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ZEDLER, FRITZ (1840-1932). Fritz Zedler, early settler and mill owner, was born in Friedberg, Prussia, on March 23, 1840. His family moved to Texas in 1852, landing in Indianola and settling at Yorktown. In 1858 Zedler began carrying mail between Indianola and Gonzales. He later made cattle drives from Yorktown to New Orleans and developed a freight service between Indianola and San Antonio. He served for a time in the Civil War,qv possibly under the command of Col. Peter Cavanaugh Woods.qv In 1862 Zedler obtained a release from military service and married Louise Fechner of Yorktown on February 22. They became the parents of eleven children. They moved to Mexico in 1863 but returned to Texas after a year or two. In 1872 Zedler moved his family to Sandies in Gonzales County, where he established a mill complex. He moved to a site near Luling in 1880 and took over the operation of the local mill, which was not faring well. The mill burned in 1888, but Zedler's customers held their cotton until he was able to rebuild. Zedler contracted in 1890 to furnish water from the mill pond to the city of Luling. He left his sons to run the Luling mill from 1891 to 1895 and went to Cuero to manage the mill there. In his absence his sons installed an electric plant at the mill and began supplying power for Luling. Zedler retired in March 1902. He died on September 16, 1932. The Zedler home, which was built in 1900, was restored in 1972. The house and the Zedler mill each received historical markers in 1974. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Marker Files, Texas Historical Commission, Austin. Plum Creek Almanac, Fall 1986.
Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl
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