Karbach family responsible for Methodism in New Braunfels
By Myra Lee Adams Goff Methodism is a Protestant religion whose roots can be traced way back to a preacher named John Wesley in England. John Wesley and his brother Charles, while at Oxford University in 1739, began a movement devoted to helping the underprivileged. Fellow students called them “Methodists” for the methods they used […]
City’s “soul searching” program helps understand history
By Myra Lee Adams Goff They walked (some rode on golf carts) through the Comal Cemetery at the City’s Parks Department “Soul Searching” program. About 360 people met eight “souls” who were buried in the cemetery. The land for this cemetery originally belonged to John F. Torrey and was managed by trustees Ernest Gruene, J.J. […]
New Year’s Day callers
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — “There was a little custom that, I think, has completely died out. It’s called New Year’s Callers.” So began a story told by local New Braunfels resident, Kola Albrecht Zipp. She was born in 1899 and remembered her older sisters participating in New Year’s Day Calling in the early 1900s. […]
Albert C. Fischer, in his own words
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — This autobiographical sketch was written prior to a Reflections: Oral History Program taping recorded on November 13, 1979. Mr. Fischer was born in December of 1896. He was the son of Fritz Fischer and Caroline nee Klinger Fischer and one of 12 children. He passed away 10 months after the […]
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 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 […]
The saga of the Six Shooter Ranch
By Keva Hoffman Boardman — The Six Shooter Ranch. The name evokes something rather wonderful in an old-Western-movie kind of way. However, dear reader, the history around the Six Shooter Ranch is anything but romantic. There are tales from different time periods which give us clues to its story and with some sniffing around, I […]
Sophienburg History Award 2023
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Now in our 90th year of existence, the Sophienburg Museum and Archives has maintained artifacts and archival documents to keep the history of New Braunfels alive. Part of our mission is to not only preserve the history, but to share the stories with the generations that follow. I am beyond […]
History mystery: South Seguin Avenue, Part II
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Part I of the history of 650 and 666 South Seguin Avenue properties was a story of immigrants who worked hard and expanded their family holdings. Now, on to Part II. Ysmael Zamora Isasi and Otila Martinez, fled the atrocities of the Mexican Revolution with their children to become permanent […]
Race for pride
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Some of my favorite memories include Mayfest, a fundraising event that was put on by the New Braunfels Volunteer Fire Department beginning in early 20th century. The early versions of the day-long event included parades, picnics in Landa Park, foot races, sack races and pumper races. The celebrations that I […]
