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About
Fredericksburg:
Fredericksburg
in the Roaring Twenties by Mike Cox
Fredericksburg was just
a small county seat town barely three generations removed from its founding by
German immigrants when civic leaders first began to understand the importance
of tourism...Street
Name Trivia by Joe Foster
The first letters of streets intersecting
Main Street heading southeast from the center of town spell "ALL WELCOME"...
The first letters of streets intersecting Main Street heading northwest from the
center of town spell "COME BACK". moreBats
by Clay Coppedge
As it is and has been, about 100 million bats, mostly
Mexican free tail bats, make their summer homes in Texas.
The bats love Texas for the same reason a lot of people do: geography and climate.
Bats love caves and the state has some 3,000 caves and sinkholes though most of
the bat colonies are concentrated in about two dozen of those caves. Bracken
Cave near Fredericksburg has a thriving metropolis of 20 million bats, the
largest known bat colony in the world. Those 20 million bats can eat 200 tons
of insects in a single night, including mosquitoes and agricultural pests that
plague cotton and corn
crops. Fredericksburg
- Blending German Colonization with Modern Tourism by Sandy Fiedler
What does the assassination of JFK have to do with the development of
tourism in Fredericksburg, Texas? A lot. But first, how did Fredericksburg come
to be in the first place? more |
Fredericksburg
Landmarks / Attraction |
| The
1882 Gillespie County Courthouse now used as the Gillespie County Library.
Photo Courtesy Shannon Yarbrough |
The
Former Gillespie County Courthouse c.1882
On
the Public Square near the current courthouse.
Designed by Alfred Giles, English
Architect turned Texas Sheep Rancher
"...with its formal balance, heavy decorative
consoles, and Classical roof slopes, [it possesses] the dignity characteristic
of Renaissance Revival buildings." - Williard B. Robinson, Texas Public Buildings
of the Nineteenth Century |
The
White Elephant Saloon c. 1888
242 East Main Street
Once part
of a chain of "Gentleman's resorts," the San Antonio and Fort Worth branches were
probably a little rowdier than this one. |
| The
former White Elephant Saloon
Photo Courtesy Shannon Yarbrough, May 2005 |
The
Gillespie County Jail
Photo Courtesy Shannon Yarbrough, May 2005 |
The
Jail Wall
Photo Courtesy Shannon Yarbrough, May 2005 |
Hohenberger
Homestead
Another example of German masonry.
Photo Courtesy Shannon Yarbrough, May 2005
|
| Stone
walls remain as noteable landmarks for Fredericksburg.
Photo Courtesy Shannon Yarbrough, May 2005 |
From "Blending
German Colonization with Modern Tourism " by
Sandy
Fiedler:
"Today Main Street shows off dozens of marvelous shops
for collectibles, antiques, crafts, etc. There are German restaurants, beer gartens,
and bakeries (with shortbread, baked meringue, kolaches). The pleasing scents
of candles fill the nostrils. Unobtrusive doorways lead to mysterious courtyards.
Many of the ubiquitous historical markers are noticeable only if you are on foot
in this understated, rich historical district. Churches stand all over the town
like watchtowers of strength." |
| Admiral
Nimitz State Historic Site - National Museum of the Pacific War
P O Box 777
Fredericksburg
TX 78624
830/997-4379
Courtesy
of Sandy Fiedler |
"On Main Street is the Admiral Chester Nimitz Museum and Historical Center.
Fredericksburg is proud to be the birthplace of Nimitz, Fleet Admiral of the Pacific
Forces in World War II.
This museum is part of the National Museum of the Pacific War with the new George
Bush Gallery. "There
are many bed and breakfast establishments and motels-there are no bad places to
stay in Fredericksburg," voiced one resident. "Everything is clean and safe."
...You can regain
a sense of what it used to be if you start with a tour of the Pioneer Museum Complex
on Main Street in Fredericksburg.
A Founders' Day Festival is held there every May."
©
Sandy Fiedler |
| Authentic
cabin relocated to Pioneer Museum Complex on Main Street
Courtesy
of Sandy Fiedler |
Fredericksburg's
Post Office Mural "Loading Cattle" by Otis Dozier, 1939
Photo Courtesy Shannon Yarbrough, 5-2005
More Post
Office Murals |
Fredericksburg
Texas History |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Named in
honor of Prince Frederick of Prussia, Fredericksburg had been the inland destination
of the German immigrants who came to Texas through the port of Indianola. John
O. Meusebach left New Braunfels in the summer of 1845 to survey the area with
the first 120 settlers arriving the next spring.
The trip which now
takes an hour took the settlers 16 days.
After the town was platted,
each family settler received a town lot and ten acres outside of town. plan was
a replica of the villages back in Germany. The earliest houses were log cabins
that were soon replaced with Fachwerk buildings.
Despite an epidemic
that killed a tenth of the settlers, Fredericksburg soon had a respectible population
of nearly 1,000. A road was built connecting Fredericksburg and Austin;
and John Meusebach brokered a successful treaty with the Comanches. |
| Replica
of "Vereins Kirche" or "Society's Church"
Photo courtesy of Sandy Fiedler |
Frederickburgs
most important building was the Vereins-Kirche. Before it was razed in
1897, the structure had served as fort, church, school, and town hall. Restored
in 1936 for the Centennial, the replica building now serves as offices for the
Gillespie County Historical Society.
Religious
services had all been held in the Vereins-Kirche, until 1848 when Catholics built
their own church. |
Restored
building at Fort Martin Scott
Photo Courtesy Shannon Yarbrough, May 2005 |
The
United States Army established Fort Martin Scott, which became a boon to
the local economy. Once cannibalized for its building stone, the fort is now defined
by a reconstructed building - with more planned. Soon after the Texas legislature
made Fredericksburg the Gillespie county seat. |
The
Forgotten Indian Traveler
by Mike Cox
The men were Richard Irving Dodge, a young Army officer who
would serve in the military for 41 years and John Conner, a noted Delaware Indian.
The meeting happened at Fort Martin Scott...
Thirty years went by before
Dodge got around to writing about his experiences at Fort Martin Scott in his
classic book, “The Wild Indians.” | |
| Marienkirche
(Old St. Mary's Church) c. 1848
Built under the direction of Benedictine
priest Peter Baunach, the church was built by its members.
According
to architectural historian Williard B. Robinson, "the aisles were paved by soapstone
flagging, but the floor under the pews was covered with sand."
Photo
Courtesy Shannon Yarbrough |
The first
newspaper appeared (in German) in 1877, and it wasn't until after 1900 that were
the first purely English-speaking teachers employed in Fredericksburg's public
schools.
The first Gillespie County Fair (also believed to be the first
in Texas) was held at Fort Martin Scott
in 1881. By 1904 the population was 1,632. The San Antonio, Fredericksburg and
Northern Railway, arrived in November of 1913. The railroad later became the Fredericksburg
and Northern and stayed in business until WWII.
In 1928 citizens voted to incorporate. Up until then Fredericksburg
had been the largest unincorporated town in the United States. It participated
in a census for the first time in 1930 (giving a number of 2,416).
Fredericksburg
became the counties manufacturing center and local quarries supplied both granite
and limestone. The Gillespie County Historical Society was founded in 1934 to
preserve local history and traditions.
Another historic building is the
former Nimitz Hotel - the boyhood home of Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander
of the Pacific Fleet during WWII. |
 |
A Coca
Cola sign in Fredericksburg
Photo courtesy Shannon Yarbrough |
Fredericksburg
Related Stories
The
Meusebach-Comanche Treaty
by Jeffrey Robenalt
In early spring of 1847, a remarkable treaty between German
settlers and Native Americans was negotiated on the banks of the San Saba River
in the hill country north of Fredericksburg, Texas.
The Fredericksburg & Northern Railroad
The Little Engine That Couldn't by C. F. Eckhardt
"... Even after
the War, with much improved roads and a much lessened Indian problem, it still
took freight wagons the better part of a week to travel from San Antonio to Fredericksburg...
The people north and west of San Antonio wanted and needed a railroad... more"
|
Fredericksburg
Area Natural Attractions
Old Tunnel State Park
Brazilian Bats
Enchanted
Rock State Natural Area
325/247-3903
On Big Sandy Creek, near Gillespie
and Llano County lines.
18 miles North of Fredericksburg on Ranch Road 965
16710 Ranch Rd 965
Fredericksburg TX 78624
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
Fredericksburg Texas
Tourist information: Pioneer
Museum Complex
309 W. Main St. Fredericksburg, TX 78624
Closed major
holidays
Website:
pioneermuseum.com
Fredericksburg
Hotels > Book Here |
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic
photos, please contact
us. | |
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