Danz Cabin

This 1860s log cabin is located west of the state park visitor center.

NPS Photo / Jack Burton

Quick Facts

MANAGED BY:

Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site

Amenities

2 listed

Parking - Auto, Trailhead

In 1845, hundreds of hopeful German immigrants came to the Texas Hill Country in search of land, political freedom, and adventure. Johann "Casper" Danz, his wife Elisabeth, and their baby Frederick were among them.

Tragedy struck the Danz family many times. Soon after they arrived in Gillespie County, Elisabeth and her son died from an epidemic. Casper's second bride, Johannette Margarethe Knaup-Flick, died during childbirth.

In 1857, Danz married his third wife, Johanne Dorothea Bock. This time the family flourished with eleven children. In 1860, the couple purchased this land and built a two-room (dogtrot) cabin. One room served as both a bedroom and living space, and the other room was a kitchen. Fireplaces provided heat for warmth and cooking. Outdoor stairways leading to the sleeping lofts saved much needed space indoors.

The smaller cabin nearby was moved here from a local community in 1974 to provide space for living history demonstrations and storage. This building sits atop a stone cellar that is believed to be the foundation of an earlier cabin built by Danz.

Descendants of the immigrant Danz family lived here until 1966, when the land became a state park.