Emotions high during discussion to restore burned-out Fuchs House
Photographer Sarah Marie Cambio Dilworth documented the interior of the Conrad Fuchs House in Horseshoe Bay in 2017 following a renovation by the Friends of the Fuchs House Committee. Members of the committee and area officials toured the building after renovations, posing with the historical marker being held up by Burnet County Judge James Oakley. The marker was stored inside the house and destroyed in a fire on Feb. 25, 2024, that left only the rock walls standing. Photo courtesy of Sarah Marie Cambio Dilworth
Emotions ran high at the Burnet County Historical Commission’s regular meeting on Tuesday, March 5, where the main topic was the fire-damaged historic Conrad Fuchs House in Horseshoe Bay. Jennifer Raley, who owns the house with husband Paul, teared up several times as she talked about the loss. The Raleys were living in the home as they restored it.
“I cannot express to you the heartbreak we are experiencing right now,” she said. “This was our future, our retirement, our plan for the rest of our lives.”
As the commission discussed having a historic preservation expert assess the stability of the rock walls left standing, and writing a resolution in support of restoring the 150-year-old home, Raley spoke out in frustration.
“The house sat in ruins for decades,” she said. “It got passed around like a hot potato for years. We chose to put money into it four years ago, and everybody started telling us what to do with it.”
BCHC Chair Rachel Bryson and several other members of the committee quickly assured Raley they did not want to dictate next steps.
“We desperately want to save whatever can be saved,” Bryson said. “We are talking with the state (Texas Historical Commission) to see if we can at least get a report on the stability of the rock walls.”
She also explained that the proposed resolution, which will be presented to the Burnet County Commissioners Court at its 9 a.m. meeting on Tuesday, March 12, is to bring attention to the loss and drum up any financial support available.
Burnet County Tourism Director Blair Manning, who is helping write the resolution, chimed in.
“None of this will be out of your pocket,” she said, also tearing up. “We are not here to tell you what to do. We’re here to support you.”
BCHC member Caryl Calsyn, who is also on the Friends of the Conrad Fuchs Committee, also voiced her support, her voice cracking with emotion.
“We tried everything we could to save it for the community,” she said of past efforts to renovate the house as a local resource. “We cared for that house.”
German immigrant Conrad Fuchs built the house in 1880. It became the center of communal activity as the area’s first post office. It was also a stagecoach station and had a nearby community center, sawmill, gristmill, cotton gin, and sugar cane press. It was handed back and forth between the city of Horseshoe Bay, the Horseshoe Bay Property Owners’ Association, and Jaffee Interests LP from 2002 to 2020, when the Raleys bought it from the city.
“We were given the opportunity because the city (of Horseshoe Bay) didn’t want anything to do with it anymore,” Raley told BCHC members.
The Texas Historical Commission granted the house a subject marker in 1976. It was stored in the home and destroyed by the fire.
After an hour of discussion, the commission voted to write a resolution to be presented to county commissioners for approval that urges support to investigate the possibility of restoring the house. Bryson promised to keep Raley informed of further developments or discussions about the house, including asking the Texas Historical Commission for a new marker with updated information that would include the fire.
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Houses don’t last forever and trying to save them is cost prohibitive. Build a new, modern house with similar architecture if that’s what you want to do, otherwise let it go and look towards the future instead of the past.