Who built this house? Right here before us stands the Altgelt-Isbell House plaque. It marks a site steeped in San Antonio history. This unassuming limestone structure tells a tale of German immigrants ambition and perseverance. The house itself was built in 1878 for Ernst Altgelt a lawyer who had previously helped establish the town of Comfort Texas. He even named King William Street after Kaiser Wilhelm I of Prussia. Isn’t that fascinating? Altgelt commissioned this house but sadly died before its completion. Ed Steves provided the building materials. He later filed a mechanic’s lien against the property.
The Altgelt-Isbell House isn’t just a house it’s a testament to changing hands and lives lived. After Ernst’s death Emma Altgelt sold it to Theodore Schleuning a grocery wine and provisions dealer. The Schleuning family occupied the house for decades. His widow Bertha lived there until 1932. Their son Louis stayed for a few years after that. It then passed to Mrs Martin who rented it as a home and music studio.
Finally in 1944 the Isbell family bought the house. They added the limestone wall we see today. A linden tree mentioned in a King William history book still stands on the property. Can you imagine the stories these walls could tell? The lives lived the music played the families who called this place home? The Altgelt-Isbell House is more than just bricks and mortar. It’s a living legacy a tangible piece of San Antonio’s past. A reminder of the people who shaped this vibrant city. It’s a history etched not just in stone but in the very air around us. Let’s move on.