The German-English School The German English School was founded on April
2, 1858, by a group of German immigrants known as Lateiner, so named
because of their scholastic background, which included knowledge of Latin.
Before founding the school, this group had been instrumental in establishing
several organizations, inclusing the Casino Association and the Krankenhaus
Verein, a group which promoted health insurance. The Casino Association
formed the foundation of the school society, since all the board members
and most contributors belonged. Chief among these men,and president of
the board from 1859 to 1876, was Julius Berends.
The first classes of the German-English School were held in the Kloepper Hotel on West Commerce Street, in two rooms rented for fifty dollars a month. The first teachers were Mr. Doyle in English and Herr Moeller in German, who received 70 dollars a month.The children were divided into two classes, according to age, with the two teachers alternating classes. A new building was constructed in the La
Villita district, on a tree shaded lot at 421 South Alamo Street. It remains
in its original form nearly 141 years later. The Board of Directors laid
the cornerstone on November 10, 1859, dedicating the structure to the poet
Friedrich Schiller on the hundredth anniversary of his birth. The edifice
was designed by G. Freisleben and constucted by John H. Kampmann.
A second building was erected in 1869. Members of the first school
board were prominent leaders in the German community, including Julius
Berends,principal and teacher in the school, C. N. Riotte, lawyer and diplomat,
Dr, August Nette, the first pharmacist in San Antonio, W.A.C. Thielepape,
artist, architect, bookkeeper and founder of the Beethover Maennerchor,
Gustave Freisleben, first elected city engineer, and Gustave Theissen,
merchant and city alderman,
The school continued until 1890, when it
was closed. The free public schools had improved and the famlies
supporting the German-English School had moved to the suburbs, so the school
could not financially remain open. It was sold to Friedrich and Hulda Groos
and George W. Brackenridge. In 1903 the owners sold it to the City of San
Antonio when it became a party of the growing San Antonio School system.
It was the first home of the San Antonio College. In 1951 the buildings
were abandoned. The San Antonio Conservation Society leased the property
avoid having the buildings razed. In 1964 the buiildings were taken over
by San Antonio Fair,Inc. and it was the headquarters for Hemisfair
1968. Today the buildings are a designated Texas Historical Site and serve
as meeting and banquet areas for the Plaza Hotel.
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The school was unusual in many ways. First
all subjects were taught in dual languages, German and English. Students
were expected to be proficient in both. Secondly, strict discipline, modeled
after the German gymnasium system, demanded total obedience. The third
factor in the school's difference was that it was not founded on any particular
religious principles, as noted in its charter granted by the Texas Legislature.
Most nineteenth-century private schools had some form of religious backing.