Fredericksburg Home Description

Fredericksburg was established under the guidance of John Meusebach in 1846, caused by the German immigration to escape the political turmoil and economic uncertainty the German people looked for a new start in the new world. Traveling for the first time west towards Fredericksburg I found my breath taken by beauty of the plains and hills that fill the skyline, when I crossed through the road almost carved into the hills surrounding it allowing you to see up close the many different layers in the hill itself. When I reached the town I found myself taken by how small in size and compact the town truly was, though I had been told that it was rather small I thought for as much tourism that it hosts.
I felt a distinct small town feeling that was rather comforting feeling when I entered the hotel Fredericksburg Inn & Suites from the

hospitable greeter who checked me in to the many features I was pleasantly surprised to find such as the swimming pool, hot tub, and the volleyball net in a separate pool location. I found myself drawn to the interesting character of the breakfast room with the detail carvings in the chairs and green door that always stole my focus as I prepared each morning’s activities. The narrow walk-way from the hotel to the main street held my focus as I could see a rather old looking stone wall that overlooked a rather large cleared field that seemed to have a purpose though I was unable to find out what it might be.
Approaching the National Museum of the Pacific War I found myself almost taken back by the design of the front of the building as it seemed modern and breathtaking to see in person. Upon entering the museum I was taken back at the format they used to show the time line going back to the early 1800s showing the paths that lead to the development of China, and Japan that shaped them in their views of both the west and each other, to the timeline of the war with every battle represented to the signing of the treaty on the USS Missouri. I found myself drawn to the artifacts they were able to attain from each historical event and battle, each piece showing items that were either at the battle or weapons that were used during the battle. I didn’t expect the large size of the museum nor did I expect to see the life size items such as the command consoles from an command deck of a ship, A B-25B like the ones used in the Doolittle raids, a midget submarine like the ones used in the attack on pearl harbor, the jeeps and tanks that seemed to be fully functional even though I am sure they weren’t, and most importantly or shockingly a full size replica of an atom bomb that helped bring the history to life for me. Exiting the museum I felt I had only scratched the surface of what was inside and explored only a little of grounds which housed the Japanese garden and markers for the soldiers who fought.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Pioneer museum but I have to admit when I saw the entrance I felt it stood out from the modern business around it in a very good way as it seemed authentic.

Stepping out from the entrance to see the near acre filled with multiple buildings all looking as if they had been there since the town inception really drew me into the mindset of how different life must have truly been, this fact was cemented for me when I went inside the school house that seemed to be lost into time and yet had a charm that allowed me to imagine the wooden rows filled with little children as they tried to learn in such a warm building. Of all the buildings that I was able to see I found myself drawn to the workshop in the corner next to the wash house that held the tools and instruments they would use at that time period, I could have spent several hours learning about how they would use each tool and watching it in practice of it was possible. I was very grateful that the people of Fredericksburg were able to save this piece of history for people to explore as it really made me excited to see the lifestyles of the early

settlers.
Enchanted rock from a distance was a special sight to behold as it cuts through the skyline and draws you to it out of sheer desire to gaze at it close, as I drove up to the rock I was a little intimidated knowing that I would have to climb to the top. The base of the rock offered me some hope on the climb as it seemed to have a good path to walk, however, climbing a little more up I found the path give away to a steep up climb that tested my resolve to see the top of the rock. Reaching the top of the rock was a triumph that was only enhanced when I could see the landscape from such height, it gave me some clarity on how beautiful the hill country truly was and allowed me the pleasure of just taking a moment to feel at peace that I believe only an experience like that could offer.
After entering the LBJ State Park I was excited to see the Sauer-Beckmann Farm as I still had the experience of the Pioneer museum fresh in my mind expecting to see similarities between the two, I was only half right on that since the Beckmann farm is a living farm I was treated to the sight of many animals that were not only kept but used when time came from meat, milk, and eggs by the people who take care of the farm. I was impressed to see that the people who operated the farm that they harvest the vegetables and carry out the tasks that they would have been responsible for when the farm was in use during the times of the early 1900s without the use of modern amenities. I found myself fascinated with the way they use every part of the animals to make things for lunches, to make milk and chesses, and even that they must use the egg shells from the chickens to bake them and feed them back for the calcium to the birds and to make sure the chickens don’t develop a taste for the shells in raw form.
I found my experience to be overwhelming positive as I learned from each location something that I was unaware of or just knew very little about, I know that I will want to spend an entire week in the town of Fredericksburg just revisiting all the places I was lucky enough to go to as a few days was not even close to enough time to soak in all the town has to offer. I am grateful that I was able to discover this hidden gem of a town and to learn about the history of all these events and people with the accompaniment of my history professor whom I relied on to give us little tidbits of information that was discussed or just came to my mind as I explored each place.