There is no possible way to visit Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery and not notice the Kontz family monument. In her book American Afterlife: Encounters in the Customs of Mourning (2014), Kate Sweeney describes the monument as “a seven-foot arch with the name ‘KONTZ’ in heavy block letters above which flies the spread-winged sun god Ra and a pair of carved lotus plants blossom on the arch’s two legs.” Egyptian Revival architecture was popular during the time the monument would have been planned, and “it is thought [the Kontz family patriarch] wanted a monument that would stand the test of time similar to the Egyptian pyramids that inspired him.”
While the Kontz monument at Oakland has stood the test of time, the Kontz home on Marietta Streets is of Atlanta’s lost landmarks.
I began my series, Atlanta’s Lost Landmarks, to spotlight those places which used to be landmark locations for decades but over time has been lost and for the most part faded from memory. Included in this series is the Centennial Building, the 1884 Constitution Building, and the Calico House. Each location has its own article detailing the location’s importance to Atlanta history complete with several images that you can access by click through the links.
The patriarch of the Kontz family, Christian Kontz (1814-1881), was born in the German state of Hesse in the city Frankfurt along the Main River. In the early 1840s he spent a couple of years in France before arriving in New York where he married Elizabeth Trabert (1821-1878). She was also German-born calling Ostheim vor der Rhön her birthplace.
By 1848, the Kontz family including Christian, Elizabeth and a daughter named Emelie (1846-1882) arrived in Atlanta where Christian set up shop as a shoe and boot craftsman. As a young boy Christian had served as an apprentice with a bootmaker. It is said that he prided himself on his skill and proficiency in his work. Eventually, he had several men in his employ and ran a considerable establishment on Whitehall Street as a shoe merchant. While this advertisement from the Atlanta Daily Examiner (August 2, 1855) is not for Christian’s business, it does refer to his Whitehall location
Business was good, and in 1850, Christian bought a lot on Marietta Street for $250 that sat just east and south of the point where Cone and Marietta Streets intersect. The lot was next to the first location of the First Presbyterian Church (erected 1852). By 1854, Christian had erected a handsome two and a half story brick home plus basement along with a few outbuildings including servant’s quarters and a carriage house both constructed of heavy stones. One of the outbuildings was least two stories tall when it was first built.
The Kontz home was described as “the wonder of Atlanta” when built and was one of the show places of the little town. The home originally carried the address of 76 Marietta Street. After renumbering the home stood at 82 Marietta Street, N.W.
The Kontz home carried the name “The LaFayette” in 1856 serving as a combination boarding house/hotel as well as the residence for the Kontz family. The first advertisement is from The Atlanta Weekly Examiner (September 14, 1855) published soon after the home was built. The second advertisement from 1856 confirms one of the boarders was A.R. Clifford, a local dentist.
For a more modern perspective, the Kontz home sat on a portion of the property where today’s State Bar of Georgia building is today.
Two more sons were added to the Kontz family in the 1850s. “Anton” Louis was born in 1851 and Wellborn Bray Kontz was born six years later.
Biographies of Christian Kontz describe him a slender man, but strong of frame and somewhat above average height. He was a man of refined features and attractive presence. He spoke three languages – German, French, and English. He was a man of good education, was an admired horseman and a lover of music, being a member of the city’s pioneer musical club, the Liederkranz. He was also a member of the Odd Fellows, an international fraternity of lodges dating back to 1730 in London. The group can be described as having similarities to Masonry, but it was a different group entirely. You may have seen the Oddfellow symbol on an old building and not known what it was. It’s a series of three links referring to their motto of Amicitia Amor et Veritas – friendship, love and truth.
One theory regarding the “odd” name has to do with the fact that major trades had their own guilds in Great Britain offering social and financial security, but smaller trades did not. They were the “odd” men out, so they formed their own group for the “odd” men.
Christian Kontz was brought up in the Lutheran Church but since there was no church representing his faith in Atlanta in those earliest days, the Kontz family worshiped at the First Presbyterian Church. It was just a few steps away after all.
Some biographies and those of Christian’s sons state that he served in the Confederate Army, but I have found no proof of service. In his book Secret Yankees: The Union Circle in Confederate Atlanta (1999), Thomas G. Dyer includes Christian Kontz in Atlanta’s circle of Unionists in the city. Most of the group attended church together at the Presbyterian Church and included some of the city’s most wealthy and influential citizens such as William Markham, James Dunning, and Alfred Austell as well as less wealthy but still influential men – Charles Bohnefeld, Peter Huge, and Christian Kontz, of course.
Dyer contends there were many Unionists in pre-Civil War Atlanta and defines them as “persons who placed a high value on the union of states and who opposed secession. Most did nothing to work against the Confederacy, but they did their best to see to their own interest and stay out of the way of the war as much as possible.
The Kontz family remained in the city during those early days of the war. In his book Dyer states that Christian “saw an opportunity when Northern supplies of beer were shut off” forming a short-lived partnership with Dionus Fechter (1828-1874), another German immigrant, brewing beer at a business they formed – the City Brewery – which was located at the corner of Marietta and Pine Streets as early as 1858, near the present-day address of 556 Marietta Street. If the business formed as early as 1858, however, I find it hard to believe that Christian’s motive was the fact that Northern supplies of beer were cut off. More than likely the original reason why Christian partnered with Fechter is they both wanted to create a great beer in memory of their homeland.
Dyer mentions The Atlanta Intelligencer congratulated Kontz and Fechter for their brewery’s “cleanliness and contribution to homegrown industry.”
This advertisement appeared in The Daily Intelligencer for December 29, 1861.
The business ceased operations during the Battle of Atlanta and subsequent siege but may have operated during the Federal occupation. This is one of the last advertisements that ran prior to the Atlanta’s surrender.
By 1867, it appears Christian Kontz had left the partnership with Dionius, but the City Brewery continued with another partner, Edward Mercer, and a new larger location was built on Courtland Street. When Dionius died in 1874, his brother, Edigius Fechter (1824-1913) took over and the business that later became known as the Atlanta City Brewing Company from 1876 to 1892 – one of the largest brewing companies in the southeast.
Stay tuned for part two as I trace the history of the Kontz home through the war and long after Reconstruction…I will try to post it soon.
You can click this link and continue with part two of this article here.
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