The miraculous electric belt

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — It’s a crumbling brown leather belt with an insert of linked silver-plated rectangular batteries. It might not look like much, but this curious artifact, an electric belt, represents a weird and wonderful era in the history of electricity. Electrotherapy — using electricity to stimulate nerves and muscles — goes way […]

Weather reports from New Braunfels

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is pull up the weather app on my phone. I want to know temperature and precipitation possibilities in order to get dressed appropriately. Humans have always watched the weather. Where to settle, when to plant and harvest, what […]

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 […]

Joshua Wesloh wins Sophienburg history scholarship

The Sophienburg Memorial Association is proud to bestow the Sophienburg History Award, established in 2013, honoring Myra Lee Adams Goff for her dedication to the community and her steadfast love of history. The award recognizes a student who demonstrates a love and passion for New Braunfels history. The 2022 recipient chosen by the Sophienburg Memorial […]

For the love of antlers

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — This is the story of a boy born in Erbach, Hessen, Germany. It is about a boy who was fascinated with antlers. It is about that boy growing up and emigrating to Texas and creating his own future. Ernst Dosch was born in 1822. He grew up hunting in the […]

New Braunfels forty-eighters

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — The forty-eighters were refugees of the failed German Revolution of 1848. They were idealists. They fought to establish a liberal and unified Germany using liberty, democracy and unity as their main tenets. The designation “forty-eighter” excludes the hundreds of thousands who emigrated from 1848-1852 for mostly economic reasons. It also […]

Moving along

By Tara V. Kohlenberg — We have become somewhat accustomed to seeing motor homes, mobile homes, and tiny homes as they move down the highway to their new resting place. However, seeing a stucco building moving through downtown is more of a spectacle. That is exactly what I saw one morning in December. As I […]

The museum’s Mormon mystery

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman – I just finished an exhibit on the Waissenhaus or Orphan’s Home. Organized in 1848 near Gruene, it was the first orphanage in Texas. I perused the Sophienburg’s collections to find original artifacts to use in the exhibit, and knew that of two large dough troughs, one was used at Waissenhaus. […]

Religious needs of the colonists

The articles of the Verein zum Schutz detscher Einwandrer in Texas (also known as the Society of Noblemen or the Adelsverein) required that the spiritual needs of the immigrants were to be met. The calendar and customs of church life were an important part of the Germanic culture. After their arrival and founding of New […]

Martin Luther important to the Protestant Reformation

By Myra Lee Adams Goff — Happy Easter today while you celebrate the Resurrection and the coming of Spring. It’s a particularly exciting time for members of St. Paul Lutheran Church of New Braunfels. They have chosen to build a new church on their historic property. While traveling down San Antonio Street towards the plaza, I […]