Walburg Community

Walburg Community

  • <p>Building with metal siding saying Walburg, Hy Doering Company, Incorporated on pediment. Signs on awning say biergarten and German-American cuisine</p>
  • <p>Henry Doering established his general store in 1882. (Williamson Museum)</p> <p>Wood frame building with sign on façade saying Henry Doering, General Merchandise</p>
  • <p>Henry &amp; Lena Doering Family, ca. 1912. (Williamson Museum)</p> <p>1912 family portrait of the Henry and Lena Doering family</p>
  • <p>Walburg Motor Company, 1934. (Williamson Museum)</p> <p>Brick building titled Walburg Motor Company showing a Gulf sign above gasoline pumps </p>
  • <p>St. Peter Lutheran Church, ca. 1930. (Williamson Museum)</p> <p>Church with short bell tower above entrance</p>
  • <p>Zion Lutheran Church, ca. 1939. (Williamson Museum)</p> <p>Church with bell tower and tall spire above entrance</p>

It began with a single store. In 1882, Henry Doering built his general store 33 miles northeast of Austin, just as the railroad was opening up more Texas land for new settlements. Four years later, the town had a post office and a name: Walburg, after Doering’s hometown in Germany. Two Lutheran churches – Zion and St. Peter, both still vibrant and worth visiting – opened in town. By the late 1890s, Walburg was a fully functioning community with a few hundred people and a distinctly German feel.

That building Doering constructed in 1882 is still standing, now home to a roadside German restaurant and large biergarten. Wander in sometime and you just might hear Ron Tippelt – an acclaimed yodeler and accordionist from Munich.

Walburg Community

  • 12 miles northeast of Georgetown on FM 972, Walburg, TX