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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

It was a comfortable warm evening, Valentine’s Day, 1976, in fact. I was one of a group of NBHS seniors sitting on the hoods of several cars parked in front of Ortiz’s Bar across from the Brauntex. We had been told that the Freedom Train was making its way from San Antonio to Austin that night and would pass through New Braunfels, sometime around 10?

We began our vigil well enough, using up the time talking and messing around. Like I said, we were seniors and we were really excited about graduating in the U.S. Bicentennial year. The lure of the Freedom Train was that it had the Liberty Bell in one of the cars. That, and we were out with the guys.

When Saturday, February 14, became Sunday, February 15, Ortiz’s Bar was closed with the perfunctory heavy chain and padlock through the fist-size hole in the double doors. As the world around us grew ever more silent, we became ever more bored. So what do you think a bunch of guys and girls thought they could do in such a situation? You who were teenagers in the ‘70s will know. But for the rest of you reading this, we did the only sensible thing while waiting — we paired off and began “making out.”

I’ll let you guess what that entails, but it was not “hooking up.”

Eventually, the steam locomotive, with its distinctive sound and whistle, reminded us why we were by the railroad crossing on West San Antonio Street at 0-dark-thirty. Engine #610 rumbled by slowly enough for us to see into the lighted glass-sided rail car. And there it was, the Liberty Bell — and there it went. The Freedom Train continued on to Austin and beyond.

The Liberty Bell. It is one of America’s iconic emblems. We have seen it on stamps, war bond posters, bumper stickers, on souvenirs and in movies. But what do we really know about it? Here are some fun facts about our famous symbol of freedom.

1. The Liberty Bell was cast in 1751 in London and hung in the Pennsylvania State House. It cracked on the first ring. It was melted down and recast by local metalworkers, John Pass and John Stowe. Remember the clue in the movie “National Treasure”?
2. The Liberty Bell weighs 2,080 pounds and is 70% copper and 25% tin, with traces of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold and silver. It measures 12 feet around the lip, 7 feet 6 inches around the crown, and 3 feet from lip to crown.
3. The famous words on the Liberty Bell come from the Bible (Leviticus 25:10): PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND UNTO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF.
4. In 1835, abolitionists appropriated this message and renamed the Pennsylvania State House Bell the Liberty Bell.
5. The Liberty Bell’s famous crack is a subject of debate. Hanging in the Pennsylvania State House, the bell was often used. The Liberty Bell cracked in 1835, while being tolled in honor of Chief Justice John Marshall. In 1846, the Liberty Bell was repaired so it could be rung at George Washington’s birthday. When the bell was rung a new crack developed. It is this crack that we see today!
6. A story was written by George Lippard in 1847 which associated the Liberty Bell with the first July 4th and it become a part of the bell’s folklore. Most agree that it was not actually rung on July 4, 1776.
7. The Liberty Bell did ring to call the citizens of Philadelphia together to learn news of the Revolutionary War, and it was rung when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington and the war ended. The last time the bell was sounded was for Washington’s birthday in 1846. That was the last time people heard the bell ring freely with its clapper. Since then, “ringing” of the bell is produced by using a hammer against the exterior.

The Liberty Bell has travelled widely. It was first moved in 1777 from Philadelphia to Allentown to keep it from being melted down for cannons by the British. The bell has also made trips across the nation to spread its message of freedom: World’s Industrial and Cotton Exposition at New Orleans (1885), World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago (1893), Cotton States and Atlantic Exposition at Atlanta (1895), Interstate and West India Exposition at Charleston (1902), Bunker Hill Celebration at Boston (1903), Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis (1904), and the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco (1915). It was during its return trip from San Franciso to Philadelphia that the Liberty Bell came to New Braunfels!

On October 8, 1915, the editor of the New Braunfels Herald noted that the Liberty Bell was going to stop at San Marcos on November 17 for a one-hour stop and that “Sunny San” intended to make a big holiday of the occasion. He indignantly asked the question, “Why not at New Braunfels?”

Well, someone must have gotten in touch with someone who got in touch with someone else, because it was reported in the morning release of the November 17 Neu Braunfelser-Zeitung, that the train would come through New Braunfels at 1:50 p.m. for a five-minute stop. A five-minute stop would “afford a chance for citizens to view the precious relic.” Around 2,000 people assembled at the Missouri-Kansas-Texas depot to witness the historic event. Businesses were decorated with U.S. and Texas flags and then closed at noon to allow folks to gather at the station and along the railway tracks on both sides. A local band came to play patriotic music. The New Braunfels Academy released its students. The children then collected again into a group and with little American flags in hand, prepared to sing, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.”

But the train didn’t come….

A little before 4 p.m., the much-delayed special locomotive was seen coming down the tracks. The townsfolk and children quickly regrouped in readiness and the band began playing. The locomotive was pulling six cars. One car accommodated the bell’s travelling committee and custodians. A special all-steel Pullman flat car, with a brass railing barrier, carried the Liberty Bell which was suspended in the center on a wooden yoke so it could be clearly seen. The children began singing their practiced song accompanied by the band. Reporters shared that “the hundreds of school children, waving as many little Stars and Stripes, made a most attractive and animating impression, hardly to be forgotten during the lifetime of those who witnessed it.”

They waited to see the Liberty Bell come through town in 1915; we waited to see the Liberty Bell come through New Braunfels in 1976. What I just learned in writing this story is that we 1976ers did not see the real Liberty Bell. What we saw was a scaled down version — well, one of many scaled down versions which traversed America on the Freedom Trains. I must admit, I’m feeling a bit depressed by this revelation.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives: Haas collection; archived newspaper collections; Texas State Historical Association; Smithsonian Magazine; America’s Freedom Trains.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Today, July 4, 2026, marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. America’s 250th birthday. New Braunfels has celebrated America’s birthday for 170 years. The celebrations have changed over time but are no less important.

New Braunfels has a long and storied history of July Fourth celebrations, the first being held in July of 1846. Our earliest founders arrived in the Republic of Texas from Germanic regions of Europe in 1845 when the fledgling America was a mere 69 years old. Within one short year, Texas was admitted into the Union, making the citizens of New Braunfels new Americans.

The first Fourth of July celebration in New Braunfels began with a bang, literally. Two cannons on Sophienburg Hill fired off at sunrise to begin the day. The Adelsverein headquarters building on Sophienburg Hill displayed a large American flag of 28 stars. That flag raising was significant because just the year before, Prince Carl had hoisted a German flag above the Sophienburg while a group of settlers strung up the flag for the Republic of Texas on the Plaza. Three different flags flew over New Braunfels within one year.

The newly minted Americans were very patriotic and found it exciting to celebrate their nation in grand displays of music, parades and patriotic oratory (speeches). Nearly every organization had a band or choral group.

In 1866, the day began with cannon fire. The Declaration of Independence was read by a prominent citizen followed by a short address and most likely the Pledge of Allegiance in German. A festive procession of townspeople was led through the streets by the brass band of the 4th Regulars Union Cavalry Regiment followed by evening dances in several dance halls.

One of the most elaborate and dramatic Fourth of July celebrations ever held in early Texas was the one in New Braunfels saluting the U.S. Centennial in 1876. It was so extensive and elaborate that it received statewide publicity. The Texas Post, a San Antonio German newspaper, reported, “The Centennial of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America was celebrated with dignity befitting the jubilee, greater than in any other city of the State of Texas.”

Citizens went all out for the two-day celebration, decorating their homes and businesses with patriotic flags and wreaths of cedar and mountain laurel. For the parade, they built four triumphal arches downtown close to the plaza and hung a giant picture of George Washington in the Zeitung printing shop.

Setting the tone for the next day’s events, a cannon on Sophienburg Hill was fired 13 times in commemoration of the 13 original colonies. On the Fourth, people were awakened at dawn by the rapid firing of the cannon, followed by trumpets heralding the beginning of the festivities.

The centennial parade was a historical review of the United States of America, played out in pageantry on a grand scale under the 37-star flag. The parade began with bands on decorated wagons, Columbus, George Washington on horseback, followed by floats representing Prince Carl and the founding of New Braunfels, the Liberty Bell, Lady Liberty and a myriad of floats by local organizations and industries.

The entire procession crossed the low-water bridge into Comaltown, where on a large open green (now Eagles Hall), a dance platform had been constructed along with tables and chairs. Hermann Seele gave the opening address before dancing commenced until sunup — for both days!

In 1886, the New Braunfels Volunteer Fire Department was formed. The volunteer department was more than a fire-fighting organization. They were one of the most active civic organizations in town, collecting toys for children and fundraising for fire equipment by putting on costumed shows (they had a band!). For more than 75 years, they were in charge of the Fourth of July festivities.

By the turn of the century, Fourth of July in New Braunfels meant not only parades and speeches but concerts on the Plaza (thus the Bandstand), foot races, baseball games, dances, and fireworks! By 1920s and ‘30s, the Volunteer Fire Department made pumper races (firemen competitions) and water displays part of the fun, shooting arches of water through the air on Main Plaza. There was also miniature golf, boating on the lake and swimming in Landa’s Park.

Many still remember the ‘60s when people gathered across the Landa Park Lake to watch the fireworks. They were set off by local firefighters trained to handle fireworks. Although there were a lot of aerial displays, a number of ground-supported fireworks displays geared to the crowd seated across the lake. Everyone knew it was the end when they saw the American flag sparkling across the water.

New Braunfels grew and changed, gearing summer holidays to more tourist trade. Fireworks displays became the work of professional companies. The volunteer fire Department disbanded as the number of paid fire personnel grew and public Fourth of July events dwindled.

In 1978, Mayor Margaret Naegelin invited city councilmembers to her home for coffee before travelling to the plaza in antique cars, where they enjoyed ice cream and lemonade while the courthouse bells played. Mrs. Naegelin, who was also the president of the Sophienburg Museum and Archives, unknowingly initiated the first Sophienburg Ol’ Fashion Fourth of July Parade and Patriotic Program in Downtown New Braunfels. This year marks 48 years. It has grown into a collaboration with the City of New Braunfels and remains one of the oldest traditions celebrated by our Founding Fathers — of both America and New Braunfels.

Happy 250th birthday, America!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives; Oma & Opa, German Texas Pioneers by Curt E. Schmidt; Around the Sophienburg by Myra Lee Adams Goff.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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