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This stone and brick commercial building was constructed in 1883 by pharmacist Paul Alexander Breymann (1846-1898). After immigrating to the United States from Germany in 1872, Breymann worked for pharmaceutical companies in Baltimore and Houston before moving to Schulenburg and opening his own pharmacy and drug store business. In 1876, he married Anna Carlson (1856-1937). The Breymann building’s materials proved wise ten years after construction when, in 1893, a massive fire destroyed many buildings along Main Street due to their predominately wooden construction. The fire brigade was dispatched and used their modern hand pump to fight the fire, but in the end, it was the Breymann building that halted the flames from spreading to the eastern portion of downtown. The stone still carries char marks from the fire.
Upon Breymann’s death in 1898, the business passed to his son, also named Paul Alexander Breymann. In these years, the establishment also became the School Book Depository and a place to purchase cut glass, china and jewelry. After his death in 1935, the third generation of the Breymann family, Paul Anthony, operated the pharmacy until his untimely death in 1949. For the next ten years, the pharmacy was operated by Paul Anthony’s widow, Rena (Heiss) Breymann (1907-2002). In 1959, she sold the building to Justin V. Bartos, ending 86 years of operation as a pharmacy and drug store.
Current ownership undertook renovations to the building, while making careful note to preserve the extensive history. The P. Breymann building has occupied Schulenburg’s Main Street District for nearly 150 years, a historic vestige of this town center. (2022) |
