Wunderlich Farm Interactive History Park

The Wunderlich Farm Interactive History Park interprets the rural heritage of the early families and communities that settled in Klein during the second half of the 1800s and early 1900s. The park comprises several historical structures and museums, including the Peter Wunderlich Homestead, the Hildebrandt House, the Kohrville Schoolhouse, the Maira Katherine Hofius Wunderlich Homestead, the Theiss Homestead, and the Klein, TX Museum. There is also a working farm on the property where visitors can learn about and interact with the farm animals.

During the second half of the nineteenth century, the Wunderlich family was one of several German families who settled in Klein. Seeking to escape from political turmoil in Germany, they immigrated to the area that is now southeastern Texas where they established homesteads and farms upon their arrival. Peter Wunderlich and his wife, Maria Katherine Hofius, settled here and began farming. To supplement their income, Peter also made goods to sell, including syrup and charcoal, pine tar for pitch, and a lubricant for buggies, stagecoaches, and wagons. After Peter's death during an explosion at a gunpowder mill, his wife built a new home, which is now part of the Wunderlich museum complex. Their son, who was also named Peter, later built a home that is located at this site as well.

Today, the Wunderlich Farm is an interactive history museum with a working farm that aims to share the stories of these and other early settlers in Klein. The site is run by the Klein, TX Historical Foundation and is part of the Integrated School District's K-12 curriculum. Over the past century, the town of Klein has gradually been transformed from a quiet rural community into a busy suburb of Houston, the nation's fourth largest city. The centerpiece of the Wunderlich Farm Interactive History Park is the Wunderlich Homestead. It was constructed in 1891 by the youngest son of the first Wunderlich immigrant to Klein. He and his wife raised twelve children in this home. Along with their house, the farm and the surrounding gardens offer visitors a glimpse into how these early settlers lived. Other historic structures now located at the complex were moved to the property after it became a museum.

Built in 1882, the Hildebrandt Homestead previously stood near Spring-Stuebner Road and Falvel Road near Krienhop Elementary School. This home is interpreted to showcase life in Klein during the 1940s and 1950s, when "modern" technologies such as telephones, radios, televisions, and electric kitchen appliances began to dramatically alter the pace of rural and suburban lifestyles in towns all across the U.S. Also located on site is the Kohrville School, a two-room schoolhouse. Established in 1890, it initially served emancipated African Americans who moved here after the Civil War. In the classroom, rows of desks face a chalkboard where the instructor taught, as the students studied reading, writing, and arithmetic. In the schoolyard, children played games such as beanbag toss or corn cob yard darts, and they also held sack races. Up until 1966, the Kohrville School was the last African American schoolhouse used in Klein.

Anderson, Brian. Wunderlich Farm Historical Marker, Hmdb. July 1st, 2019. Accessed May 16th, 2023. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=136066.

Early Klein Community, Klein Historical. Accessed May 16th, 2023. https://www.kleinhistorical.org/kleincommunity/.

Kohrville School, Klein Historical. Accessed May 16th, 2023. https://www.kleinhistorical.org/kohrvilleschool/.

Peter Wunderlich Homestead, Klein Historical. Accessed May 16th, 2023. https://www.kleinhistorical.org/wunderlichhomestead/.