By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

If I had a magic wand, I would restore buildings that were torn down or significantly altered in downtown New Braunfels before the Downtown Historic District was established in 2012. The very first one on the list would be the old JP Morgan Chase Bank office building on Main Plaza.

The imposing dark brick and glass structure has always stuck out like a sore thumb on our beautiful Main Plaza. It does not blend in with the rest of the early 20th century buildings lining San Antono Street. That is not the fault of JP Morgan Chase Bank. It was like that when they got it. JP Morgan Chase was only a successor bank to the legacy established long ago by First National Bank in downtown New Braunfels.

That legacy began with a trio of New Braunfels businessmen, Walter Tipps, William Clemens and Joseph Faust, who formed a very successful merchandising business in about 1875. Tipps severed the relationship and moved to Austin. The business became Clemens and Faust. Before banking establishments, money was loaned by merchants. The two business owners operated a private bank out of the Clemens and Faust store.

Clemens and Faust Bank was nationalized in 1890, becoming First National Bank with a capital stock of $50,000. In 1894, they built the first actual brick and mortar bank building. The Romanesque Revival red brick, two-story building still stands next to the Brauntex Theatre.

Through good leadership and smart business decisions, First National Bank grew stronger and bigger. They purchased a property on the corner of Main Plaza (Old Krause Building) which had been occupied by the Public Service Company until they moved into their new building across the Plaza in 1930. The Old Krause building was razed (another building lost) so construction of the bank building could begin. By 1931, First National Bank was able to move into a beautiful new, state-of-the-art two-story bank located at 111 W. San Antonio Street. The plans were drawn up by Giesecke and Harris of Austin along with local architect Jeremiah Schmidt.

Local papers of the time reported that the new First National Bank was built in the “modernistic trend,” which we now know as Art Deco style architecture. Art Deco became popular in the 1920s and is, I think, my favorite period of architecture. Elements of the Art Deco style include vertical lines, geometric shapes, slender forms and the use of metals in the designs. The best part about it is that many times the buildings from this period were designed holistically, with furniture, light fixtures, and other components designed in tandem with the building itself. Many different Art Deco Buildings use angular geometric motifs within the interior and exterior, which all work to tie the whole design together (think Chrysler Building!).

The new First National Bank building was an absolute show place. The gleaming white limestone building stood like a monument upon a pedestal of shiny black granite that wrapped around its base. Growing up in the 60s and 70s, I remember every kid ran their hands across the smooth surface of that granite when they walked by. In the summer, it was blazing hot-to-the- touch, which was quite a contrast to the cooled air inside. I remember the lines carved into the stone that ran up and down the building. Around the windows and top of the bank, there were carved geometric accents, almost Aztec in nature, set into the stone. Above where First National Bank was carved at the top of the structure, was a huge flagpole extending at a 45° angle over San Antonio Street.

The bank had two entrances: one facing San Antonio Street, one facing the Plaza. The big double doors on each entrance were heavy. They were made of metal and glass with cut out geometric aluminum grillwork over the glass. All the bank tables and fixtures were specially designed of aluminum and marble. The elongated aluminum light fixtures hung from the ceiling two floors up. There were sconces of similar design visible on the mezzanine above. The tellers worked behind tall counters where the protective cages were of aluminum with the same geometric grillwork as the doors and ceiling light fixtures. The vault and safe deposit boxes stood behind a huge, gated aluminum fence.

The floors were of terrazzo tile. You could hear the click of high heels or men’s shoes walking in the bank and people talking in muffled tones. Bank tables of aluminum and marble stood in the middle of the lobby, where customers could fill out their deposit slips. As a child, the tables seemed especially tall to me because I could not reach the pens, checks or deposit slips in the center slots of the table. Think about that, they actually provided blank checks for you to write in your information… and trusted you.

First National Bank stood watch over Main Plaza and the community of New Braunfels through good times and bad. In 1976, First National Bank merged with Texas Commerce Bankshares. It was sometime in the early 80s that Texas Commerce Bank expanded the bank footprint by taking in the adjacent building.

The expansion meant renovations of the bank building, both inside and out, to make the two buildings look like one. Texas Commerce completely wrapped the original stone and granite building with dark red brown brick, as well as using it on the expanded portion. The building is now very fortress-like and not in keeping with our traditional downtown look, but there it is. They also stripped out all the Art Deco décor and aluminum grill work from the First National Bank interior, replacing it with more inviting glass and wood and carpet. Texas Commerce Bank bopped along as a successful member of the New Braunfels community until they were purchased by JP Morgan Chase Bank in 1998.

JP Morgan Chase Bank grew their footprint to accommodate a growing New Braunfels, adding other bank locations on Walnut and Hwy 46. In about 2022, Chase opted to leave their downtown location.

Now, while I know that this sounds like a downer kind of story with no way for my magic wand to really put things back like it was, there are some bright spots. The brick wall simply wrapped the 1931 building. In theory, the original limestone and granite still exists, hiding behind that brick fortress … and it might possibly be restored. If so, it would definitely be worthy of a historical marker.

And the aluminum grill work? Well, some of that was salvaged and stored in a barn until a couple of years ago. That treasure has been refurbished and is currently on display in the Sophienburg Museum reading room. Check it out.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

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

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Last week I took on the challenge of finding out about City Lot 89. It is located on the corner of South Seguin Avenue and Coll Street, across from the First Protestant Church. We know it today as the location of Johnson Furniture Co and their lovely, landscaped corner.

This prime real estate was first drawn by lot from the Adelsverein’s land grant by Aloys Rosser in 1848. Rosser sold it to Jacob Winkler in 1850, who quickly flipped it to H. Bevenroth. By 1854, Bevenroth’s estate had sold Lot 89 to Charles Rossy and his wife, and they sold it to Carl Floege. Six owners in six years — I’m guessing that maybe they wanted farmland not city property or perhaps saw a quick way to make some cash.

Carl Floege, a cabinetmaker by trade, immigrated to Texas in 1849. After obtaining Lot 89 in 1854, he built a home and his first general store on the property. He built a much larger, two-story business on Main Plaza (location of Utilities building) and a larger home off Market Plaza. Impressive! More impressive, he used his carpentry skills and know-how to build the first low-water bridge over the Comal at West San Antonio Street (1856), the Torrey Mill bridge on the Comal at Bridge Street (1867) and a new high-water bridge over the Comal (1873) at the location of his former low-water bridge after it had washed away.

Mr. Floege also used his trade to work on the first Comal County Courthouse (1856), a new 66-foot river ferryboat (1859), add rooms to the New Braunfels Academy (1867), deal with city streets and drainage issues (1873-1874), and build numerous stores and homes. Carl could truthfully say he built a lot of old New Braunfels with his two hands.

Carl Floege sold Lot 89 to Rudolph DuMenil in 1858, after the completion of his larger store and home. DuMenil had emigrated from Germany in 1850, and first lived in Hortontown where he ran a meat market for about eight years. In 1858, he moved into the old Floege home and set up his own general merchandising business in the old Floege Store. DuMenil literally sold everything but the kitchen sink — Hungarian grass, bois d’arc saplings for living fence lines, whiskey and brandy, clothing, dry goods, lead and percussion caps, hardware, tobacco products, paint, stoves and kitchenware. Maybe he did sell the sink! Rudolph also sold an ambulance, pianos and did freighting as well as being involved in local education as a trustee at the New Braunfels Academy.

In 1875, DuMenil auctioned off his store inventory and rented the store building to Carl Floege’s son Herman to use as a wagon business. When Herman Floege moved his business elsewhere in 1881, the store was rented to Homans Saddlery/Leather shop.

Lot 89, with the old Floege home and store, was sold by the DuMenils to Cuno “C.J.” Ludewig in 1902. Mr. Ludewig and his brothers had started a furniture business in 1887 at the location of the old Krueger Chevrolet building (across from Granzin Bar-B-Q). C. J. Ludewig took over the business from his brothers and moved it to the Seguin Street property in 1905. The family lived in the old home and ran the furniture company out of the DuMenil store. In 1929, a new “modern” brick building was built next to the old DuMenil store. It had the first elevator in any building in New Braunfels. Almost 3,500 townspeople attended the new store opening event where souvenir ashtrays featuring Charles Lindbergh’s face were distributed. The building was just one of several “modern” buildings built just prior to the market crash of 1929: Travelers Hotel (Faust) 1927, Comal Power Plant (Landmark) 1926, Greyhound Bus Station (Celebrations) 1929, Booker T. Washington School 1929, and the old City Hall 1929, to name a few.

All three of Ludewig’s sons helped in the store. Local competitors included Jahn Furniture Co., Lack’s Furniture & Automotive, and Starke’s Furniture in Seguin. Ludewig’s sold all kinds of high-quality manufactured furniture that included kitchen, living and bedroom pieces. To promote their company, C.J.’s son, Monroe F. “Fatty” Ludewig, began giving out “little Lane cedar chests” to graduating senior girls in New Braunfels. I still have mine!

When the Ludewig fam­ily de­cided to get out of the busi­ness, they leased the 1929 fur­ni­ture build­ing and the old Du­Me­nil store to Wal­lace and Dorothy John­son in 1966, who con­tin­ued to run the busi­ness un­der the name John­son Fur­ni­ture Co. In 1972, the John­sons bought the prop­erty out­right. In 1984, the old Du­Me­nil Store was sold and moved to Gruene (Hunter Junc­tion) where it sur­vives.

Wal­lace and Dorothy’s daugh­ter Carol pur­chased the prop­erty from her par­ents in 1989 and runs the John­son Fur­ni­ture store to­day. She con­tin­ues the legacy of pro­vid­ing qual­ity fur­ni­ture and decor to New Braun­fels cit­i­zens that be­gan on Lot 89 over 120 years ago.

If you have never been in­side this his­toric fam­ily busi­ness, you have a chance to prac­tice yoga in it on Thurs­day, Oc­to­ber 10, 2024, from 5:30–7 p.m. The $15 fee ben­e­fits the So­phien­burg Mu­seum & Archives. Fol­low­ing prac­tice, a bev­er­age and his­tory talk will let you ex­plore the build­ing.

If you are not into yoga, drop by the store, say hello and check out all the good stuff. Carol’s got a chair, bed or table that is bound to have your name on it.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives: Ludewig, Floege and DuMenil family histories; Reflections program #918-Monroe C. Ludewig; New Braunfels Herald and Neu Braunfelser Herald newspaper collections.

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

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Who invented the cotton gin?

Many of you learned the answer to this question in elementary school. If you said “Eli Whitney” you are correct, but like me, back then you really didn’t understand that the invention of the cotton gin revolutionized the American economy and made cotton a major industry.

Thanks to Whitney’s invention in 1793, cotton no longer had to be “ginned” by hand although cotton was still picked by hand well into the 1940s. There are 15–20 bolls on each cotton plant and 27–45 seeds in each boll. That’s a lot of seeds that need to be separated from the cotton fiber. The cotton gin mechanically separated the seeds and fiber by rolling the cotton through wooden rollers covered with metal hooks that caught at the fiber and pulled it through a mesh. Cotton seeds were too big to go through the mesh and fell into a hopper below. A person could hand-gin one pound of cotton in one day; Whitney’s technology processed 50 pounds of cotton in a day.

Cotton was first grown in Comal County by German immigrants in 1852. The non-slave-holding Mittendorf brothers planted and harvested cotton enough for nine bales. William H. Meriwhether had built a water-powered grist and sawmill using the Comal Springs in 1847. He later added a flour mill and cotton gin. Meriwhether ginned the Mittendorf boys’ cotton for 1½ cents per pound. Francis Moreau shipped the nine bales through Indianola to New Orleans for an additional 1½ cents per pound. The bales were graded “middling fair” and sold for 10½ cents per pound. Cotton proved a profitable undertaking for the Mittendorfs who got 7½ cents per pound for their efforts.

In 1857, F. B. Hoffmann set up the first horse-powered cotton gin in the county out at Four Mile Creek/Solms. Later in 1870, Hoffmann was also the first to convert his gin to steam power; he advertised that he could “gin 6 bales a day” with the new technology.

In 1863, Erhard Mittendorf built a gin near the Austin Hill Community, and in 1875, George Webber operated his cotton gin and oil mill in downtown New Braunfels just one block off Main Plaza on North Seguin Street. And you thought the silos of the Co-op looked rural.

By the 1880s and 1890s, cotton gins were features in many of the small communities and settlements that peppered Comal County. They were usually known by the owner’s name:

• H. D. Gruene – Goodwin
• Gus Reinarz (formerly Hoffmann’s) – Solms
• John Marbach – Bracken
• August G. Startz – Smithson Valley
• Reinarz & Marbach – Danville
• Charles Knibbe – Spring Branch
• Hunter Gin Co. – Hunter
• Fischer’s – Fischer’s Store
• Hermann Guenther – Sattler
• Frank Guenther – Hancock
• Ludwig Haag and Gustav Schmidt gins – Bulverde
• Farmers Union – Hortontown
• Oberkampf’s and Flugrath’s gins – Cranes Mill
• Reinarz & Knoke, Landa Milling and Faust & Co. gins – New Braunfels

This is a partial list, but it shows the importance of having area gins for the many farmers who grew cotton across the county.

Sadly, only a few of the cotton gin structures or ruins still exist today. However, a notable example is still visible at Eight Mile Creek/Comal Settlement off Old Nacogdoches Road. From the road you can see the beautiful brick Friesenhahn Cotton Gin and Corn Sheller building with its stately, very tall smoke stack which signified it was steam-powered. The gin was constructed by Andreas Friesenhahn in the early 1890s, but it was not the first gin constructed by Friesenhahns. An earlier gin was built by Andreas and his two brothers, Jacob and Nicholas, in the 1880s. This building included the first commercial corn sheller in the area as well. The gin was located on a site near the sharp corner of Old Nacogdoches Road just north of the old Kneupper Store. It burned down in 1899 causing Jacob and Nicholas to get out of the ginning business. FYI: Cotton is very flammable and can spontaneously combust. Trailers full of rain-wet cotton and stored piles of unginned cotton can ignite in the center and burn inside-out setting fire to other trailers and the cotton gin itself.

Andreas Friesenhahn continued on and built a new gin and corn sheller soon after the fire. This is the structure we can see today. He ran the business through the early 1900s and then deeded the gin, corn sheller, seed house and cotton yard to his three sons Gregor, Jacob and Ferdinand. They operated the place under the “Friesenhahn Brothers Gin” name. Gregor left the company in 1923. The cotton market nose-dived in the 1940s, and the gin closed. After the death of Jacob in 1946, Ferdinand’s wife Mathilda and son Roman bought the structure and continued to run the corn shelling operation until 1959.

In a 1986 oral history recording in the Sopheinburg Museum collections, Vivian Zipp, a native of the Solms/Comal Settlement area, reflected on the Friesenhahn Brothers Gin:

The Friesenhahn Brothers Cotton Gin and Corn Sheller was owned by Jacob, Gregor and Ferdinand Friesenhahn. It was located close to the Katy railroad. A spur line was laid from the main tracks to the cotton gin and corn sheller…you could see box cars loaded with shelled corn, ginned cotton bales and bales of corn shucks. The farmers would use the shucks to feed their cattle. They had a warehouse close to the spur where bales of corn shucks were stored when boxcars were filled or not available for shipping…. At the peak of the season [August through December] the wagons of cotton and wagons of corn were lined up from each direction — from the west on the San Antonio–Austin highway, from the east on the San Antonio-Austin highway and to the south on Friesenhahn Lane — with waiting wagons taking cotton to be ginned and corn to be shelled [There was no IH-35 back then, so the San Antonio–Austin Road went straight through the middle of Solms]. There were many nights that you could hear the cotton gin and corn sheller running into the wee hours of the morning until every farmer had unloaded. Sometimes as many as 50 wagons from each direction were waiting in line.

The Friesenhahn gin and corn sheller stands empty and quiet now. I love the big old yellowish brick building whose smoke stack still towers over the landscape. What stories can it tell of those first farming families who lived there for generations, working the land, gathering with friends, going to church and pitching in when disaster hit one of their friends or family? What can it tell us about the character of the people and times it shadowed in its heyday? Drive by, take a moment —and listen.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum: Neu Braunfelser Zeitung collection; Oscar Haas collection; Reflections Oral History collection; and “Comal Texas”, a research project of the Comal Settlement Association and Schertz Historical Preservation Committee.

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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 Association to receive the award is Joshua Wesloh. He is a senior at Smithson Valley High School and will be attending the University of Texas in the fall. The following is the essay about a historically significant event or person in Comal County submitted as a requirement of the scholarship application.

John O. Meusebach

By Joshua Wesloh

This is one of my favorite historical figures that I have learned about in my life, and he lived just a few miles away from me. Versatility, resolute and multifaceted are not fabricated adjectives or false praise; this man was truly all of those things. It is a shame that I only have a thousand words to talk about who I believe should be called the “Father of New Braunfels”. That person is John O. Meusebach, also known by his shorter name, Otfried Hans Freiherr von Meusebach. Friends of the Brothers Grimm, polyglot, lawyer, Bürgermeister, Commissioner-General, delegate for Native American treaties, founder of Texas settlements, this list of Meusebach’s achievements is getting too long. I need another sentence. Meusebach was a state senator, special state commissioner, botanist, mercantile business owner, justice of the peace, winemaker, postmaster, and outspoken opponent of slavery all in his lifetime.

Meusebach was born on May 26, 1814, in Dillenburg, Duchy of Nassau, a long way from the change he was to cause in Texas. Meusebach was born to scholar, Karl Hartwig Gregor von Meusebach and pianist Ernestine von Meusebach née von Witzleben. Karl, his father, was great friends with the notable folk storytellers the Brothers Grimm, who “sent compilations of their immortal fairy tales to the Meusebachs when the children were young”(King 12). When it came time for Meusebach to begin his perpetually long list of jobs, he enrolled in the University of Bonn in 1832 where he studied law. While at University, John became a polyglot, as he learned to read in five languages and speak English fluently. During this time, Meusbach noted the hypocrisy that America was founded on the ideas of liberty while continuing to allow slavery to exist. Meusebach continued working for cities in Germany, eventually becoming the Bürgermeister, or chief executive, of the city of Anklam in 1841.

I know, that got very repetitive, but it is now 1845 and Meusebach is finally in Texas. He signed his contract with the Adelsverien on February 24, 1845. Meusebach paid his $2,000 membership fee, which, calculated for inflation, is about the cost of a single piece of wood nowadays. Technically, it is still The Republic of Texas for a few more months. What matters, however, is that Meusebach is there, and from the looks of it, he is there to fix some problems. I do not mean problems like low Wi-Fi signal or low battery like we must deal with today, but problems of the 1840s. Just to name a few: “Lack of cash, the arrival of too many immigrants in too short a time, the shortage of the necessary vehicles for transporting them to the interior of Texas, the outbreak of war with Mexico, an unexpectedly severe winter, and disease” (Smith and Tetzlaff). However, as they say, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Even though I am sure that saying did not exist in 1845, Meusebach was definitely tough. He solved the financial problems of New Braunfels that Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels caused and provided food, shelter, and protection for the incoming colonists. Also founding the settlements of Fredericksburg, Castell and Leiningen during this time, he really was the Tom Hanks of 1840s Texas. In 1847, Meusebach signed the Meusebach-Comanche Treaty, a treaty in which Meusebach met with, you guessed it, the Comanche tribe. This treaty, apart from being that type of treaty that really makes it easier to learn history (looking at you, 67 Treaties of Paris), was one of the most important works of the Germans in Texas. After signing the treaty, Meusebach, whose name I really should have mastered the spelling of by now, resigned from being Commissioner-General. In 1851, he was elected to be a Texas State senator, where he represented Comal County and fought for a public school system. Meusebach eventually became a special state commissioner because, apparently, this guy did not know how to say “no.” He learned five languages and not one of them taught him the word “retirement.” After settling land disputes for a few years, Meusebach moved to Fredericksburg. He then moved back to New Braunfels, before settling in Loyal Valley, north of Fredericksburg. When he moved to Fredericksburg, Meusebach finally settled down and retired. No, I am just joking, of course, Meusebach kept working. He ran a stage stop where, in 1875, he was shot in the leg by vigilantes during the Mason County Hoo Doo War over cattle rustlers. That roller coaster of a sentence might just be the most Texas Wild West sentence ever written. Meusebach obviously survived the gunshot wound and became a justice of the peace in Loyal Valley as a result. This is where the life of John O. Muesebach finally slows down. In his last years, he tended to his vineyard and rose garden before dying in Loyal Valley on May 27, 1897.

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Keva Hoffmann Boardman –

Soda pop? Soft drink? Soda water? My family just says “soda.” Whatever you call it, the soft drink industry is huge. When did New Braunfelsers first get a taste for the sugary yet satisfying beverage?

As early as 1872, Otto and Theo. Simon were bottling ice cold soda at their home. They bought a new ice machine in 1875 and, with partner L. Paggi, they opened and ran an ice cream/soda water parlour until 1881. Imagine how amazing an ice cold soda was back in the days of no air conditioning and dusty streets.

Others soon jumped into the increasingly popular drink business. Dr. Grube teamed up with Bruno Voelcker to start their own soda water factory in 1881 but it was short-lived.

Eduard Naegelin Sr. (Naegelin’s Bakery opened in 1868) added soda water, candies, cigars and ice to his bakery enterprise in 1883. According to his grandson, C. F. “Buddy” Naegelin, Eduard also had a license to produce wine. He used 50-gallon barrels and sold one gallon bottles for 25 cents to 50 cents. Now we’re talking!

Naegelin bottled “Squeeze” brand soda waters and IronBrew. IronBrew tasted a bit like a full-bodied cream soda and sported a label of a man with his arm raised showing off his bicep. Several New Braunfels doctors are said to have prescribed IronBrew to their anemic patients. I can’t verify its efficacy.

“Squeeze” brand syrups, used in Naegelin’s soda water, were mainly citrus and fruit flavors like lemon, lemon-lime and orange. A case of bottled soda sold for 40 cents. Naegelin made his own ginger flavor to bottle ginger ale. In those days, ginger ale was a seasonal drink for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Naegelin handed the bakery/bottling business over to his son, Edward Jr., in 1924. The bottling business was kept until the building was remodeled in 1937.

Back in 1886, John Sippel opened St. John’s Bottling Works. No one remembers why, but people called John Sippel, St. John, and so the company got that name. Sippel bottled soft drinks of all flavors and a seltzer (sparkling water) called Sippel’s Water. St John’s Bottling Works was first located on the property where the old Main Fire Station stands. Sippel also acquired the Anheuser-Busch beer franchise for the area.

In 1894, St John’s Bottling was put up for sale. Robert Posey bought it at auction in 1903. He sold the business to the Neuse brothers in 1906 who moved it to the corner of Castell and Church (Coll) streets. At this time, there were three bottling works in New Braunfels: St John’s, Naegelin’s and Feltner’s Comal Crown.

Albert Staats bought St. John’s from the Neuse’s and turned around and sold it to his brothers Edwin and Walter in 1914. The Staats’ sold soda and seltzer water. (Seltzer water could be bought and taken home to make your own flavored soda or ice cream sodas.) Trade was brisk. They were selling to 20 local saloons. Their top flavors were “Cherry Blossoms” and “Orange Julep”. Naegelin’s was selling “Orange Squeeze”. Feltner had sold Comal Crown to Hugo Weidner who had franchised “Orange Crush.” Apparently, orange was popular.

The Staats brothers obtained the coveted Coca Cola franchise in 1915. Basically, soda water is a flavoring syrup mixed with carbonated H20 which is capped to keep in the fizz. Edwin Staats reported that in the first year he bottled Coca Cola, he used less than one 55-gallon drum of syrup; by the time he sold the bottling business in 1972, he was using three 55-gallon drums of syrup each day. In 1921, the company was moved to 203 S. Castell. Edwin bought out his brother Walter in 1932; Walter became NBFD fire chief and fire marshal.

Lucky for me, a born and raised Texan, the Weidner’s Orange Crush Bottling Works obtained the franchise for Dr Pepper and became the Dr Pepper Bottling Works. They bottled that “nectar of the gods” for New Braunfelsers. In 1963, Edwin Staats also bought this franchise and boosted his soda water sales by 30 percent that year.

Edwin Staats provided a few aneccdotes to the NBHerald in 1966. Staats would take orders for ginger ale prior to the holidays. Harry Wagenfuehr (Pearl Beer distributor) would delay returning empties to the brewery and loan the bottles to Edwin for use. These were picked up after the holidays and returned to Wagenfuehr and THEN back to the brewery in San Antonio.

Staats also explained about the old bottles. A spring stopper was attached to the bottle and was put into place when the bottle was filled (so you could refill it). The popping sound it made when opening inspired the term “soda pop”.

And speaking about “pop” … My kids made root beer once. All the filled capped bottles went into the pantry cupboard to process. Several weeks later, what sounded like a gunfight came out of the pantry. The entire experiment ended up coating the two bottom shelves with a sticky brown liquid.

At least it did taste like root beer.

Sources: “Reflections” oral history recordings: #80 – Buddy Naegelin; #209 – Preston Staats; #180 – Homuth “Lops” Weidner 100th Anniversary edition of the New Braunfelser Zeitung, Vol. 100, No. 53; NB Herald – Dec 29, 1966, “Edwin Staats Celebrates 50 Years of Coca Cola”.

Photo Caption: Robert Posey, right, looks over damage to St. John’s Bottling Works after severe freeze on Feb 13, 1905.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Request from Fargo, North Dakota: Do you know anything about a New Braunfels photographer named J. Serdinko? “Uhhh…yeah,” I thought to myself, “but not enough to answer this request!”

The Sophienburg photograph collections contain several hundred thousand images; about 300 of those are impressed with Serdinko’s name. These take the form of carte de visite (small business card-size photos), cabinet cards (hardboard-backed photos larger than a postcard) and stereoviews (two-image cards for use with a stereoptican viewer).

Yes, Serdinko was a photographer in New Braunfels. But who WAS he?

John, or Ivan, Serdinko was born in Bohemia in 1849 and emigrated to Texas in the 1860s. He became a naturalized citizen in 1867. I found him, and his partner Alonzo Newell Calloway, setting up a photo studio in a tent in Columbus in 1875. By January 1879, Serdinko had set up shop in New Braunfels and in November of that year he married Ernestine Fernanda Reich, daughter of Julius Reich of Hortontown. The couple moved to Fredericksburg to set up a studio.

In July 1880, John and Ernestine were back in New Braunfels and opened a studio on Seguin Street across from the woolen manufacturing company. The quality of his work was highly praised in the Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung.

Serdinko proved to be more than a good photographer; he was also an inventor. In February 1882, John received his first patent for “a portable darkroom for dry plate photography.” Serdinko was thinking of ways to improve and adapt his profession to the changing times.

In March of that same year, John and Ernestine put down roots and bought a house in New Braunfels. He purchased all new, up-to-date equipment and life for the couple looked bright. Tragedy struck in January 1883. The Serdinkos lost their 14-month-old son. That September, the studio moved closer to Main Plaza, two buildings down from the NB Zeitung office on Seguin Street.

John seemed to settle into life in NB and his studio did well. There had been photographers in New Braunfels as early as 1855, when a man set up a studio to produce daguerreotypes. You will find many photographers’ names on carte de visite and cabinet cards made in New Braunfels from the 1860s to the early 20th C: Carl Iwonsky (who was also a painter), William DeRyee, J.M. Slater, Doerr, Ranney, Winther, Jacobson, Jakobi & Parks, J.H. Chapman, Hoffmann, Schwarz and Klenke are a few.

Serdinko received a second patent, this time for a “rotary force pump,” in April 1885. He got a third patent in February 1886 for a “wind machine.” Like so many of the early citizens, he was a highly educated man with many interests, very much a man living up to the ideals of the Victorian Age and the industrialization it brought. With glowing reports that the quality of his work was “as good as anywhere in the States,” Serdinko purchased all new photographic equipment.

The Serdinkos were blessed with a second child, Rosa Lee, in 1887. John was mainly producing cabinet cards and selling them for $3.50 per dozen. He became a trustee in the newly formed fraternal organization, Knights of the Golden Rule (sort of a mutual aid society). Folks dropped by his studio to have both posed and candid photos taken. Serdinko photographed the first members of the Six and Sixty-six Card Club.

In November of 1887, trouble was brewing in the domestic life of the Serdinkos. Mrs. Serdinko had a sale which included household items, a windmill, pumps, and handwork, to be paid in cash. Ernestine then informed the public on March 1, 1888 that she was leaving NB in two weeks and was selling what was left of her furniture, picture frames and more. She also said she would finish all her photos at a very low price; she must have been doing some of the processing for her husband. She left and the studio on Seguin Street was rented to J.W. Writer who came from the studio of Serdinko’s friend, Alonzo N. Calloway, in San Antonio.

In April, John Serdinko returned from travelling to California and reopened a studio. When did he leave? Where did he go? I followed his trail west, and I found the reason for the North Dakota request. During 1887, Serdinko somehow met up with F. Jay Haynes of Fargo. Haynes was the official photographer of the Northern Pacific Railroad. He had his own railcar fitted out as living quarters and photography studio and is best known for his early views of Yellowstone National Park. There are several stereoviews, from the “Northwestern Pacific Views” series, depicting Native Americans and one view of Yellowstone that are published by Serdinko in Fargo. There are also cabinet cards with “Serdinko, New Braunfels” found in Fargo.

John may not have been the best husband, but he was shaping up to be an interesting man.

When the new IG&N railroad bridge across the Guadalupe River collapsed in 1891, John Serdinko was the photographer who chronicled the tragedy. In 1892, Serdinko designed and fabricated “an excellent telephone apparatus” which was installed to connect Henry Streuer’s Two Brothers Saloon on Main Plaza with the Streuer home in Comaltown. This was the first telephone in New Braunfels!

Serdinko sold his studio and took off for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago — – THE perfect place for an inventor and photographer. After his return to NB in October, John received his fourth patent for “an automatic telephone exchange system.” He then rented his home on Seguin Street and moved to San Antonio in 1894. Serdinko got a patent for his telephone in April 1895.

The photographic business was sold to L. J. Wilson in 1899. Serdinko is listed in the 1900 Census for Colorado County and in March of 1901, Ernestine filed for divorce in the District Court in San Antonio.

And this is where I lost the trail for John, or Ivan, Serdinko. I found the last tidbit of his life in Ernestina Serdinko nee Reich’s family tree, “He died 11/15/1919 in Austria.”

How this free-thinking, intelligent, wanderlustig photographer and inventor made it to Austria remains a mystery.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives: Reich family genealogy; New Braunfelser-Zeitung; New Braunfels Herald; Lens on theTexas Frontier, by Lawrence T. Jones III; Nesbitt Memorial Library, Colorado County History, Part 8, by Bill Stein; 1900 Census, Colorado County, Texas; https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/TDNP/; https://dsloan.com; https://www.ha.com/; https://www.yellowstonestereoviews.com/

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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 Braunfels on March 21, 1845, it is said that the people broke into two groups, Catholic and Protestant, and gathered under the shade of trees to literally say, “Thank you, God, for getting us here.”

And now, a little more info on the congregations. Please use the numbered photos for reference.

The Protestants chose to meet in a grove of elms at the foot of what became known as Sophienburg Hill. By 1846, a wooden church (1) with an onion-shaped dome (Zwiebelsturm) had been constructed on the corner of Castell and Church streets (Church later became Coll). The first pastor was Rev. L. C. Ervendberg. The present limestone First Protestant Church, at 296 S. Seguin St., was begun in 1875 and dedicated in 1889. The stately church has seen several renovations but remains alive and well.

The Catholics elected to worship under an oak tree near Comal Creek. The legendary Catholic Oak still thrives. The congregation moved into a small wooden chapel in 1847. This was quickly replaced in 1849 by a larger church built of black walnut (2); Father Claude Dubois led the first Mass. The present limestone Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, at 386 N. Castell St., was constructed around the black walnut church so that masses were not interrupted during the building process. It was dedicated in 1888. The church added a school in 1871 which educates young New Braunfelsers to this day.

As more immigrants settled in the area, other churches began appearing that reflected more specific denominations and congregations. In 1851, Theobald Kleiss, a German missionary, organized St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Neighborsville area across the Guadalupe River (roughly the Milltown area). A wood church building was constructed in 1851, on Church Hill Drive, to house the growing congregation. In 1880, the main door was moved to the end of the building, the pitch of the roof was increased and the bell tower was added (3). The neighboring Church Hill School met the needs of the parish children. St Martin’s was moved to its present location in Hortontown Cemetery in 1968. Visible from Loop 337, St. Martin’s, the “oldest Lutheran church in Texas”, watches over its past congregation.

The New Braunfels German Mission, based on Methodism, was founded in 1853 in the Comaltown home of J. Hirschleber. In 1858, the first Methodist church building was erected at 124 N. Union Street (4) and held services until 1912, when the Karbach Memorial Methodist Church was constructed at 572 W. San Antonio Street. The present First United Methodist Church building replaced the Karbach church in 1952.

By the 1860’s, German-speaking Jews began to establish businesses in the area. Families usually worshipped privately in their homes but made several trips each year to celebrate with the larger Jewish community in San Antonio. There has never been a Jewish synagogue in New Braunfels (5).

The Colored Methodist Church, built in 1900 at 225 E. Commerce Street, was organized in 1890 by H.P. Evans. Though born a slave, Evans could read and write and had a desire to begin a congregation for the African American community of New Braunfels. The church first used a house on the corner of Comal and Castell. In 1907, the church took the name Allen Chapel A. M. E. Church (6).

Rev. Lucky McQueen organized The Colored Baptist Church under a live oak tree at the corner of Houston and Camp Sts. in 1900. By the end of that year, the 14 original members were worshipping in a new church building at 355 N. Washington Avenue (7). The church was built by Sam and Tim Williams and was renamed Live Oak Baptist Church in honor of its founding. Eventually, a cast steel bell was purchased and hung in the bell tower. During renovations in 1983, the weight of the bell was found to be too much for the historic structure and it was removed. The congregation gifted the bell to the Sophienburg Museum in 2008. This small church still holds services and is a testament to the faith of the families which have called it their spiritual home for generations.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church was organized in 1926 by Sts. Peter & Paul as a mission church to serve the growing population of Mexican farm workers settling in the Comaltown community. By December 5, 1926, 40 Spanish-speaking families celebrated Mass in a new church building at 138 W. Austin Street (8). Two years later, a fire destroyed the first church. It was rebuilt along with a school building. The present O.L.P.H. Catholic church was constructed in 1969 near the original location. In 1944, the old O.L.P.H. “Sisters’ House” was dismantled and moved to the corner of Hidalgo and San Antonio Sts. to be used as the first building for Holy Family Catholic Church.

Obviously, these are not the only churches in New Braunfels, but they are among the earliest founded within the city. Other churches, founded around the same time in townships and settlements in Comal County, will have to wait for another time. You can see photographs and artifacts from these early churches in an exhibit at the Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

Today, New Braunfels residents can worship in churches reflecting many denominations and faiths. The Adelsverein did well to uphold the right of freedom of religion in their new colony which was destined to become part of this great country we call home.

Sources: Newspaper collection, Sophienburg Museum & Archives; History of New Braunfels and Comal County, Texas 1844-1946 and First Protestant Church Its History and Its People, Oscar Haas; A Journey In Faith, Gregory and Goff; The History of Sts. Peter & Paul Church and Parish 1844-1974, Monica Fuhrmann

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You might remember the article written a couple of weeks back about Karl Klinger and Sophienburg Hill, where I mentioned that the old Sophienburg Verein Headquarters was destroyed by a storm. It wasn’t just any storm and now you get to hear the rest of the story…

In 1844, Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels sought a safe landing place on the Texas coast line for the colonists who would be arriving soon from Germany. He found a beach on Matagorda Bay which he named “Carlshafen” (Carl’s Harbor), after himself. Indian Point was founded short way from that beach. Because of the naturally deep harbors, Indianola, as it would come to be known, grew out of an “immigrant camp” to become a major port in Texas. Thousands of immigrants from Europe passed through the port, including those traveling to New Braunfels. Within 25 years of its founding, the town had stagecoach service, railroad service and major steamship service. Goods of all kinds, cattle, canned meats, silver bullion, even camels passed through the port. In 1875, the booming port town, with a population of nearly 6000 had a major change of luck. The Hurricane of 1875 slammed into Indianola, with winds reported at 130 miles per hour. Over 270 lives were lost and three quarters of the town was destroyed.

Some eleven years later, Indianola was only partially recovered/rebuilt when it was almost completely obliterated by a Category 4 Atlantic cyclone on August 20, 1886. Residents had little warning and no sea wall. Winds were clocked at 102 m.p.h. at the Signal Service before the building collapsed, igniting a fire from a kerosene lantern inside. It may well have looked like the end of the world. Winds blew, fire raged, and a tidal surge of eight feet submerged the town. Hundreds died. The Galveston Daily News received a letter via ship captain pleading for help, “Dead bodies are strewn for 20 miles along the bay. Send us help, for God’s sake.” Indianola never recovered.

Some 150 miles inland, the powerful storm made her presence known for several days afterward. Even New Braunfels experienced her wrath. While researching information for the Sophienburg Hill marker dedication, I ran across this English translation of a New Braunfels Zeitung article:

New Braunfels Zeitung – August 26, 1886 — STORM: Not since September 12, 1869 has our city experienced a storm such as we had on Friday, August 20, 1886. This previous one was confined to the city limits, while this one was going through the middle of the state, 250 miles wide, with wind speeds of 50 miles and gusts as high as 85 miles per hour.

The day before, we regretted that the strong SE winds had blown the clouds away and we were happy that at 5am the winds from the E began to bring rain, unsuspecting that this would be the forerunner of the arriving storm. With the winds changing from E to NE the force increased over the city and country. From 8 AM rain was pouring and an ever-increasing deluge. By 10 AM water was flowing in the streets and a broken wing of the Claessen windmill announced the ruin, like the rattle of passion week, mainly Good Friday. (an unknown analogy)

Twigs and branches were torn from trees, and shingles and metal roofs were flying through the air, until by noon the storm reached its peak. Whole trees with their roots were torn from the ground, metal roofs were curled and carried like paper hundreds of feet through the air. Houses and roofs collapsed like playing cards and match sticks. This went on until 3 PM. In the afternoon, the wind changed to the SE, gaining new strength: the destruction continued. Only then did individuals dare to clear through trees and debris to observe the destruction this storm had caused, and to protect the loved ones from further damage. And what a picture of destruction did they see – we can only report a fraction and some individual cases to our readers.

The tower of the Catholic Church tumbled; the freight depot was a pile of lumber. In Seguin street, Dr. Koester’s roof and gallery, Podewills’s roof and the balcony of Perryman’s house all destroyed. Jahn’s furniture shop was moved; the roof of Mrs. Klappenbach’s store, and parts of the Protestant Church, and from Bernhards’s addition all torn down. Mexican huts, parts of the carousel, Claessen’s windmill and a part of the stables are destroyed. On San Antonio street, the roof of Senator Pfeuffer’s new house was thrown to the market and the gable of Landa’s flour mill was torn down. Voelker’s gallery collapsed. Seele’s Hall was without a roof as well as Sippel’s ice house, and Hoelke’s storage building was blown over.

In Mill street the Knibbe’s house, Reinarz and Fedner’s roofs. In Comal street Emil Mergele and Julius Rennert’s roofs and buildings were damaged and W. Roether suffered great damage. In Castell street, the roof of Ludwig’s Hotel and Pfeuffer’s all but the office were turned over. John Sippel’s new house lost the roof and the Sophienburg changed from a ruin to a pile of rubble.

In Comaltown, the roofs of Matzdorf Hall, and Johann Mueller’s grainery and Mrs. Benner’s Store were destroyed. From the collapsing house at the former ferry, people fled just in time. Kessler’s farm lost a building because of fire, two others were damaged. In the cemetery, more than 20 headstones were toppled or destroyed.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the “Great Indianola Hurricane of 1886” is on record as the 6^th most intense hurricane to ever hit the U.S. behind “The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935” at number one, followed by Camille (1969), Irma (2017), Katrina (2005) and Andrew (1992). We’ve recently seen what Harvey and Irma did. Can you imagine not knowing what was about to hit Indianlola? We’ve also seen the resiliency of people and their desire to help those in need. An October 1886 issue of the Neu Braunfels Zeitung listed more than twenty individuals that contributed to the Indianola emergency fund. No wonder the New Braunfels community is growing. We come from good people, inviting good people to come here.

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The history of every area reveals that there are many individuals who live lives that help their community without fanfare. They don’t have schools or streets named after them, but they make an impact, nevertheless. People and places come and go, and their significance often is only recorded in books, buildings, photographs and gravestones, but their stories endure. Two of these individuals were brothers, Hermann and Louis (or Ludwig) Willke. They were leaders on the coast, founders of New Braunfels, founders of Fredericksburg, and important to Spring Branch, Kendall County and the State of Texas.

Louis and Hermann Willke probably came to Texas for the same reasons that most other immigrants did. The bottom line was a search for freedom in a land that offered great opportunity. They were born in Collberg on the Baltic Sea in Northern Germany. Louis was born in 1818 and Hermann was born in 1822. Both had been trained as officers in the Prussian Military. Louis was called Lieutenant Willke I and Hermann was called Lieutenant Willke II. They must have had a good education, for both spoke several languages.

Hermann arrived on the coast at Galveston and traveled from there to Carlshaven. He traveled as a single man on the ship Ferdinand. It was one of the first three ships to arrive with the Adelsverein in Texas. He transferred by schooner to the Adelsverein’s meeting place at Carlshaven to wait to begin the trek inland.

Louis and his wife, child and mother-in-law must have met Hermann at the coast. There is some evidence that Louis and family arrived in Texas “by land” on October 1, 1843. He worked at the Adelsverein’s Nassau Farm in Fayette County, but by 1844, he was at Matagorda Bay. Both brothers were at the coast together and they made a favorable impression on Prince Carl. At the first meeting of the Colonial Council, the prince announced that he was appointing Hermann Willke as an assistant to Nicholas Zink with the plotting out of the community of New Braunfels. Hermann was a surveyor and well qualified for the job. This skill would aid him in the future. He was also put in charge of supplies in the warehouse at Carlshaven. The supplies had to be protected so that a fair distribution would be made with the immigrants.

Louis too was given a responsible position at Carlshaven by the prince. He was put in charge of the powder magazine (guns and ammunition). With his military background he was selected to be commander of the station of Carlshaven.

You ask, “Where is Carlshaven?” In 1846, the area on Matagorda Bay was known as Indian Point and near this area was Carlshaven, named partly for Prince Carl. In 1849, the site was named Indianola. The area was the second main port in Texas and most immigrants to Texas from Europe and America came through this port city. It grew rapidly with a population of 5,000 until the hurricane of 1875. Up until that time, it had hotels, large homes, businesses and a steamship line terminal. The city rebuilt after the 1875 hurricane only to be nearly wiped off of the coast by another hurricane in 1886. If you visit the area today, it is much different than the bustling port city of the 1800s. Hermann Willke is also credited with making an accurate map of Indianola.

After the trek inland, the immigrants arrived at the Guadalupe crossing on March 21, 1845. At that time Hermann Willke was 22 years old and Louis Willke was 26 years old with a wife and children. Hermann drew lot 128 on Comal Avenue between Coll and Garden Streets. Hermann also bought lot 161, paying only $14 for the whole lot. Louis was granted lot 135 next to his brother’s where he built a house for his family.

When John Meusebach decided to move some of the immigrants to the Fredericksburg area, he asked Hermann to plot the trail. With the help of Louis, Hermann followed the El Camino Real from New Braunfels toward San Antonio, over the Cibolo and then followed an old Indian trail, the Pinto Trail, to what would become Fredericksburg. On the arrival at the site of Fredericksburg, Hermann laid out the lots of that future city.

Meusebach wanted to claim the Fisher-Miller grant that the immigrants had been originally promised and never received. He asked Hermann go with him because, as he said, “he was one of five educated men to accompany him to sign a treaty with the Comanche.” The Fisher-Miller grant could not be inhabited until this treaty was signed. Hermann surveyed the San Saba and stayed there for eight years at a salary of $100 a year paid by the Adelsverein. He made a map of the route from New Braunfels to Fredericksburg including the land grant. The map is in the Texas Archives in Austin. When the Adelsverein ran out of money, Hermann lost his salary. He was offered a job by the Texas General Land Office at a salary of $1,000 a year.

Now to Louis Willke and family. Louis built a fachwerk house on his town lot in New Braunfels (on Comal Avenue) for his family. By 1849, the family moved and was living on 40 acres, six miles outside of town. They had left town, as many did, to escape the epidemics. The 1850 census lists Louis as a farmer and a wagoner. This was a lucrative business that transferred goods from the coast to the inland settlements. Then in 1858, Louis moved his family to the Hill Country. He was a farmer and worked part-time in the Porter Store in Spring Branch. He is responsible for applying for the post office under the name of Spring Branch and by doing so, put the name of Spring Branch on the map. He became the first postmaster of Spring Branch from 1858 until 1860. The family then moved to Kendall County. Louis and wife, Elizabeth had seven children all born in Texas with the first being born in 1843 at Port Lavaca.

Not surprising, both brothers became officers in the Civil War. Capt. Hermann Willke served on the Texas coast in Galveston and Lt. Louis Willke was an officer in Julius Bose’s campaign in Arkansas. After the Civil War, Hermann left the Hill Country and settled in Galveston where he went into the surveying business. He lived there until he died.

Louis is listed in the Kendall County history as a surveyor. The family had moved to Kendall County and settled there on 160 acres. The 1880 Kendall County census lists him as a merchant and farmer. He died on the ranch and he and his wife are buried in a Willke family cemetery located on the Willard Dierks property.

In all of the references found on the Willke brothers (Fey’s New Braunfels, The First Founders and Anderson-Lindemann’s Bridging Spring Branch and Western Comal County, Texas), all of the descriptions of their work and character were complimentary.

Leo Scherer describes the house on Comal Street as actually four separate structures. It was a common practice to add on to a home as more space was needed by a family. Visible from the road, is the Victorian-style home built after 1881. Attached to the back of this home are structures built in the mid-to-late 1800s. The oldest fachwerk home originally built by Louis Willke when he arrived in New Braunfels, was attached to these structures but no longer stands.

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Imagine that you are on the Texas Coast where you have just arrived on one of the Adelsverein ships. You left Germany three months ago. You are far away from the Heimatland (homeland) for the first time ever and it is Christmas time. Your whole life you have loved the traditions that you grew up with – the music and the decorated tree that celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. On Hermann Seele’s arrival in Galveston, he wrote in this diary: “Memories, sweeten for me, lonely as I am in a foreign country, the hours with the balsam of a wonderful past.”

The year is 1844. The Republic of Texas is in the last stage of being an independent nation. Texas would soon become a state of the United States. The land was beautiful but rugged.

These immigrants would bring their culture and joyous traditions with them from Germany. The Adelsverein promised them land, supplies to help them get established and the provision of churches and schools. The immigrants brought with them the love of music, food and dance, strong family values, and the German traits of self-discipline and most of all, tenacity. These last two were important qualities because the whole venture was fraught with obstacles, but they persevered. In five years, New Braunfels was the fourth largest city in Texas.

Prince Carl hired Louis Ervendberg to establish a church in the new settlement of New Braunfels. Ervendberg met the first group of immigrants on the coast and conducted the first church service there on December 23, 1844. Prince Carl cut down a small oak tree for a Tannenbaum and decorated it with candles and candy for the children. This service on the coast is considered the first church service of the German Protestant Church. Prince Carl made this comment about the service: “The people, deeply touched, shed ardent tears of compassion and on Christmas, Holy Communion service would be conducted.”

German historian, Joachim Klenner, has done extensive research on Ervendberg and says this about the man:

He graduated August 26, 1833 from the University of Griefswald, taught school for four years, and then requested consent to immigrate to North America in1837. He gave as his reason for immigrating that a rich family from Hannover wanted him to come to North America to teach their children for five years. He was granted a permit with the stipulation that he could not come back to Prussia if he ever returned to Germany (no reason is given for that). He emigrated as Louis Ervendberg although his family name was Cachand. You have to wonder why he changed his last name.

Ervendberg settled in Illinois where there were others from Hannover, Germany. There was no pastor in the area so he organized a congregation. In 1838, he married Marie Luise Sophie Dorothea Műnch. They left Illinois in 1839 to come to Texas. After arrival in Galveston, they moved to the small settlement of Blumenthal in Colorado County. It was in Blumenthal that he was later approached by Prince Carl to handle the religious services for all the settlers, Protestant and Catholic. He accepted the invitation.

Ervendberg met with this first group of immigrants on the coast and accompanied them as they crossed the Guadalupe on March 21, 1845. This date is considered the founding date of New Braunfels as well as the German Protestant Church. He lost no time in organizing his German Protestant Church in New Braunfels. Prince Carl gave remembrance gifts to the congregation: a chalice, the twin of which is located in Germany, and two bells that are currently installed on the front lawn of the First Protestant Church.

In the settlement of New Braunfels, the first services were held outside at the foot of Sophienburg Hill until a log church could be built. Hermann Seele taught school in the same spot. Seele was chosen secretary of the church, a position that he held for 56 years.

Constant rain kept the Guadalupe River in a constant state of flooding that brought disease. The steady arrival of immigrants on the coast under these conditions played out a tragic drama of horrors. After Texas became a state, a war broke out between the United States and Mexico and the promised immigrant wagons were sold to the United States Army. There was no housing, no food, and no way to get from the coast to the settlement. In desperation, many immigrants tried to walk the 150 miles to New Braunfels. Hundreds died along the way and many arrived in the settlement sick, only to spread the sickness. A make-shift hospital was set up and Pastor Ervendberg recorded 348 deaths in one year. Sixty orphaned children were left and all but 19 were taken in by family or friends. The remaining 19 were taken in by the Ervendbergs. The Adelsverein gave Ervendberg land on the Guadalupe where he and Luise eventually set up what is believed to be the first orphanage in Texas.

For numerous reasons, Ervendberg’s career as pastor fell apart, as did his marriage to Luise. They decided to return to Illinois. She left with their three daughters, and he was to follow shortly with their two sons. Waiting for him in Illinois, Luise learned that her husband had intentionally met with one of the orphans and left for Mexico. She returned to Texas and he was gone. She never saw her sons again and she was granted a divorce in 1859.

Although the orphanage story is sad, the Ervendbergs provided a home where memories were made as well as old traditions kept and new ones formed for all who lived there. Many of the orphans and Ervendberg children grew up, married and had happy endings to their stories. Generations later, descendants of the orphans and the Ervendbergs gather at the old orphanage to celebrate the Ervendbergs and their ancestor’s survival in Comal County.

The German Protestant Church also survived and a stone church was built in 1875, with the tower added to the front of the building in 1889. This building still stands today.

In 1894, three new bells were installed in the tower (not the two small bells that you see now on the front lawn). Each bell has a significant name – Germania signifies the German heritage, Columbia signifies the immigrant loyalty to their new country and Concordia expresses the hope for harmony between the old and the new, not only generations, but ideas and traditions. The largest of the bells, Concordia, almost six feet in diameter and four feet high, has a deep mellow voice and forms the bass for the harmony of their blending. Columbia is forty-four inches in diameter and forty inches high. Germania is the smallest, three feet in diameter and thirty inches tall. Hers is the high tenor. These bells represent the struggles that the church and community have endured in its long history.

Henry Longfellow’s poem, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” tells it all:

(Verse 1)

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

(Verse 4)

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.

(Verse 5)

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

At least eight generations have been born in this new land of Texas with new memories made and old traditions harmonized with new. I heard the bells on Christmas Day.

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