Nimitz, Chester W.

Typical early Fredericksburg home built 1866 by Carl Basse. Property of the Henke family since 1873. Heinrich Henke, early settler, Confederate freighter, had butcher counter on front porch; meat processing was done in back yard; there the horses that pulled meat vending cart were stabled. Shop later built on foundation of stone walls surrounding lot. He and his wife Dorothea (nee Weirich) added the long dining room and kitchen with sloped roof to accommodate their twelve children. Many of their furnishings are preserved by Udo Henke, a descendant. In small room to rear of front bedroom, on Feb. 24, 1885, their daughter, Anna Henke Nimitz, gave birth to Chester William Nimitz, destined to command the greatest naval armada in history. A 1905 honor graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy, Nimitz was chief of staff to commander, Atlantic Submarine Fleet, W.W.I. Installed first Naval ROTC unit in U.S. Navy, 1926; selected Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet after attack on Pearl Harbor; appointed Fleet Admiral, U. S. Navy, 1944. As representative of the U. S. he signed Japanese surrender documents on his flagship, USS Missouri, Sept. 2, 1945 in Tokyo Bay. Admiral Nimitz died in San Francisco on Feb. 20, 1966. (1968)

Nimitz, Chester W. is a historical marker in Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, dedicated in 1968. It is one of 108 historical markers documented in Gillespie County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 189 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.2705, -98.8719 near Fredericksburg. The nearest cataloged historic site is Domino Parlor (historical marker), about 0.2 miles away. Others within a short drive include Mosel-Jordan-Duecker Haus, Mueller-Petmecky House, and Nimitz Hotel.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5171010090. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.