On the
afternoon of May 6, 2012, approximately 25 people gathered at 500 East 29th
Street in Bryan, Texas, to attend the unveiling and dedication of the Recorded
Texas Historic Landmark Marker for the Wipprecht House, now the home of the law
practice of Philip Banks and his daughter, Amy Banks. Attending the ceremony were members of the
Brazos County Historical Commission, representatives of the Brazos Heritage
Society, and interested citizens.
Welcoming
those in attendance was Henry Mayo, Chair of the Brazos County Historical
Commission, who also served as master of ceremonies. Speaking about the Wipprecht family and the
history of the house were J. Russell Bradley, Jr., DDS, R. Bruce Buechler, MD,
and Philip C. Banks, JD. Following the
informative and entertaining presentations the Texas Historical Marker was
unveiled by Phil and Amy Banks.
At the
conclusion of the ceremony, those in attendance were invited inside the law
offices for refreshments and for tours offered by Phil, Martha, and Amy Banks.
For the
ceremony’s printed program, Phil had prepared a brief written account of the
Wipprecht family and their house. The
text of that brief history follows:
The person responsible for the
construction of the house at 500 East 29th Street in Bryan, Texas, was Walter
Wipprecht. Walter was born at
Sisterdale, Texas, in 1864 to a German immigrant family. Walter graduated from Texas A&M in 1884
and became the first graduate student in the school’s history in 1885.
Walter grew up to be a
successful businessman who gave back years of service to his community and
years of devotion to his family. Walter
Wipprecht had the house at 500 East 29th Street constructed for his mother and
sister on their return to Texas from Germany.
Walter hired the great builder
Charlie Jenkins and his draftsman brother George to construct this house. The care and attention to detail, the
precision and workmanship of the construction are readily apparent 114 years
later.
When the home was inspected in
2001, the inspector said it was in better condition than the majority of new
construction home he examined. The
combination of the Jenkins brothers building the house for Walter Wipprecht
resulted in a significant building that has stood the test of time.
Walter was a trained scientist
and scholar who was also the President of the Bryan Telephone Company and the
Bryan Press Company. He was elected to
serve five times as the Brazos County Tax Assessor and was President of the
Aggie Alumni Organization. Walter served
as an instructor in chemistry and physics at Texas A&M as well as the first
chemist for the Texas Experiment Station.
He served as Comptroller of Texas A&M for many years.
Walter took over the house from
his mother and sister and later left it to his daughter, Ida W. Kernodle. Her estate conveyed the property to Dr. and
Mrs. Bruce Buechler, who sold it to the present owners, Philip and Martha
Banks. Thus only three families have
owned this magnificent house over 114 years.
The
citizens of Brazos County owe Dr. and Mrs. Buechler and the Banks family a debt
of gratitude for their efforts to preserve this beautiful piece of history.
Found
below is a presentation containing photographs from this event.
