Crabapple School

School Snapshot

Quick details for visitors

Location 14671 Lower Crabapple Road
Established 1882
School Type One-room country school
Access Grounds open; building open during events (when scheduled)
Directions Open in Google Maps
Open Houses View upcoming dates

Our schools are available be rented for private functions, weddings, and other social gatherings at a nominal fee of $25 per school.

All visits and tours are by appointment only. To make rental arrangements or request additional information, please contact the school’s designated rental representative by phone or submit your request through our Contact Us form. When using the form, be sure to select the school(s) you wish to visit and include your preferred date and details.

For the Crabapple School, please contact Valerie Reeh Nimitz-Stokes, 210-912-5783 or Susan Lillibridge 830-998-6703.

You’re welcome to explore the school grounds and surrounding property even when no official open house events are scheduled. These historic settings offer opportunities for leisurely walks, bird watching, geo-caching, and quiet reflection.

If the school building is locked, feel free to look through the windows to glimpse the interior. Should a private event be underway, we kindly ask that you respect the occasion and avoid interrupting activities.

To schedule a guided visit or tour of the Crabapple School, please contact Valerie Reeh Nimitz-Stokes, 210-912-5783 or Susan Lillibridge 830-998-6703, or submit a request through our Contact Us form. When using the form, select Crabapple School from the dropdown menu and include your preferred date, time, and any additional details.

Soon after the school consolidated in 1957, the Crabapple Community Club was organized to continue using and caring for the historic property. The club remains active today and meets monthly on the first Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for dominoes and other games. The schoolhouse and grounds are also used for community functions, including wedding receptions, reunions, elections, birthday parties, and St. John Lutheran Church gatherings.

German immigrants who came to Fredericksburg in the 1840s and later settled in the Crabapple area. Like many rural communities in Gillespie County, families wanted a school close to home for their children.

Two families were especially eager to provide land for the school: Crockett Riley and Mathias Schmidt. To decide who would have the privilege of donating the land, the men held a foot race. Mathias Schmidt, a farmer, won the race, and the first Crabapple School was built on the land he donated.

The original school opened in 1878 as Crabapple School District #10. Families in the community donated their labor to build a two-story native limestone structure with two rooms. One room served as the classroom, while the other provided living quarters for the teacher. The upstairs area, reached by an outside stairway, was used for storage. About ten years later, another room was added.

Between 1887 and 1910, the first building also served as a post office. In 1882, a second limestone school building was constructed at a cost of $600. In addition to serving as the school, the building was also used by the Lutheran congregation until St. John Lutheran Church was built nearby in 1897.

Crabapple School had one teacher responsible for teaching all grade levels. Enrollment reached its highest point around the turn of the century, with approximately 40 students. Teacher salaries ranged from $80 per month in the 1920s to $250 per month in the early 1950s. In all, 28 teachers served at Crabapple School.

In May 1957, Crabapple School consolidated with Fredericksburg Independent School District, when only nine students remained. A Texas historical marker was placed at the school in September 1994.