Sterne-Hoya House ~ Nacogdoches, Texas

The Sterne-Hoya house is one of the oldest houses in Texas still standing on its original site and is listed in both the National and Texas Registers of Historical Places.

Adolphus Sterne built this wood-frame dog-trot house in 1830. He and his wife were German immigrants and passionate Texas patriots. The Sternes hosted many leading figures of the day, including Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Chief Phillip Bowles, and Thomas J. Rusk, among others.

On the grounds of the house is a historical monument dedicated to the New Orleans Greys, a volunteer regiment of soldiers formed in New Orleans with the assistance of Sterne to help Texans fight in the war for independence against Mexico. One company of Greys came through Nacogdoches in late 1835 where they bivouacked in Sterne's peach orchard and were entertained at a banquet where their hosts served roasted bear and raccoon meat and champagne. Sterne provided guns and horses for the group. The two companies were decimated during the battle at the Alamo and the massacre of Goliad where Texas soldiers were summarily executed the morning after surrendering to Santa Anna’s forces and only seven of the original 120 survived to fight on April 21, 1836, at San Jacinto, the battle which won Texas its independence. The Greys came from Louisiana, Virginia, Great Britain, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Ireland, Germany, Kentucky, South Carolina, and New Jersey.

The Sterne family lived in the house until 1869, when the widow Sterne sold it to her neighbor, Joseph von der Hoya, for $550. The Hoyas, a prominent Nacogdoches family, owned the house until 1958, when they deeded it to the City of Nacogdoches to serve as a library and then later a museum.