The Seguin-Guadalupe County Heritage Museum, 114 N. River St.
Special by Seguin Conservation Society
(Seguin) — As part of the Seguin Conservation Society’s Holiday Home Tour, we are happy to include a downtown commercial space – the Seguin-Guadalupe County Heritage Museum. This is a prime example of how a large building can be repurposed and renovated with care keeping its original charm.
This Seguin Brick building was built by Henry Troell in 1898 to be the Kempen-Stein Opera House. It has also been a poker parlor, haberdashery, furniture warehouse, S&H Green Stamp store and a karate academy. However, it is best remembered as the home of the Baenziger Red and White Store from 1934 to 1952. The Baenziger Family donated the building to the Heritage Museum in 1992. A restoration of the building, including removal of the stucco on inside walls to reveal the original brick and the addition of two inside rooms, was completed in 1998. The original wood flooring and tin ceiling are fine examples of commercial buildings in this era. The 1890 hand powered Otis cargo lift is still in place.
In 2020, all of the plumbing was replaced along with four heating and cooling units. The four. Bathrooms were also updated. Rolling shelving units have been added in the second story to provide more storage space.
The museum has some fabulous collections including Leon Studio’s equipment and thousands of pictures acquired with the closing of the studio. Also, the Timmermann Sister’s Christmas Tree decorations and model of the original orphanage that was built by their father is on display during this Holiday season. The museum also has one of the first telephones ever in Seguin from the Seguin Power Plant, the first television in Guadalupe County owned by Vivroux Hardware, the desk and office furniture owned by Governor John Ireland ( a former Seguin Mayor) and an early pharmaceutical display provided by Parker’s Pharmacy.
Enjoy a brief visit to the museum while on the tour with plans to return for a thorough investigation of the marvelous displays of Seguin’s past. The Seguin Conservation Society is happy to have many of our artifacts on loan to the museum in order to assure their preservation.
Get your tickets for this weekend’s tour at Gift & Gourmet, Keepers Interiors, the Chamber Office or on-line at thetexas.org. The tour is set for Saturday, Dec. 3 from 2 to 6 pm. Tickets are $20 pre-sale or $25 on the day of the tour.
