1851: Carl Hilmar Guenther, 24, an immigrant from Germany, builds a flour mill near Fredericksburg, Texas after a journey of nearly three years through New York, Wisconsin and Louisiana.

1855: His mill profitable, Guenther replaces his log home with a larger one of rock and marries Dorthea Pape, daughter of neighboring German immigrants.

1856: Guenther expands the mill with an additional waterwheel and two more millstones from France, though long-term drought conditions reduce the wheat crops in the area.

1859: Threatened by a new steam mill in Fredericksburg, Guenther sells his mill to his father-in-law. Aided by an inheritance from Germany, he buys a site on the river in the more promising town of San Antonio, and builds a beautiful stone home nearby.

1860: Guenther completes his new mill on the San Antonio River.

1868: Capacity increases with construction of a second mill upstream. The C.H. Guenther family is complete with the birth of Erhard, their fourth son and seventh child.

1875: "Guenther's Best" becomes the brand name for the top grade of flour.