Krause House
Why it's listed
Built in 1876 on the Medina River south of San Antonio, this one-story log farmhouse was the home of Anton Krause, Sr., a Bohemian-born immigrant who left a San Antonio grocery business to farm and run a dairy. The original room measures 17 by 16 feet, with squared horizontal logs joined by full dovetail corners and chinked with plaster. Before about 1912 the family added a board-and-batten lean-to, a sandstone kitchen by stonemason Henry Nentwich, a frame bedroom and hall wing, and a long west porch. A barn, a hand-carved cypress feeding trough and a dug well survive on the 2.57-acre site. Part of the house once served as the Mann's Crossing post office, with Krause as postmaster in 1879. The property is listed as one of the few remaining log houses in Bexar County and as an example of German farm settlement and agriculture. Descendants of the Krause family owned it continuously for over a century.
Significance in brief: The house is one of the few surviving log houses in Bexar County and reflects German immigrant settlement and farming in southern Bexar County in the mid-19th century. It is listed locally under Criterion A for Agriculture and Settlement, and under Criterion C for vernacular log construction with early additions. It stayed in the Krause family for more than 100 years.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 10000469, listed July 19, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 8551 Pearsall Rd, San Antonio |
|---|---|
| County | Bexar County |
| Listed | July 19, 2010 |
| Reference number | 10000469 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1876-1960 |
| Architect / builder | Anton Krause, Sr. and Heinrich Nentwich |
| Architectural style | Other: Log House; No Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current functions are listed as single dwelling and vacant/not in use; the barn is used for storage. |
| Acreage | 2.6 |
| Coordinates | 29.30727, -98.66570 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 10000469.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110002667
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.