|
|
St.
Mary's Chapel
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2004 |
My Town: Twin
Sisters
"What
I know about the community of Twin Sisters Texas"
by Johon Haas
|
Joel
Cheery homesteaded on the Little Blanco river about four miles up
stream from where Twin Sisters is now located on US 281. The community
he settled was known as Middle Town, Texas since it was halfway between
San Antonio and Fredricksburg.
The township was surveyed out where the Little Blanco river and Cherry
Creek come together. (That is now private property.) The town consisted
of a general store, a livery stable, a hotel and a couple of houses.
All of this was burned down by some outlaws after they robbed the
general store and shot and killed Joel Cherry and his wife some time
in the early 1860’s. All that remains of the town now are the survey
stakes that lay out the streets and roadway that ran from San
Antonio to Fredricksburg.
There is still a map of the town registered in Comal County.
Shortly after Middle Town was destroyed Max Kruger started the community
of Twin Sisters. He built a general store that is still standing as
a private residence. The general store also served as a post office
and the basement served as a jail. In the late 1860s Max Kruger and
some men in the community including my Great Grandfather got together
and built St. Mary’s Catholic church and the Twin Sisters School house
just down the river from the general store. Both buildings are still
standing and still in use. The school is the meetinghouse for the
Sons of Hermann Lodge and the church has a mass there once a year
on All Saints Day. These two buildings are on the same piece of land
about fifty yards apart. The churchyard is now a cemetery and my Great
Grandfather was the first person to be buried there. All my relatives
are buried there and I have a plot with my headstone already in place.
Mr. Kruger was responsible for building a dance hall and community
center along with a bowling alley in 1869 that opened to the public
in January 1870. These buildings were named The Twin Sister Hall and
Bowling Alley. In 1967 the bowling alley burned to the ground and
was later rebuilt in Spring Branch Texas. The Twin Sisters Dance Hall
still serves to this day as a community center for weddings, family
functions, fundraisers for charity, etc. The dance hall is now owned
and operated by The Twin Sister Hall Club, Inc. a non-profit organization
that still to this day has a dance their on the first Saturday of
the month to keep the hall open and operating. The hall features live
bands and is open to the public. The Twin Sister Hall could be the
oldest dance hall in Texas but was called a community center instead
of a dance hall in the beginning. So, if you are ever in this part
of the world on the first Saturday night of the month drop in and
have a good time the old fashioned-way with the family. All ages are
welcome and children under six get in free.
Right in the middle of the community of Twin Sisters on US 281 is
a store called Little Blanco Antiques that has real bargains for the
antique lover on weekends. You can even buy a live miniature horse
at the old general store. Twin Sisters Population is about 20 or so
and I am proud to say I am one of them.
Just ask for Johon.
- Johon Haas, February 2006 |
 |
St.
Mary's Chapel and Cemetery
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2004 |
|
|
The
creek at Twin Sisters
TE Photo |
| |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Named for a pair of hills, the town dates from 1854 when a man named
Joel Cherry homesteaded on the Little Blanco River. By the late 1850s
the town had become the center for German settlers in the area. The
post office was applied for in 1856 and granted that year, although
operations were suspended during the Civil War.
By 1890 Twin Sisters was prospering with a mill, gin and three stores.
One man named Kruger became a one-man entertainment committee - opening
a store, dance-hall, bowling alley and brewery. Non-legal entertainments
like shoot-outs and brawls enlivened the scene, but eventually made
Mr. Kruger return to storekeeping.
A severe drought in the 1890s put Kruger and many others out of business.
The post office was closed in 1951, and mail was routed through Blanco.
|
|
|
