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Luckenbach in Gillespie County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

Luckenbach

 
 
Luckenbach Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud, June 1996
1. Luckenbach Marker
Inscription.

Members of the Luckenbach family and other German immigrants moved here from Fredericksburg in the 1850s. They settled along Grape Creek and soon established a school for their children. The Grape Creek Post Office was in operation briefly after 1858 with William Luckenbach as first Postmaster. Later settlers included August Engel, who served as first Postmaster when the Post Office was reestablished here in 1886 under the name of Luckenbach. John Russell ‘Hondo’ Crouch and others bought the town center in 1970 and promoted its rustic atmosphere.
Texas Sesquicentenial 1836-1986
 
Erected 1986 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 10074.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: CommunicationsEducationSettlements & SettlersWaterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Postal Mail and Philately series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1858.
 
Location. 30° 10.73′ N, 98° 45.393′ W. Marker is in Luckenbach, Texas, in Gillespie County. Marker is on Luckenbach Town Loop near Texas Highway 1376. Luckenbach is about 11 miles southeast of Fredericksburg, Texas. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 412 Luckenbach Town Loop, Fredericksburg TX 78624, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Engel Family (about 600 feet away, measured in
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a direct line); Luckenbach School (approx. 0.4 miles away); Jakob (Jacob) Brodbeck (approx. 2.3 miles away); Lower South Grape Creek School (approx. 3½ miles away); General E. Kirby Smith, C.S.A. (approx. 3.7 miles away); The Grapetown School (approx. 4.3 miles away); Pinta Trail (approx. 4.6 miles away); Ferdinand Hohenberger Farmstead (approx. 5.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Luckenbach.
 
Also see . . .  Texas Escapes Online Magazine entry for Luckenbach. (Submitted on January 10, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
 
Additional commentary.
1. Luckenbach History (in a Pecan Shell)
The Reverend August Engel established the Post Office in 1886. His sister Minnie (or Sophie depending on the source) was appointed Postmistress and in a romantic gesture put the name of her fiancée in the blank space for the requested name. That name was Albert Luckenbach.

Years later when Albert and wife moved to Martinsburg the post office there was renamed Albert, Texas.

The romantic naming of Luckenbach started a tradition of unconventionality that has become something
General Store and Post Office image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud, June 1996
2. General Store and Post Office
"Hondo" Crouch Bust seen on the right
of a lifestyle. We didn't say it was a romantic lifestyle, we said it was a unconventional lifestyle.

The biggest contributor to this lifestyle would be, beyond a doubt, Hondo Crouch. Crouch, champion swimmer, raconteur, and columnist for The Comfort News, liked the shallow water of Grape Creek so much he and a few others bought Luckenbach's 10 or so acres from the Engel family in 1970.

Mr. Crouch used Luckenbach and its tranquility as a tongue-in-cheek comparison to the nearby high-priced spread of LBJ's Stonewall Ranch. Meanwhile, the celebration of life at Luckenbach continued, with country music and with what the Germans have been known to call "liquid bread."

Unless you spent 1976-77 in a coma, then you heard the song that opened the floodgates. Ask someone. It was bitter irony that Mr. Crouch died shortly after the town became famous.

While other parts of Texas have Fire Ant, Chigger and Mosquito Festivals, Luckenbach celebrates Spring's arrival each year by holding a contest to see who witnesses the arrival of the first Mud Dauber Wasp. The choice of this non-aggressive and home-oriented insect reflects Luckenbach's philosophy.

Luckenbach's unpretentiousness is as genuine as the portrait of FDR that remains from when the building's primary function was as a Post Office and Store.

Excerpt from Texas Escapes Online Magazine website (link provided above).
    —
Uptown Luckenback,Texas ...Monroe's place ca.1996 image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud, June 1996
3. Uptown Luckenback,Texas ...Monroe's place ca.1996
Monroe has a map inside and asks all to place a pin indicating their hometown.Amazing...pins from everywhere... due to overload, map has been replaced several times
Submitted January 10, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.

2. Back to The Basics
Lukenbach, Texas
(Back to the Basics of Love)
Artist: Waylon Jennings
Peak Billboard position #25 in 1977
Words & Music by Chips Moman & Boddy Emmons

The only two things in life that make it worth livin'
Is guitars tuned good 'n' firm-feelin' women
I don't need my name in the marquee lights
I got my songs and I got you with me tonight
Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love

Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us feudin' like the Hatfields and McCoys
Between Hank Williams' pain songs and Newbury's train songs
And blue eyes cryin' in the rain
Out in Luckenbach, Texas ain't nobody feelin' no pain

So baby let's sell your diamond ring
Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away
This coat and tie is chokin' me
In your high society you cry all day
We've been so busy keepin' up with the Jones
Four-car garage and we're still buildin' on
Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love

Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us feudin' like the Hatfields and McCoys
Between Hank Williams' pain songs and Newbury's train songs
And blue eyes cryin' in the rain
Out in Luckenbach, Texas ain't
Closeup of the Hondo Crouch bust image. Click for full size.
April 21, 2006
4. Closeup of the Hondo Crouch bust
nobody feelin' no pain

[Willie Nelson joins Waylon and his voice is prominent]

Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas with Willie and Waylon and the boys
This successful life we're livin's got us feudin' like the Hatfields and McCoys
Between Hank Williams' pain songs and Newbury's train songs
And blue eyes cryin' in the rain
Out in Luckenbach, Texas there ain't nobody feelin' no pain

Out in Luckenbach, Texas there ain't nobody feelin' no pain
    — Submitted January 10, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.
 
On the way to Luckenbach image. Click for full size.
5. On the way to Luckenbach
Official signs are often stolen, but you may find some like this on your wat to visit Luckenbach.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 30, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 10, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,655 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on January 10, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   4, 5. submitted on January 10, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024