By Myra Lee Adams Goff

The story of the capture of children in 1800s Texas is told through the research of Scott Zech in his book “The Captured”. Many children were captured by the Plains Indians. In his book, he studies in depth the life and eventual release of nine children, mostly boys under 14, who were captured in the Hill Country by Comanche and Apache tribes.

Remember that the original land grant that the emigrants had with the Adelsverein was that they were granted 320 acres for a family and 160 acres for a single male in the three-million-acre Fisher-Miller grant between the Llano and Colorado rivers known as the San Saba. Now remember that Prince Carl found out from Ranger Jack Hayes that this piece of land was way too far from the coast and it was dangerous because it was the prime hunting grounds of the Comanche.

Prince Carl decided that he needed to make arrangements for a stopping place. New Braunfels was chosen but instead of just a stopping place, it became the final destination. Here the emigrants were given a half-acre lot and 10 acre farm lot. This decision led to the unhappiness of the settlers due to the discrepancy of the number of acres that they were promised.

John Meusebach who took Prince Carl’s place as commissioner general, lead a group to what would become Fredericksburg. Many more emigrants had landed at the coast and he had to find a place for them.

Fredericksburg was located south of the San Saba grant. To open up this territory, Meusebach called for a treaty between the Comanche chiefs and the Germans. Meusebach was the one qualified to do this – smart, charismatic and persuasive. He was successful with these 20 chiefs. The problem was that the treaty was only with a small number of chiefs and not all of them. In other words, each chief was autonomous for his tribe only and there was no “big chief” for all of the Comanches. Around the Civil War and immediately after, the Hill Country faced many Indian atrocities.

In New Braunfels and Comal County, there were Lipan, Tonkawa, Karankawa, Waco, and occasional visits from the Comanche. A few killings were recorded, but locals found most of the behavior more frightening and annoying than dangerous.

Hermann Seele witnessed a gruesome scene as he was traveling from the coast to New Braunfels in 1845. Right outside of Seguin, he experienced a Texas rainstorm which broke up a cannibalistic orgy by Tonkawa Indians in the Guadalupe River bottom. They had boiled and fried flesh and feasted on a Waco warrior. The squaws said that by eating this delicious meat of a warrior, their own offspring would be as brave as the Waco.

Lt. Oscar von Claren who was later murdered by Comanches on his way back from Austin writes to his sister of visiting the encampment of the Tonkawa, some 500 men, women, and children. Witnessing a ceremony inside a tent brought a menacing feeling to von Claren – the monotonous lamentations, the dull hollow drum, the senseless rattle of gourds and the earnest faces of the Indians brought on this foreboding. He went outside only to witness happy children playing around a tall pole on which hung the arm and leg of a Waco warrior.

Ferdinand Lindheimer tells of a Tonkawa camp on the Guadalupe above New Braunfels. One day the Tonkawa were celebrating because they had killed an enemy warrior and they cooked the flesh.

In spite of these cannibalistic practices, most of the relations with the Indian tribes in Comal County were tolerable, but not so in the Hill Country.

Zech’s book tells of the captivity of children in the Hill Country, some for only months, and most for years. In spite of the terrible lives these children endured,all had a hard time readjusting to their family life once they were returned. Some even voluntarily reunited with their Indian captives.

Zech tells the story of Rudolph Fischer (13), Banc Babb (10), Dot Babb (14), Minnie Caudle, released after five months, Temple Friend (7), Adolph Korn (10), Hermann Lehmann (11) brothers Clinton (10), and Jeff Smith (8). He covers subjects such as where and when they were captured, their individual lives in captivity, readjustment to white society, religious views, and more.

Understanding the “Indianization” of the captives has long been a subject of study. One reason that seems feasible is that the captive liked the freedom and adventure of the Indian culture. Their life on the frontier was monotonous labor. Zech says, “The Comanche and Apache not only received the child captives warmly and without prejudice, they also spent much time training them, making them feel significant in tribal society”. Anyone who has a child who played “Cowboys and Indians” would understand this fascination of Indian life over frontier life.

These captives had mostly good things to say about the Indians who became their adopted families. They seemed to understand the motives and superstitions of the Indians. They admired the Comanche character and tribal laws.

Zech tells the captives’ stories in a straightforward way and makes no judgment. Read the book and see what you think.

Meusebach’s treaty with 20 Comanche chiefs on March 1st and 2nd, 1847. Painted in 1927 by Mrs. Lucy Marschall, one of the daughters of Meusebach.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

The third weekend in May I realized how hard it was to preserve historic customs. We can remodel, renovate and preserve buildings, bridges and artifacts. Even history is preserved when we write it down. But the arbitrary laws of custom are transient. In other words,” at random” customs are changeable.

Anhalt in the western area of Comal County has held on to old traditions with their Maifest and Octoberfest. Members of the Comal County Historical Commission went to Maifest and observed these old traditions first hand. The Anhalt Association is interested in getting an historical marker on their property. Preserving the history of Anhalt got a big boost when Harvey Schaefer in 2000 wrote the history using the minutes of the organization going back to when they were still written in German.

Comal County was created in 1846. The area of Anhalt in Comal County is typical of other hill country areas with rocky terrain covered with elm, mesquite, oak trees and abundant water. Farming is possible but ranching is preferable.

Way back in 1859 this area was known as Krause’s Settlement founded by Conrad Krause and sons with a store, residence and dancehall. A Post Office was established in 1879 and the settlement name changed to Anhalt, meaning “stopping place”, because that was what it was. Farmers gathered at the store to discuss their common problems, one of which was what to do about cattle rustlers that had become a big problem particularly after the Civil War. Since there was no fencing in the area, stock ran loose.

The solution to this problem was to form the Germania Farmer Verein in 1875. Thirty- five farmers met earlier at Krause’s store and decided to organize to protect their livestock by branding the letter “G” on the left shoulder of the cattle, along with the rancher’s own brand. This practice eliminated the cattle rustling problem. The all male organization leased and later purchased nearby land for their hall (across the highway from the original Krause’s Settlement). Over the years the organization built and added on to many sections of the building and in 1908 the large hall was built. It has a well-polished floor and unique arches in its architectural design.

The Spring Festival began as an annual event in May when planting was complete. Then a Fall Festival was held in October when harvesting was finished. Fairs were held to exhibit stock and vegetables, however, this practice ceased when the Comal County Fair organized in 1898.

Now let’s look at the customs that have been preserved:

The 2013 Maifest began at Anhalt Hall at noon. Food was served all day and the menu hasn’t changed much over the years. Due to a lack of refrigeration in the old days, nothing could be served that would spoil. Several men were making meat out back – potroast and sausage. Also sauerkraut and German potato salad which is served warm with no mayonnaise were served. There were two modern inventions served from cans - peas and peaches. In the old days food was served family style, but now by plate only.

Here is the real reason for the Maifest- the dance. Starting at noon the atmosphere is strictly German. An Oompah band plays German music until 4:00 o’clock at which time there is a Grand March. After that the music and crowd is strictly western. This is, after all, ranch land. Along the side of the wall western straw hats are for sale. At one time hats were not allowed on the dance floor.

Signs on the wall make it very clear as to what is acceptable on the dance floor and what is not. “No shorts, pedal pushers, blue jeans allowed on the dance floor”. That custom was obviously modified because there were many clad in blue jeans, shorts and boots.

Another sign posted says: “Indecent, uncommonly dancing in the hall is strictly prohibited.” Since there was none of the above taking place, I have a feeling they mean that one. Even the Chicken Dance and Put Your Little Foot were done with utmost precision.

Couples danced polkas and waltzes in a circle around the hall. Some danced holding babies and small children twirled around the outside of the moving circle. In the old days there was an area in the corner where children were bedded down. These dances, after all, lasted way into the night and it was a long way home.

Do you remember Gerhard and Regina Adam who married on our Plaza during our Sesquicentennial in 1995? He was representing Braunfels, our sister city. He and Regina came to Anhalt with Dr. Fred Frueholz. The Adams glided across the floor. He told me later that this old time polka and waltz was no longer done in Germany except occasionally in Bavaria. So Anhalt is preserving a custom brought from Germany that is no longer preserved in Germany.

A real treat was a performance in costume by the Austin International Folk Dancers. They performed several old dances like the Ländlar, Schottish.

A tee shirt for sale read “Wo in Himmel ist Anhalt? “ (Where in heaven (?) is Anhalt? I know where it is and I’ll be back the third Sunday in October for Octoberfest.

25th Anniversary Celebration at Anhalt in 1900

This article was published in the March 26, 2013, edition of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. The regular publication schedule will resume June 2, 2013.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Like so many young men, Ernst Gruene had heard the exciting stories of Texas, a Republic in its own right. He was ready to leave Germany and take his mother with him. Freedom was the driving force in his decision; freedom from demands of the aristocracy, freedom from conscription, and freedom from excessive taxation. Little did he know that in 100 years, he would have a settlement here in Comal County with his family name.

Gruene was engaged to a young woman, but she broke off the engagement when she heard of his Texas plans. He consulted a “marriage broker” who made an appointment with Antoinette Kloepper. They married and soon after in 1845, the couple, his mother, and two servants left for Texas. After his stepbrothers bought out his family interests, he had ample funds. He carried about $5,000 in gold coins sewed in his vest. When he was almost washed overboard (gold can be quite heavy) he gave half of the coins to Antoinette who sewed them in the hem of her skirt.

They arrived on the coast and migrated to New Braunfels on May 15, 1846. So begins the amazing story of Gruene, Texas.

Ernst and Antoinette Gruene settled in Comaltown on Rock St. (building still standing) where three children were born. He continued to buy land. In 1872 he bought the land east of the Guadalupe River called Goodwin. This is where his second son, Henry D. would build a home and start a business and this would become Gruene.

Cotton was the #1 cash crop at that time and H.D. advertised for sharecroppers interested in growing cotton. Twenty to 30 families moved onto his land and each was assigned from 100 to 200 acres. Small three or four room farm houses were built for tenants and a school provided.

The first mercantile store in the area was built where tenants could buy groceries, implements, and hardware supplies and could buy them less expensively and on credit until the harvest came in. With the mercantile store, a lumberyard was set up. Because of the success of the store, Gruene constructed a large two story building (now an antique store). It held a working bank, holding mortgages and farm financing.

Soon a cotton gin was constructed powered by water pressure from the Guadalupe River. (This first gin burned down in 1922. It is the site of the present Grist Mill Restaurant.)

The IGN Railroad built a freight and passenger depot about a mile west of the community

in the 1880s and MKT built another in 1901, allowing Gruene to export cotton and grain and import goods for his mercantile store. What is now known as the Gruene Mansion became the home of Mr. and Mrs. H.D. Gruene in 1872. It started as a one story residence and a second story was added in 1886.

A dance hall with saloon was built in 1878. That was Gruene Hall, the communities social center. H.D. Gruene became Goodwin’s first postmaster in 1890 operating out of the mercantile store. This store was on the original north & southbound stagecoach route. Gruene became a stopping point for the Tarbox Stagecoach Line.

The settlement changed its name from Goodwin to Gruene as the whole town rotated around the Gruene family. When H.D. retired in 1910 he turned over the management to his two sons, retaining that Gruene tradition. His daughter resided in Gruene and eventually his parents did also. At one time Gruene had visions of subdividing but the project never got off the ground and when he died in 1920, thoughts of the development came to a halt.

By 1924 a Chrysler agency opened its doors across the street from the big mercantile store, the site of the first store.

The boll weevil stripped the cotton crop and the tenants were hit hard and many moved away. After recovery of the cotton crop, the Great Depression hit. This brought on a decline in cotton production and an end to the tenant system. A result was the closing of the mercantile store. The two railroad stations closed and the depots were destroyed. Various businesses inhabited the buildings, but the one business that never closed during these tumultuous times was the dance hall and saloon.

Gruene has a very prestigious historic designation; it has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Gruene Historic District, the only National Register Historic District in Comal County. In addition there are several buildings with Texas Historical Commission designations: Gruene’s Hall, Gruene Mansion, Erhardt Neuse House (now Gruene Haus Country Store), Original Gruene Mercantile (now Gruene General Store) and the H.D. Gruene Mercantile (now Gruene Antique Company). There are also two THC subject markers titled Gruene Cotton Gin (outside of the Grist Mill Restaurant) and Gruene. Additionally, there are City of New Braunfels historic designations on several properties. Gruene is a prime example of “Historic Tourism”.

H.D. Gruene Mercantile built in 1904. Patricia S. Arnold, artist.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

On May 8, 1914, the New Braunfels Herald’s front page story announced that “a model federal highway was to be built from Austin to San Antonio”. This Federal Post Road was a forerunner to IH 35. The same year that the road was completed in 1916, a young man from Ohio named Joe Sanders arrived in New Braunfels. He would have a huge impact not on the highways but on the backroads of Comal County.

State legislator S.V. Pfeuffer considered this new highway the most important project ever started anywhere in Texas. He believed it would inaugurate an era of road building that would never stop. The old Post Road from Austin to San Antonio had deteriorated badly over the years with some sections having no topping and some sections muddy.. Crossing over the Cibolo Creek was often flooded.

Joe Sanders’ story has to do with roads, automobiles, and tourism. Because of a bout with typhoid fever, a doctor suggested that he move south. Choosing New Braunfels, he brought with him a natural knowledge of the newly invented automobile. He took a job locally with Hippolyt Dittlinger, a local successful businessman.

Around the turn of the century the automobile had made its debut in New Braunfels.The first automobile dealership in town was Walter Gerlich Auto Co. opened in 1912. Gerlich sold Buicks and Model T Fords. By 1916 other auto dealers in town were: Hamilton Zipp selling Hudson and Dodge; Zoeller, Voigt & Bornemann, dealers selling Oakland High Speed Motor Cars; Baetge Auto Cycle Co. selling Willys-Knight autos; D. Stahl & Son selling Studebakers; Gruene Bros. Auto Agency at Goodwin selling Velie and Maxwell cars; C.H. Bruemmer Auto Shop selling Crow & Elkhart and Velie. Source: (Sesquecentennial Minutes, Nuhn and Skoog)

The touring car was the most popular car. It was an open car and the public had the idea that this car was safer. As a touring car, more could be seen on a tour from an open car. Of course, dust was a big problem because early roads were dirt. Traditionally drivers wore long coats and goggles to protect from the dust. They had to scramble to put up the top when it rained. The gas tank was under the front seat and had to be removed to fill the tank. Car lights operated with gas or carbide generators and sometimes kerosene oil lamps. The car had to be cranked to get it started. Flat tires were a big problem.

Now with the highways everyone had access to transportation. The Red Ball bus lines from San Antonio to Austin were nothing more than touring cars that could carry six passengers.

By the 1920s tourist courts popped up along the highways and served as rest stops .By 1927 Texas had 18,728 miles of highways with only 9,271 hard-surfaced. Source (Jasinski)

Back to Joe Sanders. When he arrived in NB in 1916, the circumstances were ripe for his abilities and interests. He loved the highways and roads, the mechanics of the new automobiles,the touring cars, the backroads and the Dittlinger family.

Hippolyt Dittlinger , a very successful businessman, hired Joe to work on all of his cars and be his chauffer. Dittlinger owned three Franklin cars, air-cooled with a wooden frame, the “Cadillac” of the time. Most cars in NB were Model T’s, much more affordable than the Franklin.

Sanders became acquainted with all the roads in Comal County by “touring” the back roads. He often came across motorists who were lost. He decided he would make road signs from wood painted white and lettered with black stencils.The Texas Highway Dept. posted state and federal route signs by 1929 but there were no signs for the backroads.

This was quite an undertaking on Joe’s part and when he was elected commander of the local American Legion, their members helped to install the signs. As if Joe wasn’t busy enough, he designed an illustrated map of these roads showing tourist destinations .This 1933 map listed every road and village and gave mileage between various points. 5,000 copies were made to give away. Other maps followed and he issued a series of editions until his last map in 1960.

With time, more and more roads were constructed in the County and a beautification program during the 1936 Texas Centennial (spearheaded by Mrs. H. Dittlinger) helped the local tourist industry and helped to establish historical markers.

Laurie Jasinski wrote the book “Hill Country Backroads” honoring the accomplishments of her grandfather, Joe Sanders. Her book which includes three maps can be purchased at Sophie’s Shop at the Sophienburg. Jasinski’s book contains much more information than I could ever put in this column. It’s a good read.

Joe Sanders and his road signs. (Laurie P. Sanders collection)

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Are you one who thinks that John Meusebach led the group that founded Fredericksburg up Fredericksburg Road, out Highway 46 and then straight on to Fredericksburg? I know that’s what I thought, but it’s not true.

I ran across evidence that this more recent pathway from New Braunfels to Fredericksburg wasn’t the way the group traveled. I enlisted directional help in interpreting Dr. Ferdinand Roemer’s description of the early 1840s route from retired TxDOT archaeologist Al McGraw. Roemer states that there was only one possible road to Fredericksburg from New Braunfels due to the accessibility of water for the animals and because of geographic conditions for wagons.

The road ran in a southwesterly direction from NB toward Fredericksburg just past the Cibolo along the Old San Antonio Road. The route includes a portion of old Nacogdoches Road that is designated as a National Historic Trail of the Camino Real. At this point it takes a straight northwesterly course intersecting and then following an old Indian trail running northward from San Antonio called the Pinto Trail (Pinta). The route continues to the valley of the Salado and then to a higher elevation and several miles above this point to Meusebach’s Comanche Springs. One would then descend into the Guadalupe valley to the banks of the Guadalupe River near modern Sisterdale where wagons could cross. Finally, travel to a high, broad plateau and continue north to Fredericksburg.

The route has few rough places or steep inclines, and is free of swamp and muddy river crossings. Apparently the Adelsverein helped maintain this route, as Roemer notes that he met a crew of 20 Adelsverein men working on the road near the Salado.

After resigning from the Adelsverein, Meusebach settled at Comanche Springs (now in the vicinity of Camp Bullis), established a livestock operation and an inn. The date is thought to be before 1852. Later when the route to Fredericksburg changed to the north, Meusebach sold his land at Comanche Springs and moved to Loyal Valley on Cherry Springs near Fredericksburg.

Today if you would travel the same general route, you would take Hwy. 482 from NB, continue on the Nacogdoches Road towards San Antonio, go past Rolling Oaks Mall, turn west onto 1604 and then take IH10 towards Fredericksburg.

Texas early roads often followed Indian trails. Some people think that these trails were created by long 12 foot tent poles dragged behind horses as they moved their tents from one spot to another. When the Spanish explorers moved into Texas, they reported seeing large herds of wild animals roaming the trails. The Spanish brought horses of Arabian stock and mustangs were their descendants. With time, the Comanche in particular had mastered the mustang for traveling the trails. Later, the Caminos were roadways blazed by expeditions connecting towns and missions.

When Comal County was created in 1846, the Commissioners Court had the power to lay out new roads and discontinue old ones. The court appointed local overseers to supervise maintenance of the roads. It required all able-bodied males between 21 and 45 to perform road duties several days a year. Also all people convicted of misdemeanors and those who owed unpaid fines were compelled to work out the amount in roadwork.

Laurie Jasinski in her book “Hill Country Backroads”about the origin of Comal County roads, stated that the commissioners declared Seguin and San Antonio Sts. to be the first highway roads in the county. By the latter 1800s some established routes were Smithsons Valley-Boerne Rd., Cranes Mill Rd., Bear Creek Rd .,Boerne-San Antonio Rd., Purgatory Rd., and Mountain Valley Rd.

By the turn of the century, in the United States, two million miles of roads stretched across the country, but most were pitted rocky trails or soggy mud-holes. Jasinski found that in 1895, there were four autos registered in the US, and by 1899, three thousand.

In 1907, Harry Landa was one of the earliest auto owners. Change was taking place. As more autos were being purchased, local merchants converted the farmer wagon yards to parking lots. Hitching posts were removed.

Around 1910, crews improved city streets by a process of graveling called macadamizing, which was a process of packing down the roads with layers of progressively smaller rocks until the top layer consisted of crushed stones called screening, no larger than two inches in diameter. The roads caused so much dust that a sprinkling cart had to sprinkle down the roads every day.

1850s map of early route to Fredericksburg

View Larger Map

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In the next column we will look at how touring cars contributed to the tourist industry and Joe Sanders helped that happen.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Yesterday (Feb. 9) a historic event took place for New Braunfels Masonic Lodge No. 1109. The cornerstone leveling of a new lodge building at 1353 Wald Rd. took place. This is the fourth home for this lodge.

It is believed that the history of the Freemasons goes back in antiquity to the worker organizations formed into guilds of like trades, particularly the building trades. A group of members is called a lodge. Today members wear aprons that look like the working clothes of the old stonemasons. The term “free” possibly refers to the freedom to move without the restrictions of the feudal lords.

Although it is not a religious organization, nor does it take the place of religion, members must believe in a Higher Being. Freemasonry accepts worthy men and seeks to make good men better. Members work through degrees, the highest being the 33^rd degree. Lodges support all good works, and believe in the equality of people, freedom, and democracy.

The first Grand Lodge was established on June 24, 1717, in London, England. The first Grand Master in America was appointed in 1730 by the Grand Lodge of England. Fourteen U.S. presidents were Freemasons, plus other Revolutionary notables, such as Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere. The cornerstone of the National Capitol was laid by Mason George Washington on Sept 18, 1793. The well-known painting of him wearing his Masonic apron was given to him by the Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat fighting for the American cause.

Closer to home, the Grand Lodge of Texas was formed during the time of the Republic with Sam Houston presiding at the formation. This Grand Lodge set aside 10% of their revenues for free public education. The Texas Freemason charter was received during the Battle of San Jacinto.

With this impressive background, let us get to the history of NB Lodge #1109. Remember that before the Texas Revolution the area that we now call Comal County was in the larger district of Bexar. The Texas Legislature created Comal County in 1846 after Texas became a state. The first Masonic Lodge in Comal County was actually in Twin Sisters on Curry Creek. Then when the final boundaries for Comal County were set in 1858, the western section of Comal County, where the lodge was located, was separated and the lodge was then located in Blanco and Kendall counties. Twin Sisters Lodge #216 was eventually moved to the city of Blanco and named Blanco Lodge #216 where it still exists.

The second Comal County Masonic Lodge, #276, was chartered in 1864 and demised in 1874. Some well-known early leading citizens belonged to this lodge, a few of which were Hermann Seele, Ferdinand Lindheimer, George Pfeuffer, Louis Henne, J.J. Groos, Joseph Landa, John Torrey, and Joseph Faust.

In 1915 the third lodge ,#1109, was chartered and met at the carriage house next to the Jahn building on South Seguin Avenue(building no longer standing). Fourteen Master Masons asked for a charter and chose R.E. Kloepper the first Worshipful Master, J.E. Abrahams the first Senior Warden, and J.E. Herd the Junior Warden. Celebrating the formation of this lodge in 1916, more than 200 Masons from neighboring counties marched with local candidates and guests from the Jahn Building to where the ceremony was to take place in the Knoke building (where the former Eiband and Fischer store was located). Some visitors came by train, but the majority came in automobiles. After the ceremony, they went to Tolle Hall for roast pig and sweet potatoes.

Then in 1923 the lodge moved to the Albert Ludwig building on the corner of W. San Antonio St. and S. Castell Avenue (present site of Phoenix Saloon). Being a Mason, Ludwig built a third floor to his building and offered it to house the lodge. Notice that the third story does not cover the whole building.

Forty two years later, the lodge was moved to its building at 1157 W. San Anonio St. where it remained until the new lodge was purchased and dedicated yesterday. This building is also home of the New Braunfels Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star and the New Braunfels Assembly of Rainbow Girls, affiliates of New Braunfels Masonic Lodge #1109.

Worshipful Master Riley Miller, who jokingly says that “real men do wear aprons”, invites all to come visit the lodge with its Museum and Library any Tuesday evening.

In 1916, Richard Kloepper was the first Worshipful Master of N.B. Masonic Lodge No. 1109, A.F. & F.M.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Before we say goodbye to the Civil War, let’s look at what the period immediately after the war known as Reconstruction, brought to Comal County. When the war was over in 1865, many did not return home, putting a terrible hardship on the families. Many survivors sustained lifelong injuries. For all, life was different than it had been before the war.

Comal County had been divided on the question of secession from the Union and although the vote was overwhelmingly for joining the Confederacy, it wasn’t without conflict. Shortages of necessities of life made life difficult. Confederate money, issued during the war, was now worthless.

Jacob Lindheimer, editor of the Zeitung, kept the paper going during and after the war even though the lack of paper forced him to use wallpaper and tissue paper. When citizens who didn’t agree with his opinions dumped his printing press into the Comal, he just fished it out and kept on printing. Then there was the matter of newspaper subscribers wanting to pay their subscriptions in Confederate money. Once Lindheimer and his sons, who were unable to buy food with this money, went out and slaughtered a beef and then advertised that he would be glad to pay the owner of the animal in Confederate money. The beef owner refused to take this money for the beef. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander”, so they say.

Comal County issued its own money but it wasn’t honored either. The merchants came up with their own medium of exchange. It was called “due bills”, sort of like “charging”. Some larger companies like Runge & Sons of Indianola issued their own due bills.

All the industry that had developed in Comal County before the war was destroyed, not from combat, but from lack of raw materials. Some entrepreneurial types began driving cattle or hauling freight from the coast. NB was a feeder station for trail drives on the Chisholm Trail from San Antonio to Kansas. Ranching was quickly replacing the cotton industry. Industries like Landa Flour Mills prospered. Skilled German artisans like saddlemakers, blacksmiths and wheelwrights were in demand.

The New Braunfels Woolen Manufacturing Co. was organized in 1867 in a building formerly used for a brandy distillery located at Garden and Comal streets. It was converted into a woolen mill and later furnished yards of gray woolen cloth to A&M College for uniforms. The building became a steam laundry after the turn of the century and was razed in 1952. The present St. John’s Episcopal Church built in 1967 contains a wooden cross made from timbers of the old mill.

A new type of business association began with the formation of mutual insurance associations and cooperative gins. Neighbor had to help neighbor as they had done in the early days. Individuals owned the associations. If the breadwinner died during the war, the organization promised to pay a benefit to the survivors. Germania Farmers Association at Anhalt was one of those mutual companies organized for protection, and to promote agriculture. (See Sophienburg.com, Around the Archives, May 13, 2008.) Ranchers and farmers pooled their money and built their own gins. Most were non-profit but shared the proceeds according to the use they made of the facilities.

The insurance business in the United States was the brainchild of Benjamin Franklin. He came up with the idea in 1752 in Philadelphia to cover houses lost by fire. Houses were mostly made of wood and were very close together. Seven years later Franklin organized the first life insurance company. Religious authorities were outraged at putting a monetary value on human life but assented when they realized that it also protected widows and orphans. The whole insurance business expanded as the need evolved.

The Sons of Hermann was another mutual insurance company. In 1840 a handful of German men in New York City formed a brotherhood whose mission was to provide aid to each other, the sick, widows and orphans. The brotherhood was founded to combat the prejudice of the “Know-Nothing-Party”, an organization promoting prejudice against foreigners in the US. The European immigrants, particularly Germans, were recipients of prejudice. The Germans formed the Sons of Hermann insurance company in response to this prejudice. Hermann was a German folk hero who was a symbol of manhood.

Reconstruction was over with the entrance of the railroads in the 1880s. By the turn of the century, the Landa family had opened up picnic grounds at Landa Park. A new industry had begun based on the cultural assets of the community. Tourism was here to stay.

One of the oldest photos of Landa Park in 1912 after Harry Landa opened his park to the public.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

From Union St., turn onto Common and drive straight to the Guadalupe River. At the bridge and on the east side of the river, as far as you can see, look left and right. You are looking at Hortontown. Down river to the right of Hortontown was Neighborsville. These two areas are referred to by these names only historically. Beginning in 1846, when sickness was rampant on the coast and in New Braunfels, and emigrants were still arriving, Hortontown was settled to avoid going into the sickness- infested town. Neighborsville followed a few years later. Both areas were originally in Guadalupe County but were added to Comal County and also to the City of New Braunfels.

From the bridge, you will notice a gradual incline up to Loop 337. Turn right on the loop, and right before the railroad overpass, turn left on Church Hill Drive. Across the road from Conservation Plaza, a church was built in 1852. It was the St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and next to it, in 1870, a school was built. The Church Hill School served the children of both Hortontown and Neighborsville.

Hortontown was named after Albert C. Horton who came to Texas from Alabama in 1835. He became an active supporter of the Texas Revolution. From 1836-38 he served as senator in the 1st and 2nd congress of the Republic of Texas. He became the first Lt. Gov. of the new state of Texas. Leopold Iwonski became the agent for Horton’s land grant.

The settlement of Neighborsville was laid out by Jacob de Cordoba who designated a lot for the establishment of the church and parochial school. In 1870 the church congregation decided to build a separate building for their school. And that school became the Church Hill School.

The Church Hill School was built of 18” thick hand- cut limestone blocks brought by wagon from a hill country quarry. The doors and floor are also original. The appointments are from other rural Comal County one-room schools.

Martha Rehler, Exec. Director of the Conservation Society, took me on a tour. There is nothing as empty as an empty classroom. Going into the abandoned school, that strange feeling returned. A classroom needs children.

There were wooden desks of all sizes with a hole in the top for an ink bottle. They still had those when I was in elementary school. Our fountain pens had a little bladder that had to be filled with ink. What a mess! In this old classroom the teacher sat in the back of the room by the door. I’m surprised she didn’t notice the initials carved in the older students’ desk, probably by a pocket knife which I’m told, was every boy’s toy. Slate boards were on each desk taking the place of paper. The large chalkboard (black, later green) had the lesson for the day in German script (Fraktur).

Other relics are a long table from the Ursaline Academy in San Antonio displaying photographs of groups of school children. Water was drawn out of a well or a cistern and put in a portable water fountain. There are two large bells. The smaller of the two at one time stood in front of the Guadalupe Hotel (Plaza) which was a stagecoach stop. The bell was used to welcome arrivals. The larger was a school bell to call students.

Rehler gave me a “Texas Public School’s Report Card from 1925 that parents had to fill out about their own child. It was for a 7th grade girl going into the 8th grade. I put myself in my mother’s shoes, evaluating her only chick on a scale of 1 to 100. Knowing that I was a “city girl” in New Braunfels, I would have failed miserably. I would have a “0” in canning, care of stock, care of poultry, cooking, gardening, general farm work, milking, providing fuel, sewing, and sweeping,. I would have done fairly well in dusting, washing dishes, obedience, neatness, reliability and special work. In my case, special work would have been socializing.

The St. Martin’s Church, originally adjoined to the old Church Hill School, was moved in 1968 next to the Hortontown Cemetery on Loop 337. The school remained and was eventually donated to the Conservation Society in 1975 to be used as a museum.

St. Martin's Lutheran Church with the Church Hill School as it originally stood on Church Hill Drive. (Source: Sophienburg Archives)

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

When the Faust St. Bridge received the prestigious Texas Historic Civil Engineering Landmark Award recently, all attention was on the bridge itself. But the Faust St. Bridge was more to New Braunfels than that; it was the way that hundreds of NB citizens got to the textile mill.

The bridge was the first high-water bridge in Comal County. On April 5, 1887, when the County took bids for the bridge, it was not in the city limits. The King Iron Bridge Mfg. Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, got the contract and the total cost including land for right-of-way and engineering costs was $33,269.The bridge built along the Camino Real provided an access across the Guadalupe on State Hwy. 2 from San Antonio to Austin. (Source: Comal County minutes and Oscar Haas)

In 1921 the trustees of Planters and Merchants Mill of San Antonio bought the land on the other side of the Guadalupe River located in the Esnaurizar Eleven League Grant from Louis and Bertha Meyer. A charter was granted two years later for the construction of a mill. The trustees built the local textile mill for the manufacture of fine cotton ginghams. Eventually the Planters and Merchants Mill became the New Braunfels Textile Mill, then the Mission Valley Mills s and then the West Point Pepperell.

The interest in textile mills flourished after WWI when materials became more plentiful. During the war, all textiles were devoted to the war effort. Major S.M. Ransopher set up the mill and brought with him R. B. Vickers and Howard McKenna with experience from textile mills in New England to help him run the mill. Both Vickers and McKenna became lifetime citizens of NB.

In 1929 Planters and Merchants declared bankruptcy and closed for about a month. In receivership, it was operated by Col. Ralph Durkee. The mill reorganized in August of 1931 under the name of New Braunfels Textile Mills. The William Iselin Co. of New York plus local citizens purchased stock in the plant. One of the new directors, Harry Wagenfuehr, sold stock locally. Reopening the mill was a real boost to New Braunfels.

In 1977 Herb Skoog from Radio Station KGNB-KNBT and the Sophienburg Reflections programs interviewed well-known business man in town, Haney Elliott Knox, about the history of the textile mill. Most of you know that Elliott Knox Blvd., which used to be Hwy. 81, was named after him. Active politically, Knox was elected mayor of NB in 1967. He and McKenna both served as chairmen of the McKenna Memorial Hospital.

H.E. Knox came to New Braunfels right after graduating from Texas Tech University in 1935 with a degree in textile chemistry. Knox said the primary reason for Tech’s offering this degree was the large cotton and wool crops in Texas at the time. Walter Dillard was running the mill and Howard McKenna was plant superintendent. Knox began as a laborer in the dye house at $12 a week.

In those early ’30s, patterns of the materials were determined by artists or customers. Styles changed rapidly and there was always a spring and fall line. There were about 300 employees. Over the life of the mill, thousands of families had textile mill connections.

After WWII the mill was expanded. They even started a retail operation about 1946. Bluebonnet Ginghams was the trade name and principal product. The operation moved into the Dacron business about 1955. Polyester, nylon and cotton blend changed the original product to a blend. Another change was Sanforizing ,the mechanical process of shrinking goods, thereby getting rid of the pre-wash of the past.

Big customers were Montgomery Ward, Sears, and J.C. Penney. In 1932 H. Dittlinger Roller Mills began sacking their flour in Bluebonnet Gingham. The sacks were in many colors that could be made into all sorts of articles of clothing. Because of the high quality of the cotton, these pieces of clothing made good “hand-me-downs”.

The bridge and the mill are a history lesson in themselves. From the center of the Faust St. Bridge, look up river and see the dam leading to the mill. Above the dam, submerged by the higher water was the settlers’ crossing at the foot of Nacogdoches St. The dam changed the Guadalupe forever.

The textile mill dam during its construction. A.C. Moeller got the contract for the dam and the electric generator F building.

Google Maps: Faust Street Bridge

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

In 1867 when cotton was “king”, Andrew Jackson Hunter bought a tract of land in eastern Comal County for the purpose of raising cotton. He lived nearby on York Creek. In 1880 when the IGN Railroad came through that area, the small settlement was called Hunter. As you drive out past Gruene, you’re on Hunter Road and one of the oldest businesses in Hunter is Riley’s Tavern.

There were about 60 people in the settlement of Hunter when its namesake lived there. Businesses sprang up. About 10 years after the railroad came through, Gustavus A. Schleyer opened a general store, post office and saloon. There was a blacksmith, a church, a barbershop, meat market and school. The population soon grew to 200.

Andrew Jackson Hunter died in 1883 and his acreage and holdings were divided among his children. In 1894 Hunter’s daughter and son-in-law, Edward M. House, organized the Hunter Cotton Gin Co. and went into business with Harry Landa of New Braunfels. Six mule wagon teams hauled cottonseed from the Hunter Gin to the Landa Cotton Oil Mill on Landa Street. Eventually Landa bought out House’s interest in the gin and the House connection to the community of Hunter was no more.

Let’s look more into the background of Edward Mandel House. His father, Thomas William House, was a wealthy landowner from Houston who also owned sugar plantations and was eventually mayor of Houston.

As a young man, Edward House went to boarding school and was always interested in politics. He entered Cornell University and stayed there until his father became ill. He went home to Houston to take care of him. When his father died, House married Louise Hunter of Hunter, Texas. The couple honeymooned in Europe and then returned to Houston to supervise the extensive landholdings of the family.

In 1885 the couple moved to Austin to be nearer the cotton plantations. In Austin, House entered the political scene and helped several governors achieve the governorship. He wintered in New York and gradually moved to the east permanently. He became involved in national politics by participating in the presidential campaigns of Woodrow Wilson and later Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Hunter died in 1938. (Source: Handbook of Texas Online, Charles E. Neu)

But let’s get back to the small town of Hunter. When another railroad, the MKT, built a line through the area in 1901, the populations was still about 200. When the cotton industry declined, businesses began closing. By 1947 both railroad depots closed. The little one-room school was consolidated with the NBISD and the final blow was the closing of the post office in 1953.

Riley’s Tavern was alternately a house and tavern. It was at one time Galloway Saloon, and then the home of the Bernardino Sanchez family. Along the way, the house and tavern was rented to the Riley family and then finally sold to James Curtis Riley in 1942.

A tavern or saloon is a “beer joint” and Prohibition dealt it a mighty blow. In 1933 when prohibition ended, 17 year old J.C. Riley drove to Austin with his uncle in a Model T to get a permit for a liquor license. They arrived early and waited on the steps of the capitol for the doors to open. They were the very first in Texas to get a permit to get a liquor license.

Some of you may remember that Hays County was a “dry” county and all up and down the county line between Hays and “wet” Comal County were saloons. Riley’s Tavern was active. Once Hays voted “wet” in 1977, business was not as active.

When Riley died in 1991, his wife sold the saloon to Rick and Donna Wilson. Eleven years ago Riley’s Tavern was purchased by long-time Hays County resident, Joel Hofmann. His clientele are sometimes third generation customers. The tavern is open seven days a week and boasts a band every night.

Hofmann is working towards an application for a Texas Historical Commission marker for Hunter and Riley’s Tavern. Cotton is gone, the cotton gin is no more, the school is gone, the depots are gone, but Riley’s Tavern lives on. York Creek trickles along through Hunter.

Seventeen year old J.C. Riley and his uncle waited on the capitol steps for the doors to open. 1933. Artist: Patricia S. Arnold.