The Fabra Smokehouse

Imagine life without H.E.B. or Walmart. How would you get your meat for dinner? Most people would hunt animals or butcher their livestock. That could be a lot of food for one family to eat! Without freezers, the townspeople would need a way to keep the meat fresh for long periods of time. Smoking meats is an ancient method for preserving meat, poultry, and fish.

Julius Fabra came to Boerne from Germany in 1854, bringing his butchering tools with him. In 1857, he began to butcher livestock for the community. His son Ludwig was born in 1858. Ludwig joined the family butcher business. In 1887, using limestone from the area, he built a one story smokehouse behind his family store. The store, named Fabra Meat Market, was located at 202 S. Main Street. In 1907, a second floor was added to the smokehouse, with outside stairs to help the men place meat on the highest racks.

Ludwig’s son, Henry, remembered as a young boy he would pull his wagon around the town selling meat. He took over the family business until 1962 when he retired. The Smokehouse was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1980. The smokehouse is all that remains of the Fabra family business that spanned 3 generations