Hochheim ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in DeWitt County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. It was founded as a settlement for

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s along the Guadalupe River.

Geography

Hochheim is located at , above sea level. It is located on the Texas Coastal Plain.

History

The Guadalupe River passes through the town, and the present-day site is believed to be the location that Spanish explorers including Alonso de Leon, used to cross the river.

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 December ...

is regarded as the first European to encounter the river at this location circa 1528. He named it, "The River of Nuts" due to the large concentration of

pecan The pecan ( , , ; ''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the Southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed primarily in the U.S. states of Georgia ( ...

trees that grow naturally along the river's banks. In 1848, Valentine Hoch, a German immigrant from the disputed Alsace-Lorraine region, traveled to the rolling hills near the lower Guadalupe River with his son, after arriving in America at the port of

Indianola, Texas Indianola is a ghost town located on Matagorda Bay in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. The community, once the county seat of Calhoun County, is a part of the Victoria, Texas, Victoria, Texas metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

. Upon arrival to the hills, Hoch remarked: "Here we shall build our home." Construction of the home soon began from the stones at the Guadalupe River bed, and was completed several years thereafter. Others with surnames that included Crawford, Helms, Humphrey, Steen, Morrisse, Times, and Schwab, began to build homes and establish businesses in the area; soon the community of Hochheim was established. The name could be translated to mean "Hoch's home" for the earliest settler, or "High home" for the fact that Hoch constructed his home on a hill. Townspeople also referred to the settlement as "Dutchtown". Hochheim-tx2016-5

After the Schwab family opened a general store and gin, Hochheim became a trade stop between Indianola and

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

. A railroad was constructed through the town connecting the two cities. By 1870, the town had two grocery stores, a drugstore and a blacksmith shop. That year, a post office was established in the town. Sometime between 1870 and 1880, a

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

was built at the turn of the century that served as a school, church and community center. The German

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

was present in the town as early as 1864, and a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church moved to the city in 1882, remaining in the town until 1961. By 1885, 200 people lived in Hochheim with ten businesses operating in the area. The population reached its peak of 261 in 1904, and dwindled to around 100 between the 1920s and 1950s. Valentine Hoch's home was restored to its original state in 1953 after being damaged during a 1934 storm. It has been recognized with a Texas Medallion by the Texas Historical Society. By the 1980s, Hochheim's population had fallen to 70 and only one business remained.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Texas Populated places on the Guadalupe River (Texas) Unincorporated communities in DeWitt County, Texas German-American history German-American culture in Texas Populated places established in 1848 1848 establishments in Texas