A Sordid History of Love, Scandal, and Triumph in San Antonio
The Hotel Emma
Written by Tara Luther, Promega
The Three Emmas
The year was 1883. In San Antonio, Texas, the railroad began operating in the area just six years prior, and the current population hovered around 21,000. German immigrants made up a large percentage of that population and took advantage of the spring-fed water supply by opening a number of breweries along the San Antonio River. One of these breweries was the San Antonio Brewing Association, which would later become known as the Pearl Brewing Company
In 1902, Otto Koehler, one of the richest men in the Southwest and an immigrant from Germany himself, took over operations. He and his wife, Emma Koehler, built a three-story stone mansion on a hill in the Laurel Heights section of San Antonio, just a few blocks west from the brewery. They lived together happily until 1910, when Emma was injured in an auto accident.
Emma Koehler Photo Credit
Unable to care for herself, Otto hired a live-in nurse, a petite brunette in her late 20’s named Emma Dumpke, though she was known as Emmi. Shortly after settling with the Koehlers, she accompanied them on an extended vacation to Europe.
The arrangement seemed to work well for the Koehlers and Emmi, and they returned to San Antonio to look after the brewery.
One day, a friend of Emmi’s named Emma Hedda Burgemeister visited the mansion to visit with Emmi over coffee. Emma Burgemeister was a nurse as well. In her mid-30’s, she could have been a model (standing 5’10” with blonde hair and grey eyes). Leaning close to Emmi, she unveiled her secret; she and Otto were having “intimate relations”.
During the affair, Otto had purchased a small home across the river for Emmi just across the river. Otto paid all her expenses and provided Emmi with $125 a month in spending money, worth about $3,300 today. Soon after Emmi moved in, Emma Burgemeister took residence as well and was gifted $50 per month. The house was soon deeded to both Emmas (Emmi and Emma Burgemeister) and Otto visited once per week at night.
This arrangement lasted until Emmi announced to Otto that she planned to marry her beau, Mr. Daschiel. Shortly before their (Emmi and Mr. Daschiel's) wedding, Otto proposed marriage to Emma Burgemeister, though she turned him down, stating, “Mrs. Koehler is a sick woman, and I will not leave her behind sick and helpless.”
The Hotel Emma Lobby was formerly the engine room of the Pearl Brewing Company. The red ammonia compressor remains and was worked into the decor during the renovations.
The Crime
Rejected, but not deterred, Otto drove his buggy to the cottage on the afternoon of November 12, 1914, where he would meet with Emmi and Emma for the last time. Within a few minutes of entering the home, Otto was murdered with a .32 revolver with bullets piercing his neck, face, and heart.
Exactly what had taken place before Otto was shot is unclear, but in either version, it was clear that Emma Burgemeister was the one to end Otto’s life.
A detailed report in the San Antonio Light, a local newspaper, claimed Otto had arrived at the cottage, passed Emmi in the living room, and headed toward the bedroom where Emma Burgemeister was resting on the bed with a cloth over her eyes. Otto tried to kiss her, which led to a fight between the two of them and his death.
The Koehler family had a version of their own. They stated that Emma Burgemeister had submitted a bill for Emma Koehler’s care that they disputed. Otto had driven to the cottage to settle the dispute when he and Emma Burgemeister began arguing. During the argument, Emma became scared, and went for her gun.
What is clear is that when the police arrived at the cottage, they found Otto’s body lying on the living room floor with two pistols and a case knife. Both Emmas and some of their neighbors looked on in disbelief. Emma Burgemeister sat on the floor with her head in the lap of an elderly gentleman neighbor. Her left wrist was bleeding from a self-inflicted knife wound when she confessed to the police, “I’m sorry, but I had to kill him.”
A seating area in the lobby of the Hotel Emma reflects the brewery’s past.
The Trial
No charges were brought against Emmi, but a grand jury charged Emma Burgemeister with murder. Unsurprisingly, Emma decided to leave for Europe to assist soldiers wounded during World War I. What is surprising is that she returned to San Antonio three years later to stand trial. Representing her was former Texas Governor T.M. Campbell.
The Light reported that during the trial, Emma wore a dark dress with a fur hat and muff, her faced covered with a veil. She told the jury that she had shot Otto in self-defense and to protect the honor of her friend, Emmi.
The District Attorney asked her, “Did you shoot him on the floor after he was dead?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I only know I shot him as he raised the pistol. I thought he would get me again, and I shot him again. Then I raised the pistol to my head and pulled the trigger.”
“How many times”, he asked.
“I don’t know,” she responded.
“Your aim was better at Mr. Koehler than at yourself,” the District Attorney cracked.
The Sternewirth’s signature cocktail – The Three Emmas
Happily, Ever After
An all-male jury found Emma Burgemeister not guilty on January 22, 1918. The following year, she traveled to New Orleans where she married a member of the jury. The newly married couple returned to San Antonio to live in the cottage she and Emmi had occupied before.
Emma (Emmi) Dumpke Daschiel was never seen or heard from again after her wedding.
As for Emma Koehler, her husband’s death turned out to be a blessing, giving her a chance to show her business savvy. She remained in the mansion near the brewery, and took up the reins of the business, managing to keep it open during Prohibition by brewing near-beer. Emma diversified The San Antonio Brewing Association by adding ice-making, soft drink bottling advertising, and even auto repair to its repertoire.
Emma was just as resourceful during the Great Depression, and when she retired after almost 26 years, the San Antonio Brewing Association was the largest brewery in Texas. She remained involved with the company until her death in 1943, and it was renamed the Pearl Brewing Company in 1950.
Though the Pearl Brewing Company eventually stopped producing beer in 2001, the buildings still stand. Today, you can book a stay at The Hotel Emma, named for Emma Koehler. The hotel boasts 146 rooms, and, though redesigned, still maintains the charm, character, and some decor of the old brewery.
If you find yourself looking for a unique dining experience while in San Antonio for the 35th International Symposium on Human Identification, catch a ride to the Pearl District and the Sternewirth at Hotel Emma. There, you can sip their signature drink, The Three Emmas, but be careful. As they note on the menu, 1 is great. 2 are sinful. 3 will kill you.