Hilbig Park Outbuildings & Monuments

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Descendant of the first Rockne settlers and charter member of the Rockne Historical Association and the vision for the Rockne Museum and we are honored for her commitment and dedication to creating a legacy for future generations.

A descendant of German Immigrants and founding member of RHA donated land for Hilbig Park in 1992 to memorialize Rockne pioneers. She is honored for her vision and leadership in creating a pioneer village.

Father Alois, a Rockne Native, is honored for fostering a relationship between Rockne descendants and their German Catholic heritage. He authored the Rockne "Red" Book, a valuable research tool for posterity and a story of the faith and courage of our ancestors.

 Around 1860, the Phillip Goertz family built a two-room dog-trot log cabin near Walnut Creek. This home had a profound influence on the future of the community. The Pioneer Log Cabin became the center of social life and where religious services were held throughout the early years until a permanent church was built in 1877.

After the Rockne Historical Association (RHA) was formed, Fred Goertz told the members about an old barn on Sylvester Goertz's place that he was sure had historical importance. Indeed its authenticity was verified as the former log home of Phillip Goertz by his grandson, Alfred Goertz. He remembered his older brother Robert saying that part of the barn was Grandpa's (Phillip Goertz's) house.

One room of the former home had been moved to the Peter Goertz property and used as a corn crib. Peter was the son of Phillip. The other half had been given to Catherine, Peter's sister. None of those logs remain today.

The property now belonged to Sylvester Goertz�s daughter and son-in-law, Olin and Sandra Foust. They donated the one-room log cabin to RHA , with the understanding, that it had to be moved. This was an exciting discovery; a home that existed over 130 years ago. It was a place where just about all our ancestors visited; praying together and discussing the future of their community.

The idea of restoring the one remaining room and reconstructing the rest of the dog-trot home to look as much like the original as possible developed. The original foundation, where the home was built, was still visible and could be used for exact measurements.

Finding a suitable location for the cabin became a priority for RHA. On June 24, 1992, Charlie and Marian Hilbig Nelson donated a lot near the church. It was donated in memory of Sylvester and Clara Kadura Hilbig and named Hilbig Park after Hilbig Park School which the children of the community attended from 1894 to 1900. Anton Hilbig and his wife Carolina donated the land for the school "because of their love and affection for education," the deed states.

Obtaining the land was just the beginning. The big metal roof, that had protected the logs and other rooms and pens in the compound had to be removed. Fences, tin, and other debris needed to be cleared away along with tall weeds and brush. Marvin Bartsch and Curtis Goertz did most of the hard work, sometimes putting in 20 hours on a weekend.

In the meantime, a driveway and fence were put in at Hilbig Park. Mesquites were cleared and the foundation readied for the log cabin. Curtis Goertz reported that 17 people donated  331 hours to do this work.

On November 18, 1993, three years after RHA learned about the log cabin it was moved, intact, to Hilbig Park. Thanks to a professional mover, Frank Victorin, who was meticulous in every detail, and Murray Callahan, Charlie and Marian Nelson, Edgar Leonhart, Marvin Bartsch, Thomas Goertz, and Ira, the tractor driver, that first step was accomplished.

Fred Goertz, great-grandson of Phillip Goertz, was hired as construction supervisor. He and Charlie Nelson worked together alone and with volunteers for two years to restore and rebuild the log cabin.

Under the leadership of Marian H. Nelson, the Phillip Goertz Log Cabin was moved, restored, furnished, and dedicated on October 15, 1995.

The Lehman log cabin was built (Circa 1858) by German immigrants, John T. Lehman (1832 - 1892) and his Father Daniel on a site at the intersection of Highway 20 and FM535 about 16 miles South of Bastrop, Texas.

Daniel Lehman and his family arrived in Texas at the Port of Indianola on November 9, 1846 and settled in Bastrop County. They were among the first to arrive in this area and settle along Walnut Creek. Their first home was just North of Rockne. Daniel bought land in 1857 and subsequently, he and his son John T. built this log cabin as their permanent home.

John and his wife Maria Anna Eichorn and second wife, Rosina Brasch, raised seven children in the cabin: Julius, John, Charles, Phillip, Martin, Ida Jane Morse (adopted), and Mary.

In 1891, John and his family donated the land for Sacred Heart Church and the Cemetery in Rockne, Texas. He was the first person buried in the Sacred Heart Cemetery.

The cabin served as a residence until around 1945 and later it became a hay barn. In 1984, it was moved to Bastrop, Texas restored on Wilson Street, later disassembled and the logs were sold to Lee and Rodney Lehman.

The logs came into the possession of George and Cindy Goertz who donated them and the land needed to erect the cabin to the Rockne Historical Association (RHA). With the help of a Grant from Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Coop, RHA under the supervision of project manager Daniel S. Lehman restored the cabin.

Log smokehouse donated by the Lee Family

The restoration of the Lee Smokehouse was made possible by a grant from The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative (BEC). The plaque on the smokehouse, included in the grant reads:

W. O. Weber (1858-1926) and his wife Matilda (1865-1935) built this smokehouse (circa 1900) for their daughter, Frances, on property they had purchased in 1881, about eight miles from Rockne in the Watterson Community.

Richard “Ray” and Marion Petty Lee subsequently purchased the property in 1953 and continued to use the smokehouse for some years until they stopped butchering hogs. Mr. Lee stuffed toe sacks in between the logs to keep the smoke inside. He hung the sausages from the handle of a cotton hoe stretched across the beams and covered hams and shoulders with salt in a box in the corner of the smokehouse. The young boys in the family had the responsibility of keeping the fire smoking, not flaming.

The Lee children, Billie Lee Voigt, James Raymond Lee, Donald Eugene Lee and Doris Lee Kershaw donated this log smokehouse to the Rockne Historical Association (RHA) in memory of their parents. Herman Barton arranged for the donation and moved the smokehouse from its original location to Hilbig Park in 2005. Mark Lee, a grandson, did the research on the origins of the smokehouse.

The Lower Colorado River Authority and the Bluebonnet Electric Coop granted funds to RHA making possible the restoration of the historic log smokehouse. The renovation was completed in 2008.

On 27 August 2008, RHA celebrated the completion of the restoration in front of the smokehouse under a big oak tree. It was the perfect spot on a sunny morning to listen to a detailed description of “A Hog Killing Day” by Jim Lee.

Jim said, “It was always cold on hog killing day. It had to be or the meat would spoil. Activities actually started a day or two before the actual event. A hole was dug under a strong tree limb and a 55-gallon drum set in the hole at an angle. Knives were sharpened, pots and pans gathered, and the sausage grinder clamped to the kitchen table. By daylight on the day of the killing, there was a fire under the wash pot full of water. Neighbors would start to gather not too long after sunup. Daddy usually dispensed the hapless hog with a .22. He’d climb up on the fence and shoot down at the hog, looking up expecting slop. But hog’s brains are kinda small and this sometimes proved exciting. One time he shot a little low and we had to chase the hog down and tackle it so he could finish the job. Another time, right after WWII, Uncle Sammy wanted to do the honors with a Walther P38 he’d taken off a German soldier. Instead of climbing up on the fence, he knelt down and fired through the fence. The meat was ruined all the way to the hams. As soon as the hog was killed, its throat was cut to drain as much blood as possible. The hog was then fitted with a singletree hooked in its hind legs and hoisted with a block and tackle above the 55-gallon drum, which had been partly filled with hot water. After several dippings in the hot water, with more hot water added between dippings, two or three men scraped the hair off, pulling butcher knives sideways. The hog was then gutted, being careful not to cut into the guts. The hog was cut into pieces and the skin and layer of fat removed. The skin and fat was cut into small pieces that were cooked in a wash pot to melt the fat to be used as hog lard. What was left was cracklings that were used to make lye soap. Shoulders and hams were packed in a box of salt in one corner of the smokehouse. Just about everything else was run through the sausage grinder into the guts that the women had scrapped clean. The kids, who had spent most of the day playing and watching, got to turn the sausage grinder. The sausage was hung over a hoe handle in the smokehouse and a fire started under it that would be kept going just enough to make smoke for a couple of weeks. At the end of the day, everyone took a share of the meat home and the same thing would happen again at the neighbor’s the next cold spell. Some people kept the pig’s feet but we never did. Daddy usually took the hog’s head and a bushel or so of corn shucks to a Mexican lady in Bastrop who made tamales on the halves. They sure were good but we would joke about whether there was anything on that head she didn’t use.”

After the program, everyone wandered to the smokehouse to investigate the faint stream of smoke drifting in the air. Bernard Probst of Tucker Homes who restored the smokehouse also built a fire pit and made the smoking fire early that morning. Once again, sausages hung in the smoked-filled log room and a pleasant aroma emanated evoking memories of times passed when meat was smoked and cured after hog butchering.

After taking many pictures and inspecting the meats hanging in the smokehouse, guests were invited to lunch at the Rockne Museum. Directors and docents prepared an array of delicious casseroles, salads and desserts. After lunch, there was time to tour the Rockne Museum and other historic log buildings in Hilbig Park.

On March 4, 2006, Texas sculptor Jerry McKenna presented a life-size portrait bust to the community of Rockne as a tribute to Knute Kenneth Rockne on what would have been his 118th birthday. The bronze portrait sculpture of Knute Rockne is displayed at the Rockne Museum and was generously donated by McKenna.

McKenna, known for his sports-related sculptures, has created numerous notable pieces, including three busts at the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. His work also includes a heroic sculpture of Coach Frank Leahy at the University of Notre Dame and a sculpture of Edward "Moose" Krause, among others. Additionally, McKenna has crafted sculptures of significant figures such as George Gipp for the Ronald Reagan Library, and Coach Knute Rockne for the Chicagoland Hall of Fame.

In commemorating the 75th anniversary of Knute Rockne's passing, McKenna unveiled a 7-foot sculpture of Rockne in Voss, Norway on March 31, 2006. Both the larger-than-life-size and the life-size bust of Rockne incorporate metals that symbolize different aspects of his life, including 

• metals from a carriage made by Rockne's father,
•  gold leaf from Notre Dame's Golden Dome, and
•  parts of the aircraft wreckage from the site of his tragic accident in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

McKenna's artistic journey began at the Gertrude Herbert School of Art in Augusta, GA when he was just 14 years old. He later pursued his studies at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and the San Antonio Art Institute. McKenna earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Arts from Webster University in Webster Groves, MD.

McKenna is a former U.S. Air Force officer and a decorated Vietnam veteran, holding both U.S. and Irish citizenship. He currently resides with his wife, Gail, in Boerne, Texas.

The Barn is a replica of a barn from the early settlers' era. It houses various tools and equipment and a wagon that belonged to Anton Hilbig. More information about the barn will be available soon!

 The Outhouse