The Lindheimer House is located in the city of New Braunfels

New Braunfels, Texas

New Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas that is a principal city of the metropolitan area. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in Germany. The city's population was 57,740 as of the 2010 census, up 58% from the 2000...

, county of Comal

Comal County, Texas

Comal County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 108,472. Its seat is New Braunfels.Comal County is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History Timeline:...

, in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Comal County, Texas

National Register of Historic Places listings in Comal County, Texas

List of Registered Historic Places in Comal County, TexasThis is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Comal County, Texas...

  in 1970, and designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the state of Texas....

 in 1936. The house is currently owned and run as a museum by the New Braunfels Conservation Society.

Ferdinand Lindheimer

Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer

Ferdinand Lindheimer

Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer was a German Texan botanist who spent his working life on the American frontier. In 1936, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 1590 was placed on Lindheimer's grave.-Early life:...

 (1801–1879) was known as the father of Texas Botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Lindheimer emigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1834 to escape persecution resulting from his political activities. After military participation in Texas, Lindheimer moved to St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 to partner in botanical research with George Engelmann

George Engelmann

George Engelmann, also known as Georg Engelmann, was a German-American botanist. He was instrumental in describing the flora of the west of North America, then very poorly-known; he was particularly active in the Rocky Mountains and northern Mexico.-Origins:George Engelmann was born in Frankfurt...

 and Asa Gray

Asa Gray

-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....

. His research brought him in touch with John O. Meusebach

John O. Meusebach

John O. Meusebach , born Baron Otfried Hans von Meusebach, was at first a Prussian bureaucrat, later an American farmer and politician who served in the Texas Senate, District 22.-Early years:John O...

, after which Lindheimer moved back to Texas where he spent the rest of his life.

Saltbox house

Lindheimer built his timber-framed house in 1852, in the saltbox

Saltbox

A saltbox is a building with a long, pitched roof that slopes down to the back, generally a wooden frame house. A saltbox has just one story in the back and two stories in the front...

 style, with the roof at the back of his house sloping lower than the roof at the front of the house. Stucco covers the fachwerk totally on three sides of Lindheimer's house, but leaves it exposed in the back. A popular architecture style in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

, the saltbox house was also utilized among German immigrants in Texas. Rather than a full second story, Lindheimer's house has a loft as the second story. A centralized chimney heats the home. The front of the house has two transomed

Transom (architectural)

In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...

, paneled doors. In 1853, Lindheimer became the editor of the Die Neu Braunfels Zeitung, and published it out of his home for the next two decades, converting the rear of his house into a print shop. The New Braunfels Conservation Society operates the house as a museum.