This article will be published in the March 26, 2013, edition of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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

Do you know where the Klappenbach House is located? From Landa St., turn onto Fredericksburg Rd. and go straight until you get to a hill, Klappenbach Hill. The house on the left is the Klappenbach property. The story of the Klappenbach family is indeed interesting.

The story begins in Sorenbohm, Germany, where in the 1820’s, Johann Heinrich Voelcker was called to be an evangelical Lutheran preacher. He was married to Caroline Wilhelmine Wirth and they had four children, Friedrich, Julius, Franciska, and Eugen Voelcker. In1834 their oldest son, Friedrich, died and then two years later Rev. Voelcker died, possibly of smallpox from parishioners he was tending. The young mother was left alone with three children. She moved to Anklam, a seaport town in far North Germany near the Baltic Sea. Here she eventually married Georg Jochim Jacob Friedrich A. Klappenbach.

Klappenbach, born in 1810 in Lenzen, had studied “Legal Science” at the University of Griefswald. While there he joined a radical reform protest movement, was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. A year passed and his sentence was commuted. Friends who were in this movement said that Georg was nicknamed “Rebell” and the group was a democratic reform group that met at a pub to drink beer and make speeches. This movement eventually led to the later revolution of 1848 in Germany.

After his arrest, Georg moved to Anklam. He took several municipal jobs. Apparently the political situation was in chaos because the mayor’s position was perpetually vacant. Klappenbach ran for mayor and won, but that didn’t end the discord.

Now here’s a familiar name: John O. Meusebach (as he was later called in Texas) was called on to help sort out the reforms in Anklam and a bond grew between the two men. This friendship ultimately led to Klappenbach’s coming to Texas.

In Anklam Klappenbach married the widow Voelcker, and together they produced a child, Rosa, born in 1840 who died in 1842. Another child, Bruno, was born in 1845.

The Klappenbachs were familiar with the fact that Meusebach emigrated to Texas and Julius Voelcker, Caroline’s oldest living son, emigrated first. Meanwhile the Adelsverein contacted Georg offering him free passage and land in New Braunfels if he would come as an assistant to John Meusebach. He accepted the offer in 1846 and the family pulled up stakes and moved to Texas.

Although Klappenbach received the traditional half acre lot in town (on the corner of Seguin Ave. and Garden St.) he also claimed 50 more acres. This property was bounded by Landa St., which was then called County Road, up Fredericksburg Rd., adjacent to the Balcones Escarpment, and down Parkview Blvd.

On this property in 1846 the Klappenbachs buried Caroline’s child, Franciska Voelcker, 22 years of age. Dr. Ferdinand Roemer describes the funeral in this manner: “According to a North American custom in the rural districts, all people in the funeral procession were mounted (on horses) which appeared unusual ….” The burial was on the property of the stepfather, beside the springs of the Comal, in view of the river and shaded by forest trees.

Stepson Eugen Voelcker constructed the dog-trot style homestead for the Klappenbachs near the springs. He had been trained in carpentry and home building in Anklam. Three feet thick walls of native fieldstone rubble with mortar made of caliche and straw were then covered with stucco. The roof is supported by two unjointed cypress beams the length of the house. The floors are cedar.

Klappenbach farmed and ranched on this property. He used the “GK” brand. He didn’t give up his interest in politics, being elected mayor in 1851 and then on the school board of the NB Academy. He was elected chief justice of Comal County in 1861.

Carl and Augusta Buehler bought the property from Klappenbach in 1881. It was Buehler that terraced the property next to the hill below the house. Buehler was known for his horticulture and the soil was so rich, and the area so perfect for growing fruits and vegetables, that even today many plants spring forth on their own – herbs such as horehound and mustang grapevines.

The most unusual trees are the anaqua trees. They are an old variety that grow close to water (aqua is water). There are many in Landa Park. About this time of year these trees are covered with tiny fragrant flowers that soon turn into berries. Indians concocted a dried food call pemmican. The berries of the anaqua were mixed with dried venison and made into paste for easy carriage.

Buehler’s grandson, Edward Penshorn, took ownership of the farm and then Melvin and Juanita Johnson bought it in the 1930’s. Finally the present owners, Tim and Elisabet Barker, bought the remaining 3 1/2 acres in 1984. Barker is a Master Gardener who grows magnificent flowers on the five terraces. Two small historic buildings have been moved on to the property blending in with the historic dog-trot house still in existence.

Much of the information for this article column has been collected from the Sophienburg Archives. There is a collection of about 450 family books, one of which is “Fink, Voelcker, and Klappenbach Families” by Albert Henry Fink. These family books are a real plus for researchers!

Georg Jochim Jacob Friedrich A. Klappenbach, 1860s

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

In your imagination, go back to 1845. The German immigrants will be crossing the Guadalupe River into what would become the settlement of New Braunfels. The date is March 21st and in 1845, it was Good Friday. As we know, Good Friday is not often on that date, but New Braunfels celebrates Founder’s Day on March 21, 1845. When you go into the Sophienburg Museum, the first display you see is dedicated to the brigs that brought the immigrants from Germany.

Since it is said that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, picture in your mind what the following famous ships looked like and you can get a mental picture of a brig: How about the “Sea Hawk” from the movie “Pirate of the Mediterranean”? Do you remember the “Jolly Roger”, a pirate ship of “Capt. Hook”? And then the “Covenant” from the story “Kidnapped” by Robert Louis Stevenson.

A brig is a small sailing ship with two masts. A brigantine is the same kind of ship but has a different arrangement of sails. Even now, every ship has a brig which is a prison cell where prisoners are kept until the ship reaches shore. By the 19th century, most ships were made of pine and were standard cargo ships. (They are also called barks, barkentines, clippers, named according to size and shape, number of masts, and how the sail was rigged.)

Then there were schooners which were fast, small ships used often from Galveston to Indianola. Do you remember the “We’re Here” schooner made famous by Rudyard Kipling’s “Captain’s Courageous”?

The German immigrants had the idea, as promoted by writers and especially the Adelsverein, that the two month trip, was to take them to a new exciting country where all their problems would be left behind. The romance of traveling was exciting and since most of the immigrants came from the interior of Germany, few had even seen the ocean nor a sailing vessel. They had already traveled many miles to get to Bremen or Antwerp to get on the brig to travel thousands of miles to their new Heimat (homeland). They must have had a rather “child-like” anticipation of something new and adventurous. On the other hand, it must have been a bittersweet experience, leaving your home to which you would never return and saying goodbye to friends and relatives.

Around 60 ships were leased by the Adelsverein and eventually made over 100 trips. The time taken to get from Germany to Galveston was roughly around 58 to 146 days depending on the weather, especially wind. Most of the vessels were cargo ships, well built and heavy, but slow. Group transport at the time made it profitable to convert cargo ships into emigrant ships.

The ships were divided into three sections: The bottom or the “hold” carried water, provisions, and the baggage of the immigrants. The middle section, steerage, had a hallway through the middle from one end to the other, and contained cubicles 8 x 8 stacked one on another. These cubicles were arranged with upper and lower berths with ladders to get up and down. They contained the large trunks of the family and had only a rough sailcloth straw mattress.

In a few of the ships, the steerage had portholes, but in most, the only light and air that reached these cabins was from the stairway leading to the upper deck. No running water, no buckets for “conveniences”, no lamps except whale oil lanterns, no washing facilities for body or clothes. Slop jars served as toilets, the contents of which had to be carried to the upper deck each morning and dumped into the sea. An average of 150 persons were in steerage.

The upper deck was separated from steerage by a hatch. During stormy days, the hatch had to be kept closed. Imagine the seasickness, heat, and close quarters. Many died and were buried at sea. The number has not been determined.

The first emigrants traveled to Bremen, sailed north on the Weser River to Bracke. Here they embarked on the brigs tied to the docks. Then they sailed to Bremerhaven, and out into the North Sea. The rough English Channel brought on seasickness. Eventually the drinking water took on a bad taste and smell. The food consisted of salted beef, pork, peas, beans, barley, rice, potatoes, sauerkraut, and cabbage. There was much rejoicing when they finally reached Galveston and then Indianola.

As difficult as the trip was, “All for Texas and Texas forever” says it all. Victor Bracht, 1848.

A painting of the brig, Herschel. This ship’s first trip left Bremen on Sept. 23, 1844. The next trip left August 14, 1845. Artist unknown.

A copy of a certificate for the Hans Heinrich Wallhöfer family of six, stating that they could leave Brennen on Sept. 15, 1845 and arrive in Galveston.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

The City of New Braunfels Parks and Recreation Dept. is living up to the city’s mission statement of adding value to the community by planning for the future and encouraging community involvement. Two public parks are in the planning stage, Fischer Park and Mission Hill Park.

If all goes well, an opening date of 2014 is anticipated for the 62 acre Fischer Park located at County Lind Road and McQueeney Rd. Mission Hill will be somewhat after this date.

Wade Tomlinson, Park Development Manager, in speaking of Fischer Park, said the historic character of the park was important and that the aim was for anyone who visited the park to be able to perceive that the property had been a working farm. The Fischer family brand will be used on park signage to help represent this. Two ponds already on the property will become potential fishing and boating ponds, one with a pier. New buildings will have a ranch-look to them.

A large event center designed in the central Texas ranch style, painted in earth tones, could be rented out for up to 300 people. It would have outdoor seating as well and could be used for weddings, family reunions and other gatherings.

Another potential building would be used for classrooms and offer nature courses. A ranch-like playground would contain a nature trail and splash pads. Austin parks have splash pads and children love them. This park will be free to the public but buildings will be available for a fee.

The 62 acres was at one time the homestead of Dewey and Milda Fischer. Their son, Maurice Fischer, and his brother and three sisters sold 55 acres to the City of NB and donated three acres to the NB Parks Foundation.

Back to the beginning of the Fischer family in Texas: Willie Fischer began his ranching business in Kendalia in the Twin Sisters area when he bought a large tract of land around the year 1900. Willie was the son of German immigrants Fritz and Caroline Klinger Fischer from Burgdorf, Hanover, Germany. Willie married his wife Meta Knibbe and in 1898, Meta died as a result of giving birth to their only child, Ottilie. The baby was raised by her grandparents, Charles and Pauline Knibbe of Spring Branch. Ottilie would marry Alfred Jonas and produce twin girls, Audrey (Dean) and Jacquelyn (Mayer).

Willie continued ranching in the Twin Sisters area. Then in 1904 he married again to Martha Bartels, the daughter of Henry and Marie Startz Bartels. They had three children, Linda, Nola, and Dewey.

Dewey Henry Fischer was born in 1911. At a dance at Smithsons Valley, he met his future wife Milda Sahm. Milda was born in the settlement of Comal in 1918 to Edwin and Hilda Sahm. Dewey and Milda were married in a formal wedding ceremony at First Protestant Church in New Braunfels in 1935 by Rev. Gottlob Mornhinweg. (Five generations of the Fischer family were married in this church.) Dewey and Milda lived at the family ranch house in Kendalia .

Willie Fischer in 1944 bought land in New Braunfels between Hwy. 725 and the Old McQueeney Road. Dewey bought land on the other side of his dad’s property in early 1946 and shortly thereafter he and Milda moved their family to this property. Their oldest child, Maurice, was getting ready to start to school and they wanted him and their future children to attend school in New Braunfels. Children Dean, Beverly, Faye Lynn, and Debra were born in New Braunfels. This is the property where the park is located.

Dewey Fischer was a successful farmer and businessman on the Kendalia ranch and later in New Braunfels. As a young man, he purchased a bulldozer, built a trailer, and then added a scraper, a grader, and two caterpillar crawler tractors. With this he began the Dewey Fischer Construction Company. He was active in soil conservation work and dug the pond that is on the park property.

He died suddenly in 1967. His wife Milda continued living in the NB property and several years later she married Helmuth Schlameus.

Over the years various family members lived in the farmhouse and Christmas 2006 was the last time that the family celebrated together in the old house. There are, however, 29 direct descendants of Dewey Fischer living within two miles of New Braunfels.

The Fischer family can be proud of the community use made of their land and the homestead will live on through the park.

The wedding of Dewey and Milda Sahm Fischer, First Protestant Church, New Braunfels in 1935.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Immigrant Julius Voelcker arrived in New Braunfels in 1845 and at age 25 became one of the First Founders of the city. Before arriving, he had studied pharmacology and medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. His profession in the 1850 census was listed as “farmer”. A majority of immigrants listed their profession in this way. They came for land and this was a way to survive. Ultimately Voelcker chose to be a pharmacist and opened his pharmacy next to his home on the north side of the plaza.

Julius Voelcker’s chosen field would spur on a family tradition, as six members would follow this profession in the next generations. He married Louise Karbach in 1857 who had emigrated to Texas with her family from Mecklinberg, Germany. Four sons and one daughter were born to this couple: Frank, Rudolf, Bruno, Emil and daughter, Emma. Emma’s life would bring the family much joy but also grief.

During the Civil War Julius Voelcker joined a company of State Troops, 31st Brigade as a 1^st Lieutenant. Norma Colley, granddaughter of Voelcker, in a paper written in 1990 told stories that her grandmother, Louise Voelcker, told of the family’s experiences during the war when Julius was away serving in the war. Her grandmother and the children moved to a hill over the Guadalupe River. Frank, the oldest son, was bitten by a water moccasin on the banks of the Guadalupe. His life was saved by his mother. Bruno fell from a cliff but survived. After the war when Julius returned, the family moved back to their home in town.

On July 22, 1874, a terrible tragedy befell the Voelcker family when 12 year-old Emma Voelcker was murdered in the Voelcker home by Wilhelm Faust of Seguin. Faust’s estranged wife, Helene, was spending the night at the Voelcker home as she had done before and she was sleeping in the same bed as Emma. During the night, Mrs. Faust moved to the floor and the assailant entered the home and attempted to kill his wife with an ax, thinking she was in the bed. In the dark he hit Emma instead, killing her. Mrs. Faust was blinded by a near-fatal blow. Faust escaped but was caught in November. It wasn’t until October of 1875 that he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Locally the populace was enraged by the sentence so he was moved to a jail in San Antonio. He was moved back to the Comal County Jail but a lynch mob attempted to assassinate him. He was then moved into the Comal County Courthouse. (Old courthouse where Chase Bank is located) On July 28, 1876, some unknown person shot Faust through the window of his cell and killed him.

Julius Voelcker was elected mayor in 1875 but died six weeks before his term expired in 1877. Louise lived 41 more years. When the New Braunfels Parks and Recreation Dept. conducted its “Soul Searching” program in November, the Voelcker gravesite was one of the sites featured in the Comal Cemetery.

Bruno Voelcker followed in his father Julius’ footsteps. His drugstore was located on the corner of San Antonio St. and Castell Ave. (Red Stag). Bruno’s two sons, Edwin and Julius were both pharmacists.

Julius’ youngest son, Emil, married Caroline Zuehl and they lived on the Karbach ranch for many years. Emil was also a pharmacist. Their children were Louise , Herbert, and Norma. In 1891 Emil purchased six lots in the Braunfels subdivision between Union and Washington Sts. in Comaltown. A small house was already on the corner of Union and South Sts. and added on to over the years. This house still belongs to descendants of the Voelcker family.

Louise Voelcker married Robert Wagenfuehr and both were very civic minded and active in New Braunfels. Their children were Esther May,(mother of Betty Kyle), Milton, and Harvey. The Voelcker pharmacy tradition continued in the family with Harvey Wagenfuehr becoming a pharmacist and eventually owning Peerless Pharmacy on San Antonio St.

Tracing the history of the Voelcker family is in many ways typical of other family histories of immigrants who made New Braunfels their home in the 1800s. But in many ways this family’s history is unique.

Twelve-year-old Emma Voelcker was the unintended victim of murder on July 22, 1874.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

Have you heard of Sylvester’s Abend? Have you heard of New Year’s Eve? Two names for the same event. To arrive at the Gregorian calendar that we and most European countries use was not an easy process. Many changes took place before the final calendar set up by Pope Gregory XIII was adopted.

Sylvester’s Abend was what the German emigrants called New Year’s Eve, or Dec. 31st.The name “Sylvester” translates from Latin as “wild man”. The German “Abend” translates to “evening”. Sylvester’s Abend is named after a Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 314 A.D. to 335 A.D. Ever since the Gregorian calendar was adopted by most of the world, the feast day celebrated Sylvester’s death on Dec. 31st. The name Sylvester’s Abend was used locally for many years but eventually changed to New Year’s Eve. The local German American Society still uses Sylvester’s Abend.

Speaking of Sylvester’s Abend traditions, some of the interpreters at the Sophienburg who grew up in Germany remember a practice carried out on New Year’s Eve called Bleigiessen or “lead pouring”. It resembles the practice of reading tea leaves to predict the next year’s events. A small amount of lead is melted in a spoon over a candle. Then the molten lead is poured into a bowl of water and the pattern that forms predicts events of the coming year. There is a long list of what these forms could mean. Sounds like an entertaining game.

Advertisements in the old Zeitung newspapers give a hint of how New Year’s Eve was celebrated locally. Dances at halls in town and in nearby settlements were prevalent. A popular early hall was Matzdorf Halle which eventually became Echo Hall and then finally, Eagles Hall. There were dances at Sweet Home Hall at Solms, Walhalla at Smithson’s Valley, Teutonia Halle, Anhalt, Landa Park, Reinarz Hall, Schwab Hall, Lenzen Hall, and smaller ones. Downtown Seekatz Opera House, built in 1901, was a popular dance hall with its stage, dressing rooms, kitchen, and large main floor with seats that could be removed easily for dances. An added feature was a balcony for onlookers and private club rooms on the second floor in the front of the building. At midnight the fire siren would blow.

All of the dances furnished trappings of the celebration of the coming of the New Year with noisemakers and fireworks. Designed to ward off evil, fireworks and noisemakers go back to ancient times.

In a Sophienburg Reflections program, the late Kola Zipp recalls a custom in her younger years (early 1920s) that had to do with New Year’s Eve. She called the practice “New Year’s Callers”. Young men would hire a carriage from the local livery stable and go out on New Year’s afternoon to visit girls. Girls would stay at home to welcome them and offer the boys wine. (That’s a switch) These New Year’s Callers would visit and then move on to the next house.

Marie Offermann and her sister Jeanette Felger often went to dances at Echo Hall as children with their parents. There was even baby-sitting service in one of the back rooms. People brought food that was placed in the basement under the stage. New Years was a dress-up time. Look at the picture.

New Year’s Eve is celebrated around the world, often with strange customs, from throwing dishes, to wearing red underwear, to congregating in a cemetery to ring in the New Year with departed loved ones. In France the wind direction predicted the year’s crops and weather and in Spain if one could consume 12 grapes in 12 seconds from midnight, good luck would follow.

Since the invention of television and computers, millions watch the New Year’s celebration at Times Square in New York. Since its beginning in 1907, a huge 12 foot diameter ball suspended above Times Square is lowered. When it reaches the bottom of the tower, it is midnight.

No New Year’s Eve celebration would be complete without the ever popular traditional song, “Auld Lang Syne”. Poet Robert Burns is given credit for translating the Scottish song. Here’s the last verse of Burns’ rendition:

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!(friend)
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!(give us your hand)
And we’ll tak a right guid-willie waught,(take a good-will draught)
For auld lang syne,(long, long ago)

Chorus:

For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Celebrating New Year’s Eve at Matzdorf Halle.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

They walked (some rode on golf carts) through the Comal Cemetery at the City’s Parks Department “Soul Searching” program. About 360 people met eight “souls” who were buried in the cemetery. The land for this cemetery originally belonged to John F. Torrey and was managed by trustees Ernest Gruene, J.J. Gross, J. Goldenbagen and John Torrey, who transferred the cemetery to the city in 1887.

To add a little mystery to the affair, participants met at Cypress Bend Park where those who could, were transported by hay wagon to the cemetery entrance.  This year’s emphasis was on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. It is estimated that there are about 200 Civil War Veterans in Comal Cemetery.

Several members of the local Sons of Confederate Veterans were there in full regalia to help with the program, some portraying “souls” and some presenting the flags of the Confederacy and the Union.

In Sophie’s Shop at the Sophienburg there are two books about Comal County’s participation in that war: War Between the States-Participants from Comal County, Texas by Wilfred Schlather and War Between the States Comal County Texas in the Civil War compiled by Francis R. Horne.

After arriving at the cemetery’s entrance, the group walked carrying flashlights. The first “soul” searched was Peter Worff. He came to Texas from Germany with his parents and sister in 1845.  His mother died soon, leaving the father to care for his two children. They lived in the Schmitz Hotel because that’s where their father worked. His involvement in the Civil War was with Hoffman’s Co. B, 7 Reg. Texas Cavalry. He died in 1913.

The next “souls” were that of Oscar Nebergall, a 15 year old child, William Harvey (1840-1891) and Ida Arnold Nebergall (1848-1920).   This couple was convincingly portrayed as visiting the grave of their son nearby. The boy was killed in a wagon accident while coming down Fredericksburg Road. The Nebergalls were married in 1865 after William, a Union soldier, was stationed here after the Civil War.

Louise Mittendorf Benner (1820- 1913) was the next “soul” visited. She came to New Braunfels with her parents from Germany and married Adolph von Benner who had arrived with Prince Carl and was in charge of the Commissary for the Adelsverein. When Adolph died in 1857, Louise took his place as postmaster.   She was the first woman postmaster in NB and Comal County but was relieved of her duties after the Civil War because she served under the Confederacy.

This next “soul”, Hermann Jonas (1836-1912) is one that really struck a note of recognition with me. Hermann was born in Prussia. I knew his grandson, Gus Krause.  Gus and Ricky Fischer Krause lived in the stone house and ranched the almost 2,000 acre ranch. I first met the Krauses in the 1960s when my dad, Marcus Adams, was on a hunting lease at their ranch. My husband, Glyn, took his place on the lease in 1970. We were very fond of the Krauses.

I can picture this very historic house - a four-story, 24-inch-thick limestone and it is as it was when Hermann Jonas built it in 1865. The house was large and unusual for its time.  The Comanche Indians were still a threat in such a remote place. Family legend states that there was a lookout on the roof and the older boys took turns standing watch in times of danger.

The first floor of the house was the kitchen, second floor were bedrooms and the third floor was used as a dance room and community reunions. The top floor was storage and occasional sleeping place for children.

Incidently, three of the Jonas brothers served in the Union and three in the Confederacy.

Another “soul” visited was that of Wilhelm Seekatz (1825-1910). Seekatz played an important part in the Civil War because he started the Saltpetre Mfg. Co. in 1863.  Saltpetre was used in making gunpowder. His kiln is located off Fredericksburg Road in Landa Park.

Perhaps the most famous soldier in the Civil War was Gustav Hoffman (1817-1889). He had been the first mayor of New Braunfels. He was trained in the military in Prussia and he fit right into the Confederate leadership role. As a captain, Hoffman organized the Co. B of 7th Regiment Texas Cavalry and served from 1861 through 1865. He was promoted Major and Colonel. He died in San Antonio in 1889 but was buried in Comal Cemetery.

“A grave, wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul.” (Nathaniel Hawthorne). This annual respectful program does much to keep our historic “souls” alive.

Gustav Hoffman

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

A flurry of activity and preparation is engulfing organizations that involve themselves with Wurstfest activities. The ten- day celebration is from Nov. 2nd through the 11th. One organization, the Conservation Society, located on Churchill Drive, utilizes their grounds to hold a major fundraiser during Wurstfest. Carrying out the theme of early historic New Braunfels, they operate a German Kaffee Haus for lunch from 10:30a.m. to 2:00 p.m. from November the 7th through the 11th. The place is Forke Store.

This year’s lunch includes German potato soup, Koch Kase, Wurst, homemade desserts and features a sauerkraut cake. It actually does contain sauerkraut and the recipe comes from Mrs. Ben Faust who gave it to the Conservation Society. They, in turn, submitted it to the Sophienburg to be included in their book, “Guten Appetit”. I made this cake once and it’s delicious, but I no longer want to spend half a day baking it; I’ll get it at Conservation Plaza.

For those of you who are not familiar with Conservation Plaza, you should come and familiarize yourself with their grounds. Entrance is free and there is much to see. The Kaffee Haus is once again at Forke Store. New Braunfels has held many events in this building over the years. They estimate that the building is rented close to 200 times a year.

Forke Store was moved from the corner of Seguin Ave. and Jahn St. out to Conservation Plaza when the Becker family bought the property in the ‘60s. They gave the building to the Conservation Society. Arno Becker remembers a ten-foot wide trail from Seguin Ave. to the Comal River known as the “water lane”. It had been the property of the city and was used by early emigrants to walk down to the Comal to get water. This water lane ran across the property that Becker purchased and the city deeded the lane to the property owners. Somewhere under Bluebonnet Motors is that water lane. Sorry, you’ll have to turn on a faucet to get water.

The construction of Forke Store is interesting. The framework is of the “fachwerk” or half-timber style which means that the spaces are filled with bricks, stone or mud. When the emigrants arrived in 1845, they noticed that the building method that had been used in Germany would be well suited locally. The materials were all here – limestone for the foundation, cedar for beams, and sun-dried adobe bricks which could easily be made in Texas. Adobe would be poured into a wooden mold and even children could do this. A shingle roof was installed and siding was attached. The bricks were covered with mud plaster mixed with straw. Fine mud was smeared over and then painted.

The Forke building was moved in two parts and put back together with the original floor and ceiling. Doors and window sashes are also original. The store was a mercantile store and objects within the store reflect that. Old display counters are from Henne Hardware and the original handmade Forke walnut desk is displayed.

Originally the property belonged to Victor Bracht, author of “Texas in 1848”. He belonged to the nobility in Germany, was highly educated and trained for a mercantile career. In 1846 the German Emigration Company sent him to New Braunfels to look after the emigrants. He stayed a year, went back to Germany, and in 1848 returned to New Braunfels. That same year he married Sibilla Shaefer. One lot was given to him by the Adelsverein and he purchased another next to it for $35.00.The first store building and house next door was built in 1852. Bracht was a merchant at this location from 1846 to 1855 after which he moved to San Antonio. The first building described by Bracht was later used by Jacob Ludwig Forke as a “feather house” where feathers were sold by the pound.

From 1855 there were several owners and in 1865 Jacob and Caroline Forke bought the property from Joseph Landa. They ran the mercantile store and raised 10 children. In 1902, the property was left to their youngest son, Louis, who continued the business until he died in 1966. The Becker family purchased the property from the Forke estate and this is when Forke Store moved to Conservation Plaza. Becker Motor Company was sold to Bluebonnet Motors in 2002.

Thanks to the Becker family and the Conservation Society, Forke Store lives on.

Louis and Hedwig Forke sit outside the Forke Store when it was located on Jahn St.and Seguin Ave. The store is on the right and the time is possibly in the late 1940s.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

When I think of Botanists in New Braunfels, I immediately think of Ferdinand Lindheimer. Lindheimer was given property on the Comal for his botanical garden. No doubt his accomplishments were many, but there were others in the field who contributed much to the beauty of our town. One in particular helped make NB the “garden spot” of Texas and that was Otto Martin Locke, Jr. He was a third generation New Braunfelser and a third generation horticulturist. He died in 1994 so some of you may remember him.

Here’s his family story:

Johann Joseph Locke, hailing from Prussia, arrived in NB in 1852 and in four years bought two 10- acre plots of land on the Comal Creek, what is now Town Creek and running to the Landa Street area. It eventually also covered the area from the RR tracks to the hill. Seeing a need for ornamental trees, as well as fruit-bearing trees, he put his knowledge of horticulture to use and began the first nursery in New Braunfels.

For 30 years the business thrived and then was taken over by Johann’s oldest son, Otto Martin Locke, Sr., who named the nursery “Comal Springs Nursery”. He was responsible for developing and producing fruit and pecan trees, vegetables and ornamental shrubs. Large orders were shipped by train. One order of 50,000 peach trees was sent to Mexico.

Many pecan trees around town were grown and grafted by Locke. I grew up knowing that the 10 pecan trees in our yard, the soft-shelled Daisey Pecan, were developed by Locke.

In 1906 Locke planted 50 to 60 thousand roses and developed the Bonita Arbor Vitae, which is a variety of evergreens. Other plants developed by him were Heidemeyer apple, Strington apple, Ferguson fig, Comal cling peaches, Dixie peach, November peach, Daisey pecan, Fall City tomato, Germania rose, Locke’s pride pear, Perfection pear, Old-favorite pomegranate, McCarthy plum, and Guadalupe dewberry. Locke was granted the first state permit for irrigating using state waters (Comal Creek).

The Otto Lockes trained their four boys in the nursery business in NB, Poteet, and San Antonio. The boys were Emil, Herman, Walter and Otto, Jr. It was this youngest boy who made the biggest impact on the whole town of New Braunfels.

Otto Martin Locke, Jr. and his wife, Etelka Rose Locke, acquired property between W. San Antonio St. and Hwy 81 S. in 1928, after the death of his father. They began the Otto Martin Locke Nursery that they operated until Otto’s death in 1994. At the time that Otto and Etelka moved to their new property, Herman and Thekla Locke and their son Howard, formed the Locke Nursery and Floral on part of the old property in the area of present streets: Lockner (Locke Nursery),Howard (Howard Locke),and Floral (obvious).

When Otto and Etelka Locke bought the property on W. San Antonio, it was a cotton field. Etelka was famous for her gardens, once planting 5,000 tulip bulbs in the 1940’s. (For pictures of theses tulips, log on to Sophienburg.com and click on column). She planted the garden around the Lindheimer House on Comal Ave. and the McKenna Memorial Hospital. Otto planted a chestnut oak for the Arbor Day ceremony at the Landa Park office. They used no pesticides on their ten acres, using only chameleons, lizards and snakes to eat the bugs.

Otto Locke’s love of animals as a child grew into a business. He became famous nationally and internationally as a major importer and exporter of exotic native animals and birds for zoos around the world. Inquiries came for birds, snakes, and armadillos. He traded his stock for monkeys, exotic snakes, lion cubs, alligators, crocodiles and even kangaroos. Animals were shipped to many countries and continents- England, Mexico, Germany, Singapore, Australia, Africa, Calcutta, and India. He supplied many snakes for Hollywood. Locke Nursery provided the closest thing to a zoo that New Braunfels had, for these animals were all on display. Children’s trips to the nursery were a real treat.

Looking toward the old nursery from I.H. 35 S., you see the remnants of the old sign, “Locke Nursery”, and thousands of overgrown trees, helping us remember a thriving business for 138 years. But…

“We’ll never smile at a crocodile again”.

Etelka and Otto Martin Locke, Jr. Patricia S. Arnold, artist.

Original Locke Nursery

Locke Nursery between San Antonio Street and Interstate 35 access road around 1962

Locke Nursery between San Antonio Street and Interstate 35 access road around 1962

Locke Nursery between San Antonio Street and Interstate 35 access road around 1962

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

One of the more exciting stories concerning the early settlers of New Braunfels was that of Betty Holekamp charging across the Guadalupe on a horse after Prince Carl’s spectacular show of bravado. The story was probably somewhat embellished over the years, but nevertheless it’s a good one.

Prince Carl was of the highest class of aristocracy and I doubt seriously if he appreciated anyone trying to upstage him, much less a woman. He would not be leading the parade for women’s sufferage, but I think Betty would have.

Here’s the story: Georg and Elizabeth Holekamp had married in Germany on March 17, 1844. They set out for Texas to make a new life for themselves. They were on the brig Johann Dethart which was the first ship of the Adelsverein. They arrived in Galveston November 24, 1844.

Georg Holekamp, the son of the royal architect Daniel Holekamp, was educated at the University of Hanover and could speak German, English, French and also studied music and medicine. His father discouraged him from being a musician. He couldn’t have gone farther away from that career – a brick maker and a farmer. Music did become his hobby. For that matter it was while pursuing this hobby that Georg met Elizabeth Abbenthern. While playing the piano, Georg asked for a vocalist and Elizabeth (Betty) came forward. She was 10 years younger and he was impressed.

Betty’s father was the ministerial accountant in the royal court of the King of the state of Hannover. Betty was educated along with the king’s daughters to become a governess.  She had been around the aristocracy before so that may explain her willingness to challenge the prince.

Georg and Betty married and set out for the Republic of Texas. They arrived in Galveston on November 24, 1844. They made their way to New Braunfels and when they could, crossed the Guadalupe to get to the settlement.

Now Betty is the one that tradition says would not want to be outdone by Prince Carl. Supposedly he was riding a white horse and   plunged into the raging flood waters. This white horse story made me question the accuracy of the story. After all, “good” cowboys ride white horses. We don’t know what color Betty’s horse was but she followed suit in true pioneer fashion. Don’t you know Georg was impressed?

In New Braunfels they enrolled in the German Protestant Church. Their town lots bordered Garden St., from Comal St. to the Comal River.

When Texas became a state of the Union, Betty Holekamp sewed a 6 ft by 3 ft United States flag with the 13 red and white stripes and a lone star on a field of blue in the left corner. This earlier Texas flag was known as the Texas Lone Star and Stripes flag. Tradition says that the Holekamp flag was flown on the Plaza and believed to be the first American flag flown in town. Some think that the flying of this flag could have been a message to the aristocratic Prince Carl. What do you think?

Two years after arriving in New Braunfels, the Holekamps moved to Fredericksburg where they received property and Georg became an administrator in property settlement. They never gave up their properties in New Braunfels. Georg built a home and a saw and grist mill on the Comal River at the foot of Garza St. It was also a paper pulp mill and an ice plant. A flood nearly totally destroyed the mill in 1869. This property became Camp Landa and finally the property of Schlitterbahn.

In 1854 the Holekamps moved to Comfort as one of their first settlers. A small rock house is still preserved by the Comfort Historical Society. They also lived in Sisterdale and San Antonio. The Sisterdale house still stands also.

When the Civil War broke out, Georg enlisted in the Confederate army as a surgeon. His  small amount of medical training qualified him to do that. He was the company’s band director at the same time. Unfortunately he was killed in Brownsville in 1862 and neither the cause or burial site was revealed.

Betty Holekamp continued living in Comfort and raised her seven children alone. She outlived her husband by 40 years. What a woman!!

Mill at the end of Garza St. built in 1850 by Georg Holekamp. This 1890 photo shows L-R John Peter Nuhn and son, Ben, and possibly H. G. Koester who owned the mill at the time. (Source: Roger Nuhn)