[3] He purchased a tract of land from John O. Meusebach, on which in 1855 he built a 1+1⁄2 story saltbox limestone rubble house with exterior steps leading to a cellar.

[2] When he married Emma Toepperwein in February 1857,[3] he built a 1-story stuccoed dog trot double-pen cedar log cabin as their new home.

[2] The dog trot house was added to the San Antonio project of the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1968.

[4] A 2-story Greek Revival style structure was added to the complex in 1878, to function as a hotel for travelers along the stage route.

The dog trot cabin was later incorporated into the hotel on the ground level through the south rooms and an interconnected shed.