History
1915 New Braunfels Post Office
The old post office of New Braunfels was built during the full-scale 20th century transformation of the United States Postal System. Programs like the United States Postal Savings System, parcel post, airmail, and improved rural delivery services expanded the reach and popularity of the postal system for letters and packages.
History
711 Ranch
WWI veteran L.A. Nordan (1896-1969) was a successful oil and gas producer in south Texas. In 1949, he and his wife, Pearl (Neugent) Nordan (1896-1994), established the 711 Ranch in Comal County along the Guadalupe River, 18 miles northwest of New Braunfels. The ranch was named after Nordan's downtown San Antonio business address. He was appointed to the Texas State Parks Board in 1951.
History
Adam Becker Homestead
Adam Becker Homestead German native Adam Becker (1815-1901) journeyed to Texas in 1845 to join Prince Carl Solms-Braunfels in establishing a colony on behalf of The Adelsverein, also known as the German Emigration Company. Becker contributed to the building of Fredericksburg and assisted with other aspects of the colony.
History
Agricultural Society of Fischer
In 1853, Hermann and Otto Fischer arrived in the area as some of the first pioneer settlers. Hermann farmed, ranched and then decided to use his formal training to open a mercantile business in 1866 named Fischer's Store. To accommodate the growing agricultural population of the area, Fischer's Store offered a variety of ranching and farming supplies. Eventually, the town became known as Fischer.
Architecture
Albert and Marie Kopplin House
German native Albert Kopplin (1845-1929) and his wife, Marie Caroline (Hitzfelder) Kopplin (1851-1921), built this house in 1892 as their retirement home from life on the ranch. The house reflects the folk Victorian architectural style with symmetrical facades and porches supported by chamfered wooden porch posts with intricately carved gingerbread frieze and balustrades.
History
Anhalt Halle and the Germania Farmer Verein
Anhalt began in the 1850s as a small, predominantly German, farming and ranching settlement. Originally known as Krause settlement, its name changed to Anhalt, meaning 'stopping place,' with the opening of the Anhalt Post Office in the Krause store.
Architecture
August and Karoline Tolle House
German native August Tolle (1829-1922) immigrated to New Braunfels with his parents and siblings in 1845 and established a drugstore with Dr. Theodore Koester, his brother-in-law, in 1858. In 1861, he wed Karoline Messer (d. 1929), also from Germany. The couple had five children, Edith, Amelia, Theodore, Clara and Alfred.
Architecture
August Dietz Cottage
August Dietz came to Texas in 1849 as a German immigrant, and settled in New Braunfels. On Sept. 1, 1866, he bought this lot, soon built this cottage, and sold it on Dec. 2, 1867. At first a two room structure, the building was later enlarged. Its mortared rock walls are 20 inches thick. The beaded ceiling, the plain board ceiling, the window glass and casements, and front door are all original.
Architecture
Breustedt House
A fine example of German colonial "fachwerk" --all walls framed with cedar timbers, then filled solid with sun-baked adobe brick.Built 1858 for Johann Andreas and Caroline (Dauer) Breustedt, at site now just west of the intersection of I.S. 35 and S.H. 46 east. Several generations of the family grew up in the house.In 1965 it was moved here for restoration and preservation by Mr. and Mrs. W.H.
Architecture
Breustedt Kitchen
Hand-hewn limestone structure floored with wide pipe boards nailed to squared cedar sleepers lying flat on ground; ceilings of adobe and grass plaster on split cedar lath; hand-wrought hinges hang unique casement windows. Stone-lined well. Built in 1860s as detached kitchen for home of Johann Andreas Breustedt (b.1827) and wife Caroline (Dauer) and nine sons and daughters.
History
Church Hill School Building
St. Martin's Evangelical Lutheran pastors held day school in the church for years. In 1870 this schoolhouse was built. It served the Hortontown and Neighborsville farm communities, situated on either side of the Church Hill Road. After 1879, lay teachers were in charge, classes used both German and English.
History
Comal Community
In the mid-19th century, several German families left nearby New Braunfels and established farms in what would become the village of Comal, Texas. At varying times, Comal has been known as 'Wenzel' for one of these founding families, and 'Eight-Mile' or 'Seven-Mile' for its location in relation to New Braunfels. Comal settlers were among some of the first Germans to emigrate to Texas in the 1840s.
History
Comal County
Formed from Travis and Bexar land districts. Created - March 24,1846; Organized - July-13, 1846; Named for the river, so called from the pancake shape of the islands formed by its springs. New Braunfels, county seat established March 21,1845. Named in honor of the founder Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels.
Architecture
Comal County Courthouse
In 1846 Comal County held its first court session in the home of its county clerk, Conrad Seabaugh. Courthouse facilities acquired in 1849 proved inadequate and were replaced with a 2-story building at the southeast corner of the city plaza in 1860. The building fell into disrepair and in 1898 the county chose famous Texas courthouse architect J. Riley Gordon to design a new courthouse.
Civic & Local
Comal County Fair
The annual Comal County Fair represents tradition and community in New Braunfels, where it has been an important event since the early 1890s. The fair emphasizes agriculture, animal husbandry, home economic skills, arts, entertainment, patriotism, organizations and local industry.
History
Comal County, C.S.A.
Manufacturing and supply center in Civil War. The local newpaper urged southern cause so strongly that 1861 vote was 239 to 86 favoring secession. More than 300 Confederate soldiers enlisted here. The "Texas Mounted Rifles" of Capt. Theodore Podewills joined Hood's Texas Cavalry, as Co. F. Capt. Gustav Hoffmann's Co. B.
History
Dr. Theodore Koester Home
Constructed 1859 of cedar, oak, and limestone, a dumb waiter, and speaking tubes on each floor. The versatile Koester (1817-1877) was physician to German Immigration Co. In this house he ran doctor's offices, pharamacy, and bakery. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark --1970
History
Edgar Alfred Grist, DVM
Raised in Austin and having received a degree in veterinary medicine from Texas A&M college in 1937, Dr. Edgar Alfred Grist (1915-1994) served the community of New Braunfels and Comal County in many ways throughout the mid-twentieth century.
History
Emmie Seele Faust Memorial Library
Located on the corner of Coll Street and Magazine Avenue, the Emmie Seele Faust Memorial Library served as the New Braunfels Public Library from 1938 to 1969. The New Braunfels Library Association formed in 1928 to meet the need for better education in the growing community. For ten years, the association operated a public library at various locations around the downtown area.
History
Erhardt Neuse House
Built in the 1880s by Henry D. Gruene, this was the home of the family of Erhardt Neuse, field foreman of Erhardt of H. D. Gruene's vast cotton interests.The Neuse family continued to reside here until the 1930s when the town of Gruene experinced a decline.
Architecture
Faust Hotel
First known as the Travelers Hotel, this inn was completed in 1929 with 63 guest rooms and reflected the thriving economy of the New Braunfels area at the time. Renamed "The Faust" in 1936 for the prominent family on whose homesite it was built, the structure has remained in continuous use as a hotel. Its Spanish Colonial Revival design is highlighted by the ornate terra cotta decorative work.
History
Faust Street Bridge
Caravans carrying supplies to Spanish missions in east Texas and other travelers crossed the Guadalupe River on El Camino Real (The King's Highway) near this site in the 18th century. It sometimes took weeks for floodwaters to subside so travelers could cross.
History
Ferdinand J. Lindheimer
Soldier in the Texas Army, 1836. A botanist of note. Born in Germany, May 2, 1801. Died December 2, 1879. His wife Eleonora Reinarz Lindheimer born August 3, 1818. Died May 16, 1895.
Industry & Science
First Patented Wire Fence
[Special fence design at top of inscription] Virgina native William H. Meriwether (b. 1800), an early Comal County plantation owner, ran a sawmill, cotton gin and gristmill at this site. As an agriculturalist, he was aware of the need for an economical and practical source of fencing material.
History
Fischer Cemetery
In 1886, Otto Fischer donated 30 acres to Fischer store community, a settlement of predominantly German heritage, to start and benefit a school. A community burial ground was established in 1890 near the high point of this parcel with the burial of the infant son of Monroe and Nettie Smith.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
