a sandstone bluff above the Colorado River. Monument Hill is a crypt and memorial to the men who died in the Dawson Massacre and in the Black Bean Episode of the ill-fated Mier Expedition.
The Kreische Brewery site commemorates the contribution European immigrants made in Texas, specifically German immigrant, stonemason and brewer Heinrich Kreische, whose house and brewery ruins are in the park. The Kreische Brewery and house were listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 1975.
On September 18, 1848, the remains of Texans killed in the Dawson Massacre and the Black Bean Episode (death lottery), which had been retrieved from their original burial sites, were reinterred in a common tomb with a sandstone vault at the location now known as Monument Hill. Over 1,000 people came for the ceremony including U.S. Senator Sam Houston.
On January 17, 1849, Heinrich Ludwig Kreische, a recent German immigrant, purchased 172 acres (70 ha) of land, which included the tomb. He built a three-story house and, in 1860, began building a brewery. By 1879, it was the third largest brewing operation in Texas, with its flagship product being "Kreische's Bluff Beer." Kreische maintained the tomb for the rest of his life, but the tomb and Kreische Brewery began to deteriorate after his death in 1882. The brewery closed in 1884.
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