The Texas Historical Marker in the front yard tells:
In 1893, the Alta Loma improvement and investment company, a group of developers, laid out the town site of Alta Loma along the gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe railroad line. Known today is Santa Fe, Alta Loma was cited on what is said to be the highest point in Galveston County.
With the newly platted community came families and businesses, including the Alta Loma Lumber Company, purchased by Henry Miller. In 1896, Miller and his wife, Effie (Shaw), bought this site and built their home. They sold it later that year, but the house, after surviving the disastrous 1900 hurricane, return to their ownership by 1910.
Between 1915 and 1930 the residence changed hands several times. In 1930, Albert F. Brautigam bought the house and moved his family here. A carpenter by trade, he worked at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and fashioned artificial limbs for patients there. The home remained in the Brautigam family until 1996.
Today, the home greatly resembles its original appearance, the only major alteration being its relationship to its site; in the 1930s, the Brautigam family lower the house approximately five feet. Originally built at six feet above grade, the home was probably elevated to avoid flood waters. The Queen Anne design, with a modified L-plan, features fishscale shingling, decorative friezework and a prominent projecting bay under a front-facing gable. It is an important link to the late-19th-century residential architecture in Texas as well as to the history of the Alta Loma community.
Recorded Texas Historic landmark 2002
From The Portal to Texas History -
Historic Marker Application: Miller-Brautigam House by Ralph W. Stenzel Jr.
The 1896 Miller-Brautigam House
Santa Fe, Texas
The Miller-Brautigam house, built in the late Victorian period and fashioned in a Modified Queen Anne style. is situated at 5518 Highway 646 South in the city of Santa Fe. Texas.
Located on what is said to be the highest ground in Galveston County, the present day City of Santa Fe encompasses the original town site of Alta Loma. and is located 17 miles from Galveston along the main line of the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad. The area was virtually uninhabited until the 1890s.
When developers in 1893, formed the Alta Loma Improvement and Investment Company, and laid out a 40-block town site with most of the blocks containing, 30 lots advertisements for the town described the delightful climate, the right soil conductive to the cultivation of citrus fruit and vegetables and the many virtues of the location of the town. With the development of the town, new businesses were begun. One such business was the Alta Loma Lumber Company. owned by Charles H. Allen. Exactly when Charles Allen sold his business to one Henry Miller is not known, however, a receipt for the purchase of lumber for the First Baptist Church from the lumber company, dated 1896 shows Henry Miller to be the proprietor.
In 1896, Henry Miller and his wife Effie (Shaw) Miller purchased lots 2-5, block 38, in the Alta Loma townsite. The Tax Assessors Abstract of the Alta Loma townsite in Galveston County, 1896-1909. reveals
Henry Miller as the owner of the land valued at $80. The home was erected on lots 4 and 5 of block 38, and consisted of a one-story. Victorian cottage style frame home measuring 44 by 56 feet and containing approximately 1500 square feet. The home faced east to take advantage of the prevailing winds and was constructed approximately 6 feet off of the ground of press lumber. The front wraparound style porch extended around the south side of the house. A short porch with a cover existed on the north side of the house with an entry into the living room area In 1897. The taxable value of the property had increased to $135 and the value given to the newly constructed home was listed as $600.
On August 8. 1896. Henry and his wife. Effie. sold their home to George Locke of Westlake, Louisiana, for the sum of $3000. William Skirvn, secretary of the Alta Loma Investment and Improvement Company, notarized this sale. For some reason, the property was returned to the Millers. It is possible that after the 1900 Storm the property was abandoned. Reports of the area after the storm stated that of the some 100 houses that had existed in the Alta Loma area, 40 were destroyed, and 20 were declared unlivable. There were only about four houses left on blocks with the Miller House being one of the four. On September 15, 1910, Effie Shaw Miller filed for recovery of the property from any unknown heirs of her husband. Henry Miller, who had died, and she wanted to make sure he had no living heirs to claim the property. The court granted the final action on her request on January 12. 1914. giving Effie Miller total ownership of the property.
On June 12, 1915, Effie Shaw Miller sold the property to Willard B. Kitchel for the sum of $1050. Kitchel had come to Alta Loma in 1898 from Montevideo, Minnesota, and had served in Sparta, Minnesota as a Court Commissioner and as a postman. He, and another brother. Edward, were partners in a flour mill, which was located on the same site as the famous Pillsbury Mills of today. Willard Kitchel, and his brother, James, operated a general store in town that advertised in the “Texas Coast Reporter" in June 1904. Willard was also postmaster at the post office in Alta Loma in 1910. In August 1915, another hurricane struck the coastal area with wind gusts reaching 120 miles per hour.
While there was not as much damage to the town as in the 1900 Storm, there was much more flooding. The house sustained damage to the windows, front stairs and the small porch on the north side of the house. Willard Kitchel would only own the home for a short time after this, selling it to his brother. Charles J. Kitchel. five months later on November 10. 1915. Charles and his wife. Minnie. lived here for the next six years after which time he sold the house back to his brother, Willard, and his wife. Marry Kitchel on May 9, 1921. Willard and Mary Kitchel lived in the house again for a short time and on November 27, 1922, sold it to Bertha Kitchel Wilson. Witnesses to her signature were Jennie Platzer and Zilpha I. Hurt. John H. Hurt, the assistant cashier for the First State Bank of Alta Loma. Notarized the document.
On January 19. 1924, Bertha Kitchel Wilson, and her husband, R.D. Wilson, sold the house and property to Edward J. McIntire and his wife, Marie B. McIntire. of Washington County, Arkansas, for the
sum of $2000. Three years later, on April 14, 1927, Edward and Marie B. McIntire sold the house to M.L. Clark. and his wife, Jennie, for the sum of $1000. The couple put $600 down payment on the home
and agreed to pay not less than $20 a month toward the balance including interest until the remaining $400 was paid off.
On March 6, 1930, the Clark's sold the property to Albert F. Brautigam for $1000.16 He made a downpayment of $100 and financed the balance of $900 at 8% interest with payments of at least $40 a month plus interest. Albert F. Brautigam was a carpenter by trade who worked at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Among his duties was the construction of artificial limbs for patients at the hospital. His wife was Margaret L. (Wenzel) Brautigam and the couple had two children. Albert Frederick Jr., and Henry Louis Brautigam. Soon after the couple moved into the home. a decision was made to lower the entire house approximately 5 feet. This was done for cosmetic purposes. Mrs. Brautigam was very active in activities at the First Baptist Church of Alta Loma, and was known as "Mrs. B". She served in the Primary Department Sunday school for 48 years. most of those years as superintendent.
There followed several unusual transactions involving this property after Albert and Margaret Brautigam were divorced. Albert F. Brautigam sold the home to Margaret L. Brautigam on April 25.
1934 for $1 and other considerations." She, in turn. sold it back to him for $10 and other considerations on August 15. 1936. At the death of Albert Brautigam on July 20. 1966, Margaret received his entire estate. The two sons executed a deed conveying all of their right, title and interest in the property to their mother, Margaret, thereby rendering it unnecessary to offer the will for probate.
Margaret L. Brautigam continued to live in the house until advanced age, along with the deteriorating condition of the house, caused her to move into a mobile home that was placed behind the house for her use. The house remained empty for the next 30 years. and Margaret Brautigam died on April 15. 1996.
By the first part of 1996, the house in a great stage of disrepair. was barely visible from behind the undergrowth of weeds and tree-entangled wild vines. Hints of its former charm were still visible,however, when its availability became known to local businessman. Ralph W. Stenzel. Ralph. and his wife Kay Stenzel, accepted the restoration challenge, and purchased it in February 1996. setting out to completely restore the house to its original condition and facade. By coincidence, the paternal great-grandparents of Ralph W. Stenzel, Fred, and Emma Medlenka, Galvestonians, also purchased property in Alta Loma in 1896 - the same year the Miller - Brautigam home was built. The Medienka's moved to their property after the 1900 Hurricane, and remained until the ravages of the next devastating storm in 1915, convinced them to move to Houston. The Medlenka family descendants have retained continuous ownership of the Alta Loma (now Santa Fe, Texas) property, however, for a total of 106 years the property passing down through Ralph W. Stenzel's paternal line to himself. This long standing family ownership of the land was the motivation behind Ralph W. Stenzel's local business venture as the founder in 1987 of the Santa Fe True Value Hardware of Santa Fe. Retiring in 1997. he pursues his interests in Santa Fe as a current member of the City Council, a recognized historian, and an active proponent of preservation in the area.
Although having in its later years been allowed to fall into great deterioration, the Miller-Brautigam house has survived, giving evidence to it's underlying strength. It has responded well to the extensive preservation efforts made its present owners, the Stenzel's, who have successfully worked to restore it.
It's Nineteenth Century Texas style, reflecting a hint of gentle middle class elegance translates the Miller-Brautigam house into an exemplification of the lifestyle of people who in departing the island of Galveston to form the nucleus of mainland developments. were successful in establishing the vibrant andattractive community into which Alta Loma, and later the City of Santa Fe, evolved. The Miller-Brautigam house is important to the heritage of the community and Galveston Count and is invaluable as a visual contact with the area's past.
Researched and Written by Ralph W. Stenzel Jr.