Tech Ridge in Austin in Travis County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Fortress Home
Photographed by Keith Peterson, March 18, 2020
1. Fortress Home Marker
Built in early 1850's by Martin Wieland, from Dessau, Germany. Used as a neighborhood fort. Enlarged 1873, 1912.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964
Erected 1964 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 15352.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 30° 24.612′ N, 97° 38.327′ W. Marker is in Austin, Texas, in Travis County. It is in Tech Ridge. It can be reached from Fort Dessau Road west of Bauhaus Bend, on the right when traveling west. The marker may be hard to see from the street as it is attached to the old fort. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1425 Fort Dessau Rd, Austin TX 78753, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Texas. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, one of the Confederate States
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Evangelical Lutheran Church of Dessau (approx. 0.6 miles away); Oertli Dairy (approx. 1.3 miles away); Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church (approx. 2.1 miles away); Pflugerville (approx. 2.3 miles away); Boyce Family Cemetery (approx. 2.3 miles away); Pflugerville Schools (approx. 2.4 miles away); Santa Maria Cemetery (approx. 2½ miles away); St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church (approx. 2½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Austin.
Also see . . . Fortress Home marker application. This link provides detailed information on the blockhouse. (Submitted on December 2, 2020, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas.)
Photographed by Keith Peterson, March 18, 2020
2. Fortress Home and Marker
Photographed by Richard Denney, November 13, 2020
3. West Wall of the Fortress Home
The original blockhouse was incorporated into the larger house expansion of 1873. The west wall shows the original blockhouse with gun ports. From the marker application: "In the west wall on both sides of the chimney are port holes, so placed that one could straddle a beam and handle a gun .. The west outside wall is marked with nearly a hundred bullet holes, which have been plastered over."
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 18, 2020, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. This page has been viewed 2,991 times since then and 198 times this year. Last updated on December 2, 2020, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 18, 2020, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. 3. submitted on December 2, 2020, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
