By Myra Lee Adams Goff Do you know the story behind the formation of the Sophienburg Museum and Archives? It’s a rather interesting story and unique like the city in which it is located. Here’s how it goes: The Hippolyt Dittlinger family (of flour mill fame) received a portrait of

By Myra Lee Adams Goff When the United States was getting ready to celebrate its bi-centennial in 1976, Herb Skoog had an idea to do something locally that would commemorate this event. Little did he know that he would be starting a compilation of local history that would be on-going even

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The fact is that New Braunfels was never ever intended to be the final destination of the German emigrants in 1845! It’s a rather complicated story, but let’s give it a try. Indian tribes had lived in the Texas area for 37,000 or more years

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Most towns that actively renovate or recycle buildings have an old movie house downtown. We are fortunate to have our Brauntex movie theater renovated and recycled into a performing arts theater. Before it bit the dust as a movie theatre, we affectionately called it “The Brau…”

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Although Johann Nicholas Zink’s stay in NB was relatively short, his impact lives on even today, for it was he that plotted the basic plan for the layout of the town. Upon his arrival at Indianola in 1844, he was hired by Prince Carl on

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The year is 1849, just five years after the first emigrants arrived on the Texas coast. Hermann Seele has been invited to spend December 26th with Pastor L.C. Ervendberg, his wife Luise, their five children, and the 19 orphans left parentless by the devastating immigration

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The Sophienburg Museum and Archives are decorated for the holidays. The foyer features a doll tree and a Scherenschnitte tree. Two displays in the museum, the General Store and the Cabin have old toys. Christmas memories abound with all of us, but have you thought about

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Just imagine that you are strolling through an old German village with beautiful houses and stores surrounded by the snow-covered Alps. The Christmas season has begun and shoppers are rushing around in the Marktplatz. Sounds like fun? That’s exactly what you can experience at the

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Sometimes we find things stuck away in basements, attics, or sheds that look like they have value, but we don’t know why so we just hang on to them. That’s what happened to Karl Zipp, when about 25 years ago he came across a stack

By Myra Lee Adams Goff This column is now 16 months old and this story is the “wurst” story ever. For those of you who just got off the boat, “wurst” means sausage and sausage means Wurstfest! This Friday Wurstfest will begin its 40th year in the giant building called Wursthalle which according to