Historical Markers in Comal County
Texas·103 places·Page 2 of 5
History
Fischer Homestead
This seven-acre homestead sits at the mouth of the springs of Rebecca Creek, a significant source of water for area settlers and farmers. It was part of the original land grant to early Texas pioneer James Baker for his service in the Texas War for Independence.
History
Fischer House
German immigrant John Heinrich Fischer built this log cabin about 1860 on land he purchased from August Forcke. He and his wife, Auguste (Koch), reared their family here until selling the cabin to their daughter Anna in 1881. Built of hand-hewn cedar and limestone, the Fischer House includes a front shed roof porch and rear shed roof kitchen.
History
Fischer Store
Brothers Hermann Fischer (1826-1893) and Otto Fischer (1830-1904) emigrated from Germany to Texas in 1849 and 1852, respectively, and settled here in 1853. They built a two-room dogtrot log cabin on the banks of Lake Creek. Through subsistence farming, livestock and wild game, they were able to survive in this remote area.
History
German Pioneers in Texas
In this area, now covered by Canyon Lake, German emigrants were the first settlers. A society of nobles (Mainzer Adelsverein) sponsored the emigration of 7,380 Germans to Texas from 1844 to 1847. They founded New Braunfels in 1845. Moving west, they established Fredericksburg in 1846. Their Comanche Indian treaty opened 3,800,000 acres between the Llano and Colorado rivers to peaceful settlement.
History
Gruene
German immigrant farmers were the first settlers of this area, which was orignally called Goodwin. Henry D. Gruene established a large cotton farming operation here in the 1870s. He built a mercantile, cotton gin and dance hall, and conveyed land for school, the town became know as Gruene in 1903, a boll weevil infestation destroyed the cotton crop in 1925 and signaled the decline of the town.
History
Gruene Cotton Gin
Built on the site of an earlier grist mill, the Gruene Cotton Gin was constructed in 1878 by H. D. Gruene. Powered by the Guadalupe River, the gin was steam-operated and served to process the vast amounts of cotton grown in the area, the gin played an important part in the economic development of Gruene, a community dependent upon the cotton crop.
Architecture
Gruene Mansion
The son of German immigrants, Henry D. Gruene was born in New Braunfels in 1850. In 1872 he built this home, in what was then the town of Goodwin. Gruene became a leader in the community, which later was renamed for him.
History
Gruene's Hall
Built in 1878 as a saloon and social hall for area cotton farmers, this is belived to one of the oldest dance halls in Texas . Christian Herry (1854-1917) built the hall under the direction of town developer Henry D. Gruene, for whom many of the farmers worked.
History
H. D. Gruene Mercantile
In 1878 Henry D. Gruene (1850-1920) established a mercantile business at this site. To provide more space for the growing business, this building was erected in 1904, one year after the local post office name changed from Goodwin to Gruene. The mercantile served as the community's business and social center until 1938.
History
Hermann Jonas Homestead
This four-story farmhouse is one of the largest residences in entire area of the early German settlements in Texas. It was the pioneer home of Hermann Jonas (1836-1912) and his wife Dorothea (1843-1909), German-born settlers of Comal County.
History
Hermann Seele
(April 14,1823 - March 18, 1902) A native of Hildesheim, Hanover, Germany, Hermann Seele came to Texas in 1843. He became the fist school teacher in New Braunfels on August 11,1845 when he held class for 15 pupils beneath elm trees at the foot of the hill. Selle helped organize first Protestant church, the newpaper "Zeitung," and several social and cultural clubs.
History
Hidalgo Cemetery
Comal County developed as a population center during the 1890s. The arrival of the railroad and the growth of the agricultural and mining industries provided job opportunities for those leaving the economic and political instability of Mexico. Many migrants to the area settled in New Braunfels. Over time, a need for a cemetery developed.
Architecture
Hinmann House
This home's architecture reflects the German influence of many of the area's early structures. Heinrich Hinmann purchased the property in July 1855, and he and his wife Therese (Sickold) raised ten children here. The home dates from circa 1868 and remained a family residence for more than a century, although Dr. A.J. Hinmann converted interior spaces for his medical practice in the 1920s.
History
Home of Ferdinand Lindheimer
(1801-1879) Soldier in Texas Revolution. Father of Texas botany. Editor of the Neu Braunfels Zeitung. (1852-1872) (Comal Ave., New Braunfels)
History
Home of Ferdinand Lindheimer
(1801 - 1879) Soldier in the Texas Revolution; father of Texas botany. Editor of the New Braunfelser Zeitung, 1852-1872.
History
Homesite of Johann and Gertruda Walzem
Homesite of Johann and Gertruda Walzem Johann Joseph and Anna Gertruda Walzem came to Texas from Prussia c. 1851. In 1859, the State of Texas officially granted them the land they had settled (160 acres), including this homesite. Johann was a stonemason. He and his sons built the home and barn, as well as nearby St. John Chapel. They also dug four cisterns on the property.
Transport
International & Great Northern Railroad in New Braunfels
As early as 1875, New Braunfels residents began petitioning rail companies to bring lines into the community. The town's first major proposal, to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad, failed to achieve the goal. By the end of the decade, however, the International & Great Northern Railroad (I&GN), which had reached Austin in 1876, agreed to bring rail through New Braunfels.
History
Jacobs Creek School Teacherage
Area families started Jacobs Creek School in October 1867, with trustees leasing land from Oscar Friedrich for one dollar. Early teacher Carl Pantermuehl is credited with building the school's 1870 teacherage near the schoolhouse. The 1 1/2-story log cabin is of German vernacular design, built of hand-hewn and notched Ashe juniper with fachwerk or half-timbered construction.
History
Johann Michael Jahn
Johann Michael Jahn (1816-1883) came to New Braunfels in 1845 as a colonist with the German Emigration Company. He married Anna Klein Bellmer in 1850. A "Tischlermeister" or master craftsman, Jahn established a business making fine hand-crafted furniture. Active in civic affairs, he was elected one of the first alderman of the city.
Industry & Science
John F. Torrey, Site of Early Mill and Factory
(1821- 1893) Pioneer promotor of Texas industry. He operated a flour, grist and saw mill, a sash, door and blind factory (1850), a cotton factory (1863) and the first woolen factory in Texas. With indomitable spirt he rebuilt the plant, after partail destruction by tornado and floods, until all was swept away.
History
Joseph Klein House
One of the German immigrants who arrived in New Braunfels in 1845, Joseph Klein built this simple frame house about 1852. Origianally it stood at the corner of San Antonio and Market Streets. In 1859 Klein sold the property to William Kuse, a shoemaker who kept his shop in part of the house.
History
Joseph Scheel House
A typical home of German settlers, built late 1860s by Bernhard Joseph Scheel (1815-79) and wife Anna Barbara (Link). Hand-cut, faced local stone; native cedar timber; and cypress shingles were used. Son Hermann and grandson John later owned the place. RTHL - 1972
History
Junction of Two Important Rivers, the Guadalupe and the Comal
Site claimed May 8, 1718, for King of Spain by Gov. Martin de Alarcon, and used by priests and army units in traffic to East Texas. In 1845, ferry here, run by Adolph von Wedemeyer, aided German immigrants settling Central Texas. In 1860s this was site of brick kiln and tannery. (1968)
History
King's Highway - Camino Real - Old San Antonio Road
King's Highway - Camino Real - Old San Antonio Road. Marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the State of Texas A.D. 1918
History
Kneupper Chapel
After German families began settling in this area in 1845, Catholic worship services were held in a private home and in a log chapel. In 1878 Johann Adam Kneupper and his wife, Margarethe, donated the land and aided residents of the Honey Creek community in erecting this one-room chapel. Built of stone quarried from nearby hills, the Kneupper Chapel was used for services of St.
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