Johann Nicholas Menger (1807-1892), a native of Germany, came to Texas with the Castro Colony and moved to San Antonio in 1847. In 1850 he started a factory that supplied soap for much of the city and southwest Texas. By 1873, Menger had built this limestone structure, an important example of an early industial building, to house his soap works. Utilizing the waters of San Pedro Creek, the factory operated until the early part of the twentieth century.