Adelsverein purchases Nassau Plantation
By Myra Lee Adams Goff In the northern corner of Fayette County near Round Top, Texas, lies an area of beautiful, peaceful, rolling hills. The serenity of the landscape hides its rather sordid past of greed, slavery, even a charge of murder. This piece of property, 4,428 acres, in the early 1840s was Nassau Plantation, […]
Reflections program keeps history alive in the retelling
By Myra Lee Adams Goff The recording room at the Sophienburg has been out of order for almost three months. Badly in need of an upgrade, Carl Nowotny and Chris Hildebrand brought the equipment up-to-date and several volunteers replaced the deteriorating walls. Joel Erben, who originally donated the sound room in honor of his mother, […]
When the world was changing, but Camp Warnecke wasn’t
By Myra Lee Adams Goff NEW BRAUNFELS – Let’s take a trip to Camp Warnecke. Most of you know where it was, but if you don’t, think of the Schlitterbahn Waterparks property between the San Antonio Street Bridge and the Garden Street Bridge. Imagine the time being around 1944 during World War II when the […]
New Braunfels newspaper has changed with the times
By Myra Lee Adams Goff When our town was only 7 years old, citizens saw a need for a newspaper. These citizens organized themselves into a company and through public subscription financed what became the second oldest continuous newspaper in Texas. It was in German because that was the mother language, but time changed that. […]
Stories of Lustige Strumpf intrigue, puzzle historians
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Have you ever heard of a place called “der Lustige Strumpf“? In English, it means “the lusty stocking”. Sounds a little suspicious, doesn’t it? Its background and location are a little shady and a little mysterious. Der Lustige Strumpf has been the subject of curiosity on the part of local […]
Spielzeit at Sophienburg Saturday
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Picture this: Every day after school, a group of elementary school boys rushed home and met at a vacant lot behind Hollmig’s Drive-In at the intersection of Seguin and Zink streets. Their goal: to play baseball their way. (See the 1958 photo below for names.) George House, owner of the […]
St. Joseph chapel becomes Comal County historical site
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Out in the county on FM 482, the newly formed Schertz Historical Preservation Committee recently celebrated the St. Joseph Chapel as a historic site. The newly formed committee, led by Dean Weirtz, has become extremely active in the last year and the members, many of whom are descendants of 150-year […]
New Braunfels newspaper influenced secession effort
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Fourth of July Parade When: 9:15 a.m. Monday Where: Main Plaza, New Braunfels Another Fourth of July celebration is coming up Monday. Flags will be waving, music will be saluting the United States of America and The Sophienburg’s annual parade downtown to the Main Plaza will be open to patriots […]
Blended cultural traditions form typical Texas Christmas
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Each year, Christmas traditions are observed by Christians around the world. Here in New Braunfels, these traditions vary according to denomination and ancestry, but basically they are a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago. The Christmas tree idea was brought across the ocean by […]
Some postmarks tell interesting history
By Myra Lee Adams Goff A young German count, Arnold-Henkel von Donnersmark, came to the New Braunfels settlement in 1845 with Prince Carl. He built a large frame building where he lived and conducted his hotel and saloon business. In less than a year he had accumulated several thousand dollars. This is how he did […]
