German millwright Christian Dietert built mills at Comfort and Fredericksburg before moving here in 1857. With the assistance of a young German miller named Balthasar Lich, he constructed a mill and dam near this site to serve the pioneer settlers of the community, then called Kerrsville. Dietert’s Guadalupe River milling operation played an important role in the growth of Kerrville by processing crops and providing lumber for area homes and buildings. The business was later bought and enlarged by Captain Charles Schreiner, a prominent local merchant.