The Edward Steves Homestead is located in the

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Brau ...

city of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It was designed by architect Alfred Giles and designated a

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the st ...

. The main house was donated to the

San Antonio Conservation Society The Conservation Society of San Antonio (legally incorporated as the San Antonio Conservation Society) is located in the Bexar County city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas. Founding members were Emily Edwards, who became the organizati ...

in 1952. The organization completely restored the main house as a museum, and now conducts daily tours. The complete homestead property consists of four individual structures: the main house museum, the carriage house, the river house, and the servants' quarters. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas. This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Bexar County, Texas. There are 2 ...

, as a contributing structure of the King William Historic District.

Homestead property

Alfred Giles, as an employ of John H. Kampmann, is credited with designing the main house. Locally quarried limestone was used in construction of the four-bedroom house. It was completed in 1877 for $15,000. In 1970, the house was listed as a

. The house features a mansard roof and 13-inch-thick exterior walls. It was fairly modern for its time, with a telephone line, electric lighting and running water. The parlor doors in the house featured American-made etched glass panels. The main house at the homestead was deeded to the San Antonio Conservation Society (SACS) in 1952 by the granddaughter of Edward Steves, Edna Steves Vaughan, and her husband Curtis Vaughan. SACS maintains the home as a museum and conducts daily tours. When SACS first approached Vaughan about purchasing the house, Vaughan offered to donate the house with the stipulation that the then-current residents be retained as caretakers. The grounds, exterior and interior of the

French Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as i ...

house were restored in 1954 as a museum with period furniture. With much of the original furniture gone, the Steves family donated many of their own pieces for the restoration. Among the pieces added in the restoration was a mosaic table featuring

St. Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood ( rione) of Borgo. B ...

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. When SACS did the restoration,

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

donated an antique 1857

Chickering and Sons Chickering & Sons was an American piano manufacturer located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1823 by Jonas Chickering and James Stewart, but the partnership dissolved four years later. By 1830 Jonas Chickering became partne ...

grand piano. The property contains three buildings in addition to the main house. The carriage house predated the main house and all other structures on the property. Built in 1875, the frame and stone carriage house was restored in 1976–77. The servants quarters was erected in 1877 and restored in 1983–84. The one-story brick structure known as the river house once contained San Antonio's first

natatorium A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as ...

. When SACS restored the homestead's properties, they covered the river house pool with flooring and began using the structure for their activities.

Edward Steves

Edward Steves (1829–90) was a San Antonio city alderman who had relocated to Texas from his native Germany. He and his wife Johanna maintained a family home on rural acreage in Kendall County. He ran the successful Steves Lumber Company in San Antonio from 1866 to 1877. Steves was a civic leader in the San Antonio business community, serving on the Board of Trade, the Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 and the Fair Association. He was active in the city's German community organizations, such as the Schuetzen Verein, the Turnverein and the Casino Club.

References

External links

{{Authority control Houses in San Antonio German-American culture in Texas Historic house museums in Texas History of San Antonio Houses completed in 1874 National Register of Historic Places in San Antonio Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Museums established in 1954 1954 establishments in Texas Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Historic district contributing properties in Texas Museums in San Antonio

Homestead property

Edward Steves

See also

References

External links