Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites-La Grange,TX

Monument Hill

The remains of men who perished in the struggle for Texas independence are entombed in this granite crypt.  It is a memorial to the men who died in two separate events in the 1840’s:  the Dawson Massacre and the infamous Black Bean Death Lottery.

Kreische Complex (House and Brewery)

The Kreische Complex commemorates the life’s work of Heinrich L Kreische (1849 German immigrant) and the ingenuity of those early European immigrants who laid the foundations of modern Texas.  

 

Kreische House

Heinrich married Josepha Appelt in 1855 and they had six children.  By 1857, Kreische had become a prominent member of the community and was recognized as a master stonemason.

 



 

Kreische Brewery

In 1860, Kreische began building a brewery in the ravine below his house so that he could utilize the spring water.   By 1879, Kreische Brewery was the third largest brewing operation in the state.  Kreische died after he fell from his wagon in 1882.  Modernization of the brewing industry and Kreische’s death spelled the doom of the brewery by 1884.