Fredericksburg Bed and Breakfast History

History of 614 South Washington St., Fredericksburg, Texas 78624

Grounds include a large front yard, small peach orchard, fence rows filled with grapes, vegetable and herb gardens two small out buildings, a cistern, a well, and a small chicken coop.

As you approach the house you realize the house to the left is identical in design.  These homes have been known as the twin houses since they were built.  Kurt Keidel bought a portion of out lots 48-49 in 1910 from Elizabeth Ochs for $1200.  He put $200 down and had four years to pay the remainder at eight percent interest.  Kurt and his brother Felix, sons of Dr. Albert and Mathilde Eisfled Keidel, married sisters, Gretchen and Hattie Pfeiffer from Selma, Alabama.  In 1914, the two brothers hired a San Antonio architect to design identical houses in the country for their wives.  The architect reversed the plan for Felix so the houses would be mirrored images of each other.  That same year, one carpentry crew built both houses.

Kurt was a pharmacist and owned the Keidel Drug Store.  Felix was a dentist.  They both worked with their other two brothers, Dr. Victor Keidel, a physician, and Dr. Werner Keidel, a dentist.  Kurt filled pharmacy orders both from Latin and German prescriptions for his father, Dr. Albert Keidel.

Both common rooms; living room and dining room, along with one bedroom and bath have beautiful long leaf pine floors and high ceilings. The roof is the original (nearly 100 years old) painted pressed tin.  An expansion of the kitchen and a family room were added in 1941 and the attic has been restored and expanded in 1985.