Historic landmark home served as post office, store

Historic landmark home served as post office, store

Written by Karen R. Thompson Wednesday, 14 May 2008

Germans were the largest ethnic group of settlers in the Republic of Texas. John Frederick Heinatz was born in Prussia on December 16, 1821, and by the autumn of 1850 he was building a home in the newly created Williamson County on what was known as the Bagdad Prairie.

As an early settler, Heinatz qualified for several land grants from the General Land Office, but his primary property on the headwaters of Brushy Creek was purchased from Chief Justice Greenlief Fisk out of the Charles Cochran Survey in 1850. Heinatz originally built a two-room house from native limestone. The original ceiling was decorated with hand-painted garlands of roses on a blue background. This was very unusual because most homes built on the prairie were of log construction and did not include such embellishment. Heinatz also built a general merchandise store adjacent to his home. He used native rock for this building, which today serves as the Bagdad Activity Center on Bagdad Road just south of Old 2243.

In addition to housing the Heinatz store, the Bagdad Post Office was located in the building from May 8, 1855 to October 6, 1882, when the new Leander Post Office began operation. Thomas Huddleston was postmaster from May 8, 1855 to September 27, 1858, when John F. Heinatz took over. He held the position until October 8, 1866, when his wife, Emilie, took over. She was postmistress until January 21, 1867, when John D. Mason took her place. Mason was replaced by John F. Heinatz on January 19, 1876, who served until the post office closed.

Heinatz was also a public school teacher, superintendent of Sunday school, a banker and available to help his fellow citizens in many other ways. He and Emilie, nee Krohn, began adding onto the two original rooms of their home in the 1860s. More rooms, fireplaces and a front porch and entryway were decorated with unusual paint schemes of clouds, green paint and Greek fretwork. The roofs were cedar shingle, as were most of the floors. The additions are traceable to pre-1872 because the lumber came from Loomis and Christianson Lumber Company, an Austin firm that closed in 1872.

John and Emilie had nine children: six boys and three girls. By most accounts, everyone in the family had talent. One daughter taught piano and another’s singing voice was so renowned that when she sang, neighbors gathered to listen.

In 1972, the Heinatz home was the first in Williamson County to become a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. In 1984, the current owner, Bruce Safley, purchased the home from the estate of Tempe Heinatz. Safley spent more than two years restoring the home, including the barns, outbuildings, yard and the distinctive fence that faces Bagdad Road. A former “Air Force brat,” he attended the University of Texas and became convinced he wanted to settle in Central Texas. He owned a well-known antique store on Rio Grande Street in Austin for 13 years. Bullet holes in the side of the barn are said to have been from the shotgun blasts made by one of the Heinatz girls when she thought she heard intruders.

John Frederick Heinatz was born December 6, 1821 and died May 4, 1891. He was buried in Bagdad Cemetery. Emilie was born September 3, 1842 and died February 27, 1935, and was buried with her husband.

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