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The
Story of our Texas' German Pilgrims: or Death March to Comal County by
W. T. Block Jr.
"...Of the first German Pilgrims to Texas in 1845...
only one in four survived the walk from Indianola to New Braunfels..." more
New
Braunfels, Texas: Pearl of the Comal-Guadalupe Valley by W. T. Block
Jr.
"Perhaps New Braunfels was to play a role in frontier Texas history
only because of the reactionary conditions that existed in post-Napoleonic Europe...
In the late winter of 1845, the story of the first 6,000 immigrants to land at
Carlshafen, which was still a prairie, makes the first year's History of the Plymouth
Pilgrims mild by comparison..." more
History in a Pecan Shell
Prince
Carl of Solms-Braunfels and other semi-nobles from Germany had contracted
to settle the "western lands" of the New Republic of Texas. The land grants were
to be between the Upper Colorado and the Llano Rivers. New Braunfels and Fredericksburg
were originally meant only to be way stations.
Carl only spent a short
time in the town that continues to wear his name. He returned to Europe in 1845
to marry and never returned. Meanwhile, the society that was to aid the immigrants
went broke. By the time the bulk of the immigrants arrived they were stranded
(in the truest sense of the word) at Indianola.
Hundreds died on the beach and many attempted to walk across a land very
different from Germany. Recent arrivals infected the settled Germans with Yellow
Fever and hundreds more died. About the only benefit to come from the trek was
the settlement of many
towns in Victoria, DeWitt and Lavaca Counties. |
| | Prince
Carl of Solms-Braunfels mural
TE photo |
The
mural fails to convey any sense of desperation.
Prince
Carl planned on governing "his" town from the high ground where the Sophienburg
Museum is today (401 Coll Street).
Arriving about the time Texas
was annexed to the U.S., the Germans found themselves in a land at war with neighboring
Mexico. Between the Mexican War and the Civil War New Braunfels was the 4th largest
city in Texas. They managed to avoid participating
in the war with Mexico, but weren't so lucky when the Civil War broke out a few
years later.
New Braunfels grew steadily. A period of prosperity in the
late 1800s built the courthouse
and many elaborate Victorian homes and buildings
The International
and Great Northern Railroad came to town, followed by the Missouri, Kansas
City and Texas. Railroad spurs laid to Landa
Park began New Braunfel's tourism industry with excursion trains from towns
as far away as Taylor and Elgin.
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| The
Comal County Courthouse >
An 1898
design by J. Reily Gordon. It is nearly identical to Gordon's Lee County
Courthouse (1897) in Giddings.
The New Braunfels Square
An unusual design, but practical. Traffic circles are terrors to those unaccustomed
to them, but the corners provide a safe harbor. Reaching the fountain in the center
of the island gives one a feeling of accomplishment for having reached it in one
piece - the pedestrian can then rest while they consider a plan for re-crossing.
The two statues - one Confederate
and one "Doughboy" were donated years apart - but both were donated by Mr. and
Mrs. E.A. Clousnitzer. |
| | | Confederate
soldier
and courthouse
TE photo | The
Doughboy Statue
(dedicated November 11, 1937)
TE photo |
| There
is also a beautiful fountain and a Friendship Tree - symbolizing
some sort of bond between New Braunfels and "Old" Braunfels - back in Germany.
|
| Faust
Street Bridge c.1887 |
One
of the more interesting bridges in this part of Texas is the old Faust Street
Bridge c.1887 over the Guadalupe
River. The water is usually clear and the fish can be clearly seen.
The bridge just underwent
a restoration in 1998 and benches have been provided for fish watching. |
Faust
Street Bridge
Photo courtesy Chia-Wei Wang, August 2006 |
1887
Faust Street Bridge plate
Photo courtesy Chia-Wei Wang, August 2006 |
View
of the railroad bridge over the Guadalupe
River
Photo courtesy Chia-Wei Wang, August 2006 |
More
New Braunfels Landmarks/Attractions |
A
mural just off the square shows landscapes, flora, fauna and indigenous peoples
of the region. There's also an 20-foot image of Ferdinand
Jakob Lindheimer - the botanist who spent a good part of his life classifying
Texas flora.
TE Photo |  |
The
Lindheimer Home
(c.
1852) is included on the city's driving tour. Many of the plants named by Lindheimer
are growing today on the grounds of his former property.
491 Comal St. Admission.
TE Photo |
|
The
Children's Museum - 386 W. San Antonio. AdmissionsClear
Springs Aviaries and Zoological Gardens -
35-acre park home to over 200
species of exotic birds and animals, 2000 species of exotic plants. I-35 South,
Exit 182. 830-606-6029. Admission.Conservation
Plaza - Showcasing preserved buildings owned by the New Braunfels Conservation
Society. 1300 Church Hill Dr. AdmissionDry
Comal Creek Vineyards - 6 miles West of New Braunfels. On Hervelin Road off
Hwy 46 West. 830-885-4121Gruene
Historic Distict
- In the New Braunfels City Limits
A village established by German immigrants
before 1850. Today a popular tourists destination. Includes old homes, stores,
galleries, beer hall, and inns. Designated a Historic Town by the State of Texas.
Old Gruene Market Days - the third weekend from February through November,
and the first weekend in December.The
Henne Hardware Company (c.1893) - 246 W. San Antonio StreetLake
- Canyon Lake Landa
Park/ Comal
Springs - Scenic city parknear downtown.
196 acres. Site of the annual
Wurstfest.
New Braunfels has Texas' shortest river - the 2.6 mile
long Comal
River, whose source and confluence (with the Guadalupe)
are within the city limits.
Museum
of Texas Handmade Furniture - In the historic Andreas Breustedt home, circa
1858. 1370 Church Hill Dr. AdmissionNew
Braunfel's Fire Museum - Fire Station One - First block of Hill Street New
Braunfels Museum of Art and Music - 800-456-4866
Smithsonian-affiliated
museum.
1257 Gruene Road in Gruene Historic District. Admission.Railroad
Museum - 102 N. Hill Street in the Old New Braunfels Depot (c.1891)Schlitterbahn
- 400 N. Liberty St. 830-625-2351. Admission.Snake
Farm - I-35 South, Exit 182. 830-608-9270Sophienburg
Museum - 401 W. Coll St. at Academy Ave. AdmissionWagenfuehr
Home and Buckhorn Barbershop Museum -
521 West San Antonio St. Admission
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| | | The
Brauntex Theater - now open for live performances
TE photo |
Faust fountain,
historic Faust Hotel
TE photo |
SCENIC DRIVES -
RR
32. The road runs the crest of the ridge called the "Devil's Backbone".
River
Road - Along the Guadalupe River
10.6-mile scenic drive between Loop
337 in New Braunfels and Canyon Lake Dam which crosses the Guadalupe River four
times
Book
Hotel Here > New
Braunfels Hotels |
Sts.
Peter & Paul Catholic Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2005 |
New Braunfels Prostestant Church
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, June 2003 |
New
Braunfels Prostestant Church tower
TE photo, 2004
More Texas
Churches |
New Braunfels
Chronicles Lincoln
Slept Here? by Mike
Cox
“Hotel Where Lincoln Stayed Still Operating,” reads
the headline on the yellowed 1950 newspaper clipping. That a hotel might be in
business nearly a century after Abraham Lincoln spent the night in one of its
rooms would not be particularly remarkable in Illinois – say Springfield – or
Washington. But the “Lincoln slept here” assertion appeared in a Texas newspaper
and referred to a historic hostelry in New Braunfels... more
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New
Braunfels Tourist Information
Vistior
Center
- I-35 and Post Road. North of New Braunfels.
Open daily. 800-572-2626
New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce -
390 E. Seguin 1-800-572-2626
Website: www.nbcham.org
City of New Braunfels - 424 South Castell
Avenue -
PO Box 311747 New Braunfels, Texas 78131-1747
Phone: (830) 608-2100
http://www.ci.new-braunfels.tx.us/
New Braunfels City Hall -
(830)-625-6200.
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos, please contact
us.
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