A bank robbery in downtown New Braunfels

By Myra Lee Adams Goff A bank robbery in downtown New Braunfels? Yes, it happened on March 10, 1922, and reported a week later in the New Braunfels Herald. Hot news item? Well, remember that the Herald was a weekly newspaper. I’m sure that by that time local communication systems

Continue reading

Sophienburg to host “Meet the Local Authors” event

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Sophie’s Shop at the Sophienburg is loaded with books about New Braunfels and native New Braunfelsers. There are novels, children’s books, as well as history books. The first “Meet the Local Authors” will be Saturday, April 17th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. All the authors

Continue reading

Waisenhaus believed to be first orphanage

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Can you think of three words that would describe what was important to your mother’s generation? How about your grandmother’s? Go back one more generation and it’s easy because that generation of immigrant women spelled it out: “Küche, Kirche, und Kinder, or “kitchen, church and

Continue reading

Scrapbooks and diaries reveal much about history

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Now keep on writing what you know About the things you do, And share with us your memories So we can learn from you. Have you ever thought about the importance of writing in a diary and keeping a scrapbook and what this process has

Continue reading

John Torrey important businessman in early NB

By Myra Lee Adams Goff “Connecticut Yankees in Prince Carl’s Court” might describe the Torrey brothers, John F., Tudor, Abraham, George, David, and Thomas. They were indeed from Connecticut and three of them did end up in Prince Carl’s domain. One of them, John, stayed. If you look at the

Continue reading

Customs of St. Valentine’s day changed over the years

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Next week is Valentine’s Day and the Sophienburg has a display of about 30 of their historic valentines from the early 1900s to the 1950s. The most elaborate and beautiful card is a zephyr (hot air balloon) decorated with a technique called “honeycomb”. Parts of

Continue reading

Rahm tells of beautiful spot between two rivers

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The name Johann Jacob Rahm is not a very familiar one in New Braunfels – nothing is named after him, no street or school like after Solms, Seele, or Lindheimer. But Rahm is perhaps the one person who actually was the most influential in the

Continue reading

Meusebach Makes Peace Treaty With Comanches

By Myra Lee Adams Goff On March 2, 1847, about 30 miles from the mouth of the San Saba River and north of Fredericksburg, John O. Meusebach, second commissioner-general to the Adelsverein, negotiated a peace treaty with the Comanche Indians. A treaty with the Comanches was essential to settling the

Continue reading

Traveling exhibit coming to Sophienburg

This traveling exhibit has been rescheduled for Jan. 12-Feb. 9, 2010. By Myra Lee Adams Goff The Sophienburg’s first traveling exhibit will be open at the museum on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and stay through Feb. 9. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. excluding Mondays and Sundays. The exhibit called

Continue reading

Christmas in the “Neu Heimatland”

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Hermann Seele arrived in Galveston on Dec. 13, 1843. He had come alone to make his home in Texas. On Christmas Eve, he walked the streets of Galveston totally alone and his thoughts were of home in Germany. He remembered how the children stepped up

Continue reading