Museums to Visit in San Antonio – Guenther House | Potranco CBD Store

205 E Guenther St, San Antonio, TX 78204, United States

The Guenther House is a hotel, museum and store situated at 205 E. Guenther Street in the King William area of San Antonio, Bexar County, U.S. state of Texas. Right now run by C. H. Günther and the Father. Inc., the house was originally built as a private residence in 1859 by the founder of Pioneer Flour Mills, Carl Hilmar Guenther. It was registered in the National Register of Historic Places in Bexar County, Texas on 11 October 1990.

• About C.H. Guenther

Carl Hilmar Guenther (1826–1902) was one of eight children born to the millwright Carl Gottfried Guenther and his wife Johanne Rosina Koerner Guenther on 19 March 1826 in Weißenfels, Germany. Like his father, he was trained as a millwright, and in 1844 he became a member of the guild of master millwrights in Europe. He also had business skills as a cabinetmaker and stonemason.  

Guenther moved to the United States in 1848. On June 28, 1851, Guenther announced his intention to become a citizen of the United States. He was granted citizenship on October 8, 1854. In 1856, he became the Justice of Peace. On October 7, 1855, he married Dorothea Pape.  There were seven children in the family. Guenther died on October 18, 1902, in San Antonio, and was buried next to his wife in San Antonio City Cemetery No. 1. 

• The Museum 

The museum, or library as it was originally known, still contains mill memorabilia, including vintage bakery accessories, cookie cutters and anniversaries of Dresden china plates, which were turned over to customers by the mill. Following World War II, the plates of Dresden were replaced by American-made china until they were also discontinued in 1952. Erhard’s silver-plated trophy from the Casino Club Bowling Team of 1897 is also housed in the Museum, as is the beautiful hand-carved Victorian marble-top table, a gift to Erhard and his aunt, Lottie Hamisch Guenther. Alabaster and brass ceiling fixtures have also been returned to their original position in the Museum. 

The corridor between the Museum and the River Mill Store was originally the front doorway of the house. A silver-plated, gas-lit chandelier, originally found in another house on the mill farm, was built in The Guenther House. The stained glass door and the side lights, which are now the entrance to the ladies ‘ room, represent the miller’s trade at that time.