Built in 1911 by contractor H. W. Matthews, this cypress-clad residence with longleaf pine interior woodwork reflects the material palette and craftsmanship of early twentieth-century Gonzales. John Steiner (b. August 6, 1886, at Saturn near present-day Harwood) purchased the house in 1912 and lived here with his wife, Linnie Pate (b. February 13, 1893), until 1920. Their tenure links the home to a deep migration and craft story that began a generation earlier.
John was the sixth of eight children of Henry Steiner and Magdalena Meyer Steiner, German immigrants who arrived in 1867. Henry learned carriage-building in Detroit before moving to Cincinnati, where he and Magdalena married. In 1870 they headed to Texas, settling first at Hopkinsville. Henry worked as a railroad blacksmith, then in 1874 the couple purchased land at Saturn, combining farming, cattle, and a continuing blacksmithing trade. Against that backdrop of skilled metalwork and frontier enterprise, John and Linnie married on May 24, 1911 and established themselves in town the following year. After selling this house in 1920, they moved to San Antonio, where John built a successful executive career with the Texas Oil Company (TEXACO).
John died July 7, 1969, and Linnie on April 3, 1977; both are buried in the Gonzales Masonic Cemetery.