#345 - Gruene Mansion Inn, of Gruene, TX

Gruene Mansion in Gruene!

Last December, Don and I spent a night in this sweet old mansion, from 1872.

The Victorian-style home was built by Henry D. Gruene, (pronounced GREEN) in a town once called Goodwin. H.D. was evidently quite a guy in the community. The town's name was eventually changed to honor him. 
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The Dance Hall

Most people in Texas know of Gruene, because of its famous dance hall. Texas has a lot of old dance halls, but Gruene Hall is the oldest. 

The dance hall was built by Mr. Gruene in 1878. It sits right next door to his mansion. That was pretty convenient for Henry. Also for us, since we had tickets for a Tiki Christmas Concert on the night of our stay.

Around Gruene

The mansion and dance hall aren't the only buildings connected to Henry. There's the 1904 Mercantile, (great antiques now) with HD Gruene's name. The Gristmill River Restaurant is housed in the old cotton gin, built by the H.D.

Other old buildings have been turned into fun shops and cafes, all just steps from the mansion. It's fun to imagine the town in 1900, when Gruene was a thriving community. Cotton farming, ginning and banking! There's still a vault in the Mercantile building.

Gruene Family

This photo was taken on the mansion's porch. I'm guessing the older man is Ernst Gruene, who immigrated with his wife Antoinette from Germany. They moved their family to the town of "Goodwin" when Henry was a baby. 

I'm guessing Henry is the younger brother... and maybe that's his young son. This photo would have been taken after Henry returned home to Goodwin, to marry and build this home. H.D. spent many prosperous years, until  his death in 1920. Sadly, Gruene was a ghost town by 1950.

​Mansion Property

The old ghost town had a sort of revival in the early 1970s. Restoration of buildings began. Today Gruene Mansion has 2 guest rooms. Most of the other 30 or so rooms, are elsewhere on the inn's property. 

When we pulled in on December 5, we followed the drive back a ways, to peek at some of the other buildings where guests stay.

On the River

Some of the rooms overlook the Guadalupe River. The website description... Victorian Rustic Elegance with modern amenities. 

This land along the river was purchased by Ernst Gruene, in 1845. Eventually, son Henry took over the land and planted cotton and housed dozens of sharecroppers... or so I read. I couldn't tell if any of the riverside buildings were historic. The weathered wood in winter, made everything look old.

​Gathering Spots

Near the riverside units, there were lots of open air gathering spots. On a chilly Thursday afternoon, I found no one making use of the rocking chairs.

I didn't spot anyone on the swing, beneath a metal roof. The community space didn't looked appealing on that gray day. but in the summertime, I can imagine a different vibe. Lot of guests hanging out, after a day tubing down the river.

Heading In

We parked on a brick & grass lot, beside a larger covered outdoor space. 

Free parking was a perk. Gruene has become much more touristy, in recent decades.

We could have gathered near the fireplace, under this roof.

A blanket and hot chocolate would have made it cozy.

Busy Henry

We've admired this Victorian mansion on many past visits to Gruene. But only recently did I learn that Henry Gruene lived here, with his wife Bertha. 

Before that, he was busy in the saddle. He left Gruene (Goodwin at the time) at the age of 19 and spent time as a cowboy. I expect he gathered a lot of stories and lessons while driving longhorn cattle. Maybe he spent some of that time on the trails, calculating how he was going to prosper in Goodwin. 
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Welcome Heart

​Check In was at 3. We found a sign pointing us towards the office, in the back building.

I doubt Cowboy Henry would have cared much for the heart-shaped entrance that took us to his old home.

Lobby
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​The yellow office was in a space that connected the old mansion to The Pantry, which is a coffee shop, housed in the back building. 

I was disappointed there wasn't more of a lobby or lounging space. There was no place to sit, but I noticed a water station, with lots of old photos on the nearby wall.

The Stairs

One photo showed some images of a major restoration, around 1970. The old stairs look scary!

After checking in, we headed up those stairs. They're still sort of scary. 

My photo does NOT show how sloped and twisted that journey was! Luckily we had no bags.

We reached the top of the stairs and found a little sitting area with a sort of pew. There were 2 more doors. One led to the porch. The other opened to the hall, where our room was located.

Back Stairs

After that amusing stair climb, we went back to the car to get bags.

This time we chose the outside stairs, which were much easier. But the code didn't work. I made a couple trips to the desk until we got that figured out.

Peculiar Hall 

Some very odd work has been done to create guest rooms, since the Gruenes lived here. The long hallway, (with very tall ceiling) led directly to the entrance of our cozy suite. Our short door in the tall hall, made me laugh.

I took a closer photo with the door open, showing the screen door to the balcony. The space between the open doors, was part of our suite... Bertha's Suite. Bathroom door to the left. Bedroom door to the right. 

​Pondering the Door

​With my back to the balcony, I took one more photo of our closed door. With open space above, it looked like part of a stage set. Not sure why this amused me so.

There was only one other upstairs guest, but he frequently went in and out of his room. (a smoker maybe?) The hallway sounds floated right above that short door. Footsteps, door sounds, cellphone conversations, startled me repeatedly. I never saw him, but If he'd been an enormously tall man (or a giraffe) he could have poked his head over the door and asked to borrow a cup of sugar. 

Bertha's Room

Our room was named for Henry's wife. I loved our corner space with 4 tall windows. 

We probably could have opened them and walked right out to the wrap around balcony. But we had our own balcony door.

​The queen size bed, with ornate carved wood, was plenty comfy. We had a fridge, TV and coffee maker. All good. 

The vintage wallpaper on the ceiling was kind of fun. As a kid, I would have loved an entertaining ceiling, when I was bored at nap time.

The view out the side windows looked towards a shop and an outside bar.

I walked over later to see the next door property.

There was a small stage and an outside bar.

Since Gruene Hall was on the other side of our inn, we were literally surrounded by live music possibilities!

The Bathroom!

​Our luxurious bathroom was a hoot. The sink set-up was very nice and spacious.

The red claw footed tub was sort of on stage! This so amused me, I had to take a few photos to capture the tricky little platform.

I did some wondering about how I would reach the shampoo & soaps mounted to the wall, when the tub curtains were closed. 

Bath Time Rules
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Then I took some time pondering the rules of the tub.

"If there are TWO of you frolicking in the bath, Please double check your awareness of the water level." Don and I had a good chuckle over that one.

Porch 

A tiny part of me was glad the weather was chilly and damp, when I stepped through our own door to the porch.  

We hardly had time to make use of this incredible wrap-around porch!

Had the weather been lovely, I would have had a harder time dragging myself away from the porch.

I love porches and I love rocking chairs. Anywhere and any day.

I love people watching, too. We had the perfect view of folks strolling the walk in front.

I even loved the view behind the chairs, from the circular porch section. Looking back at the inn, it was fun to see all the those tall windows of our corner room!

I sat for a spell. Just not a long one.

I played Goldilocks and tried out all the chairs. I liked the rockers at the end.

​They had a good view down into Gruene Hall's yard space.

This photo is from the ground, (obviously)  but it shows the old-timey wire fence, that divides the dance hall and inn properties. In warm months, when Gruene is hopping, the inn's porch would definitely be a great place to take in some good people watching and music.

Below

After pondering on the porch, I realized I never explored the space beneath our room. I took the funny stairs to the lobby desk and headed towards the front of the house. I found nice leather chairs, near a decorated tree. 

The old front door had an antique bell in the center. I used to love those old twist turn doorbells!

There were numerous tables at the other end of the room. I believe the tables were available to guests who purchased drinks or food, at The Pantry.

While looking around, I couldn't help but notice a round table, with lots of appetizers and sweets. Oh boy! I guess they forgot to tell us at check in! But when I inquired, I learned the inn's owner was having a private gathering soon. Rats. Not for us.

My Own Meet and Greet

I headed towards the stairs, feeling a little like a middle schooler who just learned she'd not been invited to a party. But all sulking ended, when I met a pleasant looking couple who had just checked in. We struck up a converstaion and I learned they were also attending the Jamestown Revival Tiki Christmas Concert.

In fact, their son Jon, was performing. That's because he was Jon Clay, of the Jon & Zach (Chance) folk duo... Jamestown Revival. In the sweetest (non-braggy) way, these 2 shared about the "boys" who were once high school buddies. The parents were excited about the recent spotlight on these talented young men, with Grammy and Tony nominations, for the score they wrote for  Broadway's musical, The Outsiders.

New Groupies

After a good long chat with these wonderful folks, I dashed upstairs to tell Don. We were already excited about the show. We both love Tiki and Gruene Hall. We also recently became introduced to J. Revival, after seeing them perform in 2022. (Willy Nelson Concert in Sacramento!) 

But suddenly I felt a giddy connection to this talented young band... through the parents of one member. Pretty funny, at 67 I was a whole different kind of groupie. I admired these sincerely proud parents. It made me extra excited to see the show, knowing what happy supportive parents were behind them. I know. Very corny. 

Cowboy Tiki-Time

It was fun to know there would at least be 2 "fans" in the crowd, (besides Don and me) who might be over the age of 50.

Don and I are way, way over 50, but we conjured up some youthful enthusiasm with our cowboy boots and leis. I wore my flowered shirt and Don was decorated with ukuleles. We enjoyed a toast in our room, to the fun ahead.

Evening at the Inn

Before heading next door, we did sneak a peek at the downstairs porch. I snooped in a window at the inn's private gathering and chuckled to myself. Have fun y'all. Sorry we can't join ya, we have to go see our friends at the dance hall now.

We headed through the glowing heart-shape. I wonder how many bridal couples have posed in that spot?

The Show

The evening couldn't have been more enjoyable. The stage was decorated with palm trees and Christmas decor. The enthused fans (some in tiki attire) seemed laid back and game for a simple evening of folksy Christmas music and good humored, relaxed on-stage banter. 

It was as if everyone already knew each other. Yet we oldsters never felt out of place. The band and the crowd all seemed equally welcoming.

​Night in Gruene

Don and I lingered a while after the show. It felt good to know we had no drive ahead. We'd been standing throughout the show, (no seats) but we were still in no hurry to rush back.

It didn't take long for the main street to empty. We had a fun peek at the old Mercantile, all lit up with no cars cluttering.

​We strolled down the walk just a few steps, then up to the porch. 

It was an added bonus to have our stay in December, when lights and greenery decorated the porches!

Morning

We slept well in Bertha's Room. There was no music lingering late at night. No guest going in and out. All was peaceful and cozy. 

We had to hit the road early, but made sure to purchase some coffee and warm scones from The Pantry. The smells of coffee and sweets, was welcoming. It was a perfect end to our stay.

What's Notable?

We stayed in a Victorian mansion, in one of our favorite places in Texas. Even though Gruene's become touristy, it's still such a festive little town. I really never appreciated the history of Gruene or the mansion, until this visit. 

Mostly I'll remember the cozy room, with access to the huge porch. The tub was not ideal, but just fine for one night. The price wasn't great either (total over 300) but again, it was just one night. A stay with warmer (not hot) weather would have made the visit absolutely ideal. I would love to enjoy more of the grounds and definitely more porch time!
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