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2017-5 Remembrances Special Edition1 City of Schertz REMEMBRANCES Special Edition 2017-5 Prepared by: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee Source: Manuscript, Patricia Ezell, “Bracht-Stapper Farmstead, Cemetery and Jacal” “Jacal” Along The Cibolo – Schertz/Cibolo Settler Connections In the early months of 2017, Patricia Ezell, member of the San Antonio Conservation Society’s Historic Farm and Ranch Complexes Committee, and a few of her colleagues visited the homestead property of what is commonly known as the Bracht-Stapper homestead. The site is currently situated on property owned by the Cibolo Creek Municipal Authority (CCMA) at the Authority’s Odo J. Riedel Regional Sewerage Treatment Plant off Schaefer Road. The property sits along the south banks of Cibolo Creek at a spot almost one-quarter mile due south of the old Starlight Drive-Inn Theater along FM 78. The visit prompted Ms. Ezell to begin a research effort to learn more about the site’s history and to document the existing landmarks situated on the property. One such landmark is a very old (origin date unknown) home referred to, because of its construction methods, as a “Jacal” home. Another landmark is a cemetery that sits close by the Jacal home that contains grave markers identifiable with four early Schertz- Cibolo settler families. The term “Jacal” is a Spanish term that refers to a house built as were huts in Mexico and the southwestern United States. A Jacal home is usually a rectangular structure with structural components that include a thatched roof and walls made of upright poles or sticks covered and chinked with mud or clay. The below photographs shows the Jacal home being discussed. Photos by Dean Weirtz Dr. Felix Bracht is thought to have been the owner of this Jacal home. The interior of the home is divided into three sections with open doorway passage between each section. There are two windows on each side of the house. The roof is constructed of hand-hewn wooden shingles, partially covered with galvanized tin. The house is badly deteriorated and often exposed to flood waters from Cibolo Creek during flooding events. 2 Situated close to the Jacal is a family cemetery most often referred to as the Bracht-Stapper- Rhodius Cemetery based on the different family gravestones that are found on the cemetery grounds. At the time of the first internment (Josephine Bracht - wife of Dr. Felix Bracht- death February 6, 1876), the land was owned by Dr. Bracht. Dr. Bracht had purchased the land in 1853 from Joseph Schertz, first settler and patriarch of the Schertz family. In 1901, Julian Stapper, son of Felicitas and Edward Stapper, (Felicitas being the daughter of Dr. Bracht and his wife Josephine), inherited the property. Julian Stapper quitclaimed the property to the John Handcock Mutual Life Insurance Company on October 30, 1935. After several ownership transfers, the Malcolm N. McEachern family sold the property to CCMA, that now owns it. The gravesites are marked by tombstones that reflect the following internments: Felix Bracht, b: February 14, 1808, d: December 17, 1882 Josephine Bracht, b: March 26, 1809, d: February 6, 1876 Edward Stapper, b: November 30, 1830, d: November 19, 1899 Felicitas Stapper, b: May 3, 1836, d: February 8, 1916 Edward C. Rhodius, b: July 30, 1849, d. March 17, 1917 Bertha Rhodius, b: June 26, 1856, d: May 21, 1933 Valeska Rhodius, b: January 18, 1884, d: February 16, 1900 Felicitas Rhodius, :b: November 6, 1881, d: November 8, 1885 Felix Brotze, b :October 3, 1879, d: April 9, 1916 “Hugo-Felix” –Small tombstone gravesite with only the name and no dates; setting beside the other two Rhodius children’s tombstones. Photographs of the Bracht-Stapper-Rhodius Cemetery site appear below: Photos by Dean Weirtz The Jacal and its nearby cemetery are today situated within the city boundaries of Schertz, Texas. Both are historic landmark properties that serve as markers of the earliest days of Schertz-Cibolo settlement. The families identified with early ownership of the property were first generation settler-pioneers whose labors converted harsh and desolate landscapes into productive farms. The research product of Patricia Ezell has been published in a thirty-eight page manuscript that has been included in the historical archives of the Schertz Public Library. That manuscript offers important background on the families resting in the Bracht-Stapper-Rhodius Cemetery. The 3 Schertz community is greatly indebted to Ms. Ezell for her contribution to the advancement of the story of our city’s historical development.