Eilenberger's Bakery

Eilenberger's began as the American Home Bakery. A fire destroyed the original building in 1915, and the bakery settled at 512 North John Street in 1918. Bread went out by horse-drawn wagon until 1920, and in the 1930s and 1940s the wholesale side ran fifteen to twenty delivery trucks. The main product shifted from bread to fruitcake in 1968. Tom Broyles, a great-grandson of Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell, bought the bakery in 1978 and saved it from closing. In 1980 its Texas Pecan Cake and fruitcake won Monde International gold medals in Brussels.

What the plaque says

Eilenberger's Bakery F. H. Eilenberger (1878 - 1959), a German immigrant, worked at bakeries in Galveston and Fort Worth before starting this company in 1898. Originally located on the corner of John and Oak streets, the operation was moved to this site in 1918. Eilenberger also lived here for several years. Although he sold the business to his two sons and his son-in-law in 1949, his baked bread continued to be distributed throughout East Texas until 1968. Today the bakery is noted for fruit and pecan cakes, which are produced from a family recipe and marketed worldwide. (1981)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas State Railroad Excursion Train — 4.1 mi
  A round trip of about 25 miles of track between the Palestine and Rusk depots through the Piney Woods, on a line built by prison labor and reopened as a tourist railroad in 1976.

More markers nearby

• Palestine Lodge No. 31, A. F. & A. M. — steps away
• Site of Palestine Service Men's Club, World War II — steps away
• Kolstad Jewelers — steps away
• First Christian Church — steps away