Frank Teich

Frank Teich (1856-1939) was a sculptor and stonecutter and “the father of the granite industry in Texas.” Born in Germany, he studied at the University of Nuremburg and was later an apprentice to German sculptor Johannes Schilling. He arrived in the United States in 1878 where he traveled throughout the Midwest and California and provided stone carving on the Cook County Courthouse in Chicago in 1879.  By 1883, Teich was in Texas and superintended the granite cutters during construction of the Texas State Capitol in Austin.  He established a marble yard in San Antonio in 1885 near the Alamo but moved to the Fredericksburg area shortly after and then relocated to Europe for a number of years.  He returned to Texas in 1901 and established Teich Monumental Works outside Llano, Texas. He worked on numerous monuments throughout the state, and significant San Antonio works include the altar in St. Mary’s Church and the Mahncke Memorial in Brackenridge Park. ("Teich, Frank” by unnamed author. Excerpted from the Handbook of Texas Online - www.tshaonline.org © Texas State Historical Association).