Making the old new again
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — A drive through downtown New Braunfels is somewhat like a visual history of architecture course comparing different architectural styles from 1845 to mid-20th century. It may just look like a bunch of old buildings sitting side by side to some, but they tell the cultural and socioeconomic timeline of our […]
“What’s in a name?” — William Shakespeare
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — What if New Braunfels was not named New Braunfels? I had never considered this, but of course the wonderful historian Oscar Haas did and recorded his findings in his book, History of New Braunfels and Comal County 1844-1946. There are two occasions on record wherein New Braunfels nearly lost its […]
Seven flags over New Braunfels
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — On February 16, 1963, San Antonio Express and News staff writer Jerry Deal ran a story in the San Antonio Express and News about Laredo, Texas. This is an out take: “… the friendly city of Laredo is not only the oldest independent town established in Texas (1755) — it […]
Rabbits, eggs become mainstay Easter traditions
(Reprint of AROUND THE SOPHIENBURG article published March 31, 2009, by Myra Lee Adams Goff) Children don’t question whether it’s possible for rabbits to lay eggs. They just know that when they build a pretty nest of grass and flowers, the Osterhase (Easter Rabbit) lays these beautiful multi-colored eggs. It’s the miracle of the beginning […]
The Hinman House: First stone house in New Braunfels
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — The Hinman House, the first stone house built in New Braunfels, is more than 150 years old. To tell the story of any great house, we must begin with the family’s story. Before the Hinmans came the Arnolds. Peter Arnold arrived on the ship Ferdinand with the German Emigration Company […]
History of the fountain in Main Plaza
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — The world is full of magnificent works of art and sculpture, some of which are centuries old. New Braunfels is even home to one, featuring a female figure and gargoyles. Now somewhat obscured by trees and traffic, the 19th-century Victorian fountain was actually the beginning of our Main Plaza. In […]
Cool. Clear. Water.
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — We are here because of the Comal and the Guadalupe rivers. We have drunk it, powered mills and made electricity with it, and played in the beautiful water since 1845. Farmers and ranchers in Comal County also used the waters of the Guadalupe and the many little spring-fed creeks that […]
Mueller family history tapestry
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Have you ever tugged at a loose thread only to find that the thread was not really loose, resulting in an irritating unraveling of sorts? I recently pulled at said “loose thread,” but the odd “thread” that I pulled exposed a beautiful tapestry with a surprising outcome. Last month, I […]
History of the Moeller House
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — New Braunfels historians have told us that the first immigrants arrived with very little in the way of belongings. And, unlike today’s new arrivals in New Braunfels, our founding ancestors had a lot to do before settling into a house. They had to secure materials (chop trees for lumber, make […]
History among the ‘stones — Comal Cemetery
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — When I was in junior high school, I sometimes would tag along with my dad when he drove my Oma to Comal Cemetery. She tended my Opa’s grave twice a month. While they were scraping the dirt and replacing the flowers, I would wander through the gravestones. It may sound […]
