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 did it: he bought a barrel of whiskey in San Antonio, set up a tent in New Braunfels, and sold it to emigrants that had money. These early emigrants, having just arrived and not yet established homes, stayed in Donnersmark’s hotel, for it provided a comfortable place to stay. Besides, they liked the idea of being served by a member of the aristocracy. This would never have happened in Germany. (Source: Roemer’s “Texas”)

Donnersmark’s house, hotel, saloon, was located on the corner of Castell and Mill Sts. which is now a parking lot across the street from McAdoo’s Restaurant. Donnersmark’s house itself served a very important role in early New Braunfels because it was designated as the first post office. It was dismantled in 1904 by Louis Henne who then used the lot for a customer camp yard for his lumber, hardware, and tinning business.

C.W. Thomae was the first postmaster in 1846 and then Donnersmark took over in 1847.

In 1851 the post offices moved to the Adolphus Benner store. Benner was the postmaster and when he died, Mrs. Benner took her husband’s place, thereby having the distinction of being the first woman postmaster. She served until after the Civil War, when she was replaced due to the fact that she served under the Confederacy. (All of those positions were replaced if they had served during the Confederacy).

Next, post offices were in the bus station, Courthouse, Hermann Seele residence, and Pfeuffer store. Then in 1915 President Woodrow Wilson signed a law appropriating $50,000 to build a post office building in New Braunfels. This is the building that now houses McAdoo’s Restaurant. Guess who the U.S. Secretary of Treasury was at that time? William G. McAdoo! The present post office on Seguin Ave. was built in 1984.

In addition to the post offices in New Braunfels, there were about 20 rural post offices, two of which are at the bottom of Canyon Lake (Cranes Mill and Hancock). Each of these post offices had an individual postmark signifying that the letter had been mailed from there. Eventually all small sites were closed except New Braunfels, Spring Branch, Fischer, and Canyon Lake.

Originally stamps on letters were postmarked by the postmaster writing the cancellation date and place. Then cancellation progressed to hand stamping. Can you imagine the post office doing either one of those methods now? Cancellation then moved to digital postmarks.

These postmarked letters have become collector’s items, as everything does when it becomes obsolete. One can learn a lot about history by collecting these cancelled letters. Collectors look for old hand-cancelled letters and specific postmarks. I have seen a 28th Wurstfest postmark dated Nov 4, 1988, and a New Braunfels Sesquicentennial postmark of April 14, 1995, with the Sesquicentennial seal. A most interesting one to me is a New Braunfels Centennial celebration envelope which says “mailed from Landa Park.” It has a picture of the old Sophienburg, Las Fontanas, with the message “Because of these, the now famous Comal Springs, the German emigrants chose the site of New Braunfels.” The official postmark is New Braunfels.

Permission for special postmarks have been granted, like the commerative Pony Express rider in 2006. I have seen two stop stations, one in Gruene and one at the Schmidt Hotel.

Growing up in New Braunfels, I remember the socializing that took place on the post office steps on Castell St., especially on Saturday. Maybe this form of socializing had its roots in Arnold-Henkel von Donnersmark’s hotel and saloon across the street.

Excerpt from Around The Sophienburg by Myra Lee Adams Goff, Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

By now you know that “it’s fair time!” This fabulous, fun-filled week of the Comal County Fair brings the entire community together and hopefully slides in on the first norther of the year. Yeah, that weather thing is not happening this year, but still very fun-filled. Everyone that grew up in New Braunfels or has lived here a while, has a “favorite thing” about the fair.

As a child, my favorite thing was what my mother called the hobby horses. The beautifully painted horses gliding around on the glittering, mirrored carousel captured my eye from early on. Even when we were out of tickets, I was content to watch. I never seemed to move past riding anything more than the carousel, which as a teen, I’m sure made me something of an oddity. The horses just seemed so glamorous (plus, I never felt the need to spin at a high rate of speed in a cage above the fairgrounds).

Later on, a different circle of horses caught my attention. There was less gliding and galloping, but beautiful more all the same. And I do miss it!

Horse racing was a very important part of the Comal County Fair for many years. The Comal County Fair Association was formed early in 1893, fashioned after a very successful fundraiser for the Krankenhaus (hospital) in 1892. Harry Landa was elected president. They selected a date later in 1893 to hold the first fair in Landa’s pasture (later LCRA and now The Landmark). Unfortunately, there was a terrible drought that year. The fair was cancelled due to being too dusty for horse racing!

In 1894, the first actual fair was held, complete with both saddle and harness racing. Saddle racing is that of a rider perched upon a saddle on the animal’s back. Harness racing is where a rider sits upon a two-wheel buggy pulled by a single horse with a specific gait, a trot or a pace. In his memoir, As I Remember, Harry Landa tells of his rather dismal business venture where he bought buggies and a string of trotters in order to be ready to run them at the 1894 fair. He ended up trading all for 30 rail cars of hay, something he felt was a much better proposition than racing.

After five years on the Landa property, the Comal County Fair Association purchased approximately twenty-two acres in Comal Town above the Guadalupe River. There, they built a racetrack and a dancehall. Financial difficulties prompted them to sell the acreage to the city of New Braunfels, who in turn leased the property back to the Association. They appeared to enjoy some successes, but there is no mention of fair from 1910 to 1922 (basically World War I era). During that time the city used the property as a dump, building an incinerator on site. The stack is still visible.

In 1923, the Fair Association reorganized, purchasing three city blocks adjacent to the city property. The old leased property and buildings had not been touched for more than 10 years. The group worked to add improvements and bring the track back to life. Just a month before the fair, a huge fire consumed the grandstand. It was rebuilt, granting them the ability to hold both harness and saddle races. Racing became a very popular spectator sport.

By January 1926, the Association added winter pony racing events to the calendar, stepping out of the county fair time frame. There were up and down successes through the years. Texas voters approved parimutuel betting just four years prior, but it was again outlawed in 1937. Racing had remained steady without legalized betting, but the popularity of horse racing had risen when parimutuel betting was legal in Texas at four large state-designated tracks. The Comal County Fair Association benefited from all the activity even though they were never licensed for parimutuel betting.

By 1958, Marcus Adams, Secretary of the Comal County Fair Association, was appointed a member of the Texas Racing Circuit. The circuit was made up of operators from six race tracks in southern Texas: New Braunfels, Junction, Fredericksburg, Brady, Boerne, and Sonora, running both thoroughbred and quarter horses races Many CCFA members served on the Texas Racing Circuit over the years. Of the tracks that made up the Texas Racing Circuit, only Fredericksburg still operates a race track.

Along the way, the local Comal County Fair race track became known as Dutchman Downs. During the ’70s, the track developed a reputation as one of the leading training centers for some of the finest quarter horse racing stables, complimented by local award-winning trainers and jockeys.

From the time that parimutuel betting was outlawed in 1937, proponents pushed to have it reinstated. Parimutuel betting appeared on Texas ballots more than four times. Finally, in 1987, the Texas voters approved a referendum legalizing parimutuel wagering again. It also created the Texas Racing Commission and a new set of rules. The rules required a track to have a clear quarter-mile straightaway for parimutuel licensure. With the layout of the fairground property backing up to the Guadalupe River bluff, there was no way that Comal County Fairgrounds could fit a quarter-mile straightaway. Races continued to run in 1987 and 1988 with the last run in 1989. Sadly, the 1990 races were canceled due to lack of entries. There was only one.

After trainers moved to other recognized tracks, the inside fairground track rail was cut open to expand the center rodeo arena. Now, the rodeo is my favorite thing. Go to the fair and find your favorite thing! Enjoy!

Sources: Gene Chollett; Danny Scheel; It’s Fair Time by Myra Lee Adams Goff, So phienburg Museum and Archives; A Pictorial History by Rosemarie Leissner Gregory and Myra Lee Adams Goff.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Joske’s of Texas.

For many of us, hearing the name “Joske’s” conjures up memories of trips to downtown San Antonio for a day of shopping at the well-respected department store. My favorites were the trips during the Christmas holidays to visit the Fantasyland exhibit on the 4th floor and ride the miniature train through the animated village. This was free and was a brilliant ploy to get shoppers into the store. Joske’s also had a for-real bargain basement with bins full of discounted handkerchiefs, unmentionables, household items and toys.

Joske’s and Sons was established by Julius Joske in 1857. By 1900, his son, Alexander, was sole owner. The family was one of the many influential entrepreneurial families in Central Texas of Jewish ancestry. Amongst them were the Joskes, the Franks (Frank & Bros.) and the Marcuses and Neimans (Neiman-Marcus). New Braunfels had their own Jewish merchants: the Schmidts (Jacob Schmidt’s & Sons), the Mendlovitzs and, of course, the Landas. The Texas Jewish community was a close-knit group of like-minded men, so it wasn’t a surprise to find that Joske family members visited our town and had company parties at Landa Park.

The Joskes, like so many other San Antonians, participated in local singing, shooting, bowling and card societies. They also visited Landa’s park and came to picnic on the banks of the beautiful Comal and Guadalupe rivers. This is why Harold, Alexander Joske’s only son, came to enjoy a day on the Guadalupe River in 1921.

Harold Joske was born in 1890 and raised in San Antonio. He was one of the young princes of the elite in the Jewish community. Harold began working at the family’s department store as a salesclerk supervisor in 1909. His father put him in charge of Joske’s 34th Anniversary celebration for the store’s over 500 employees. Harold planned and pulled off a banquet, musical program and dancing at the San Antonio Türnverein (Athletic Club), proving he was ready for more responsibility.

World War I intervened. Harold enlisted, like many Central Texans of German descent, and he served at Fort Sam Houston in charge of the government store. After the war, Mr. Joske promoted Harold to buyer of ladies ready-to-wear, then to assistant manager and finally to store manager and vice president. Thirty-year-old Harold was a healthy, wealthy, athletic, eligible young man who had definitely arrived on the San Antonio social scene.

On Monday, September 5, 1921, Harold drove up to New Braunfels with friends: two women and “a married man from Dallas.” The group decided on a picnic spot on the Guadalupe above Waco Springs about 9-10 miles from downtown NB. By Monday evening, the citizens of San Antonio were mourning the death of one of its best-known sons, Harold Joske.

The tragic story broke in newspapers across the state in English, German and Spanish. In fact, the most detailed account of the accident was in the San Antonio “La Prensa.” This, alone, testifies to the influence of the Joske family in Texas. Details vary in the different published accounts, but the basic storyline begins with a swim.

Harold Joske was a good swimmer and around 3 P.M. that Monday, he jumped into the Guadalupe to enjoy the cool water. Witnesses reported that Harold’s “lower extremities” became entangled in roots and plants on the river bottom. He was said to “have laughed and then submerged himself.” He disappeared and never resurfaced.

Harold’s companions, “one of the women in a swimsuit,” jumped into their car and headed for New Braunfels. Within sight of town, it was reported that the man from Dallas jumped out of the car and “pulled for tall timber.”

The Record of Inquest (September 6, 1921) states that at about 4 p.m., Myrtle Chalmers notified New Braunfels Justice of the Peace, Emil Voelcker, of the incident. He left for the location at once after securing an ambulance.

At around 5 p.m., Harold’s body was found in 10 feet of water by Fred Gardiner, a boy scout from Austin, who was camping nearby with several other scouts. The young men headed into New Braunfels with the body and met Judge Voelcker and the Baetge & Friedrich ambulance on the way. After another half hour, Voelcker accompanied the ambulance and body to San Antonio. They were met on the road by Joske family members and friends.

As all that was playing out, Harold’s two women friends reported to Comal County Courthouse officials before returning to San Antonio. They came back to New Braunfels the next morning to testify at the inquest. The man from Dallas was said to have been located in San Antonio, but there is no further mention of him.

Yes. There are a lot of unanswered questions in this account and this led to many rumors about what really happened. But in deference to Alexander Joskes’s wishes, the press went quiet in respect for the family. The inquest and Harold’s death certificate state cause of death as “accidental drowning.”

Unfortunately, the tragedy didn’t end here. In 1924, Alexander Joske donated property on Broadway near Breckinridge Park to the San Antonio Council of Boy Scouts for its first permanent headquarters. Was this perhaps a thank you to the boy scouts who had found and cared for his only son?

The grand opening of the Boy Scout Headquarters occurred in February of 1926. Mr. Joske did not attend. On July 8, 1925, Alexander Joske had been found dead at his home by his good friend Stanley Frank (Frank & Bros.). He had shot himself.

FYI: Joske’s of Texas, located at the corner of Alamo and Commerce streets, was sold in 1987 to Dillard’s which became the east anchor for Rivercenter Mall in 1988. Dillard’s closed its store in 2008. Developers reopened the old Joske’s store space with new vendors in 2016 as part of the reinvention of the mall as Shops at Rivercenter.

Sources: “The Promised Land”, Mimi Swartz, 1994; LaGrange Journal; Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung; San Antonio “La Prenza”; The National Magazine : An Illustrated Monthly, Vol 52, 59; The Granger News; New Braunfels Herald; www.expressnews.com/life/life_columnists/paula_allen/srticle/Joske-mystery-death-10858227.php

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There are times, during the course of researching a topic, that we come across a story that just says it all. The following, a reprint of a story written by Susan Flynt England, is exactly that. It appeared in the Herald-Zeitung on Sunday, January 7, 1996.

Local family traces heritage to prominent pioneer hotel owner

When Prince Solms of Braunfels, Germany came to Comal county, the area was occupied and its residents weren’t all Native Americans. Some of them were Milletts. Nathan Millett of New Braunfels is their great-great-great-great grandson.

Samuel Millett, born in Maine, came to Texas in 1827. Millett’s wife Clementine was born in Tennessee. Samuel and Clementine moved to New Braunfels in 1845. They bought Lot # 32. Joshua Bartlett, Clementine’s grandfather, signed the Declaration of Independence. The Milletts opened a hotel, called the Samuel Millett Hotel. It stood about were the Comal County Courthouse does now.

They bought the hotel and the property on which it sat from Nicholas Zink, the original surveyor of New Braunfels. Joseph Landa with his young bride lived in Millett’s Hotel until Landa bought the north corner lot where the family lived for more than 75 years,’ said the Haas history of New Braunfels.

Samuel Millett also fought for Texas independence. He volunteered in Captain Moseley Baker’s company at the battle of San Jacinto. He received land donation certificates for his part in the battle. The Samuel Milletts eventually moved to a farm near what is now Navarro School. They also operated a school out of their farm house.

Samuel and Clementine Millett had seven children, two of whom were twin brothers, Alonzo and Leonidas. Both twins fought in the confederate army. Leonidas died at Manses, according to “The Trail Drivers of Texas” in the Texas State Archives.

Alonzo signed up with General Wood when he was 16 years old. He distinguished himself in battle and was promoted three times, said “Trail Drivers.”

Nathan Millett traces his ancestry to Alonzo Millett. He married Arlene Wilson, who was a slave. Alonzo Millett prospered as a rancher after the Civil War. Millett brothers’ ranches were scattered over Kansas, Idaho, Texas and the Dakotas. The town of Millett, Texas, about 90 miles south of San Antonio, was named after Alonzo Millett, who had a ranch in the area.

The 20th Century

Early New Braunfels ancestry did not exempt the 20th Century Milletts from 20th-Century discrimination. Cora Coleman, 22-year nursing assistant at McKenna Memorial Hospital, remembers many changes in New Braunfels during her long life in the area.

“Segregation was the biggest change, “Coleman said. “I came through when it was the back door.” Coleman grew up on a farm near the Comal-Hays county line. “My daddy worked on the farm and had a business down at the county line, “she said. “He ran it. We worked a farm and raised our own food.”

“Back in those days the blacks who lived in New Braunfels spoke German very well,” Nathan Millet said.

Coleman’s brother, Eddie Millett Jr., was a Methodist minister. “He had churches here – Allen Chapel in New Braunfels with others in San Marcos and Luling. He passed on in 1988,” Coleman said.

Mary Johnson grew up on a Millett farm. “My growing up years were beautiful,” she said. “We were poor, but Mama and Daddy were together. We grew about everything we put in our mouths. Farm life would benefit today’s young adults,” Johnson said. “Maybe they wouldn’t sit and watch those idiot boxes and not do anything else.”

Nathan Millet teaches in Austin and owns High Sierra Company in New Braunfels. A charter member of the Greater Comal County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he served as its first treasurer.

Millett is also instrumental in the success of the New Braunfels Black Heritage Society.

(Sources provided by the Sophienburg Archives, Annette Boenig Waite and the Millett family.)

Update

Since this article appeared in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung in 1996, the Millett family legacy continues. Nathan Millett, a 1974 graduate of New Braunfels High School, completed his Ph.D. in Education and moved to the Austin area. He has since retired from public school systems and teaches math at Gary Job Corp. in San Marcos. Nathan has one son and three grandchildren living in New Braunfels. High Sierra Company, owned by his father Robert Millett, is run by his son, Kevin Millett.

The Black Heritage Society dissolved around 2002 due to declining membership; however, Beverly Millet and Karen Wilson are working to get it started again this spring. If you are interested in helping re-establish the New Braunfels Black Heritage Society, please send inquiries to drnathanedu@yahoo.com

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