Historical home gets a new life

 Built in 1861(historical marker tells the story), the Johann Stautzenberger home in the Dietz community near Clear Springs, Texas  had been long abandoned and for most people the house was surely seen as beyond repair.  But not in the eyes of friends, Sherman and Joy Schlichting, who decided that this is a piece of history that needs to be preserved and have set out on a journey to bring it back to life. When you see this house up close, you can't help but say to yourself .. "I wish these walls could talk." 

The historial marker tells the story of the Dietz community and the house

The roof had to be removed before the house could be moved to a new location

Where the exterior boards have fallen away you can see the mud brick insulation that was used during this time period in the German communities in this area.

Look inside and you can see the cedar support beams in the interior wall

Mud Bricks were literally mud poured into a brick shaped mold and left to dry then used as wall insulation. These mud bricks used by the early German settlers of our area contained no binding material like straw...