What to See in Victoria - Top Sights and Attractions

DeLeon Plaza and Bandstand is 1.77 acres originally platted as the center of the city of Victoria, county of Victoria, in the U.S. state of Texas. The bandstand stood nearby the plaza until it was moved to the center of the plaza in 1923. The William P. Rogers chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy contracted with sculptor Pompeo Coppini for the DeLeon Plaza's 1912 monument to the Confederacy The Last Stand.

On March 24, 1987, DeLeon Plaza and Bandstand was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Victoria County, Texas. In 1965, the bandstand was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, Marker number 289. In 1998, the plaza was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, Marker number 12273.^[1]

Historical landmark in Victoria, Texas. Victoria Grist Windmill is an historic gristmill in Memorial Square in Victoria, Texas, United States. The windmill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1976 and became an American Society of Mechanical Engineers Landmark in May, 1991.

The windmill was built in 1870 and is probably the last remaining windmill of European design in the Southwestern United States. Standing 35 feet high and supporting four 15-foot blades, the Dutch turret-mill style windmill was constructed by German immigrant Fred Meiss, Jr. and Otto Fiek near Spring Creek. The turret-style allowed the top to be turned so the sails face the wind. The millstones were made in Europe and shipped through the port of Indianola. The stones were capable of grinding 500 pounds of cornmeal a week. The walls of the mill are constructed of wooden logs and covered with shakes. In 1935, the Victoria Grist Windmill was moved from its earlier location (west of Victoria) to Memorial Square.^[2]

The Theodore Buhler House is a historic house in Victoria, Texas. It was built in 1890 for Theodore Buhler and his wife, Katherine Schmidt. Born in Baden, Germany, he emigrated to the United States at a young age and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. During the American Civil War, he worked for Cook's foundry in New Orleans, which made firearms for the Confederate States Army. In the postbellum era, he worked for the railroads and steamships in Louisiana and Texas, and he co-founded the First National Bank of Victoria, the Victoria Loan Company, and the Victoria Building and Loan Company. He died in 1912.

The house was designed by Danish-born architect Jules Leffland in the Queen Anne architectural style. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 9, 1986.^[4]

The William Wheeler House in Victoria, Texas, was built in 1900. It was designed by the architect Jules Leffland in Classical Revival style for English immigrant William Wheeler and his family: Emma Hauschlld Wheeler and six children. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

It has a wrap-around porch. It has wood siding scored to look like stone.

William Wheeler "assisted in designing water systems in St. Charles, Missouri and Palestine, Tyler and Columbus, Texas before coming to oversee the construction of Victoria's water system in 1884. Wheeler served as superintendent of the Victoria Water Department from 1885 to 1922. He also began a plumbing business that his son and grandson continued until 1965."

The house was occupied by the Wheeler family until 1982.

It was listed on the NRHP as part of a study which listed numerous historic resources in the Victoria area.^[7]

Building in Victoria. The Pickering House, at 403 N. Glass in Victoria, Texas, was built c.1850s. In about 1911 it was remodelled to a Classical Revival design by architect Jules Leffland.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 for its architecture. The listing included four contributing buildings.

The house has an asymmetrical plan and a two-story porch across its front. The original house was built for sea captain A. F. Higgs, entrepreneur of the Texas Continental Meat Co. possibly in the 1850s. Joe M. Pickering, a businessman and co-founder of the Anchor Lumber Co. bought the house in 1908.

It was listed on the NRHP as part of a study which listed numerous historic resources in the Victoria area.^[8]

Building in Victoria. The Thomas M. O'Connor House on S. Bridge in Victoria, Texas, United States was built in 1885. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The listing included two contributing buildings.

It was built with Italianate style and was remodelled in Classical Revival in the early 20th century. It has a two-story pedimented portico with paired two-story columns on masonry piers.

The house was home of Thomas M. O'Connor, a banker who accumulated ranch holdings of over 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) in years following the American Civil War. In 1983 the house still belonged to the prominent O'Connor family.

It was listed on the NRHP as part of a study which listed numerous historic resources in the Victoria area.^[9]