One of the first milestones in our history

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Are you confused about which historical anniversary to celebrate or that you have celebrated? Is it for New Braunfels? Is it for Texas? Is it for the United States? Did we celebrate one year, 25 years, 50 years, 75 years, 100 years (centennial), 150 years (sesquicentennial) or 200 years? We […]

We owe a lot of what we know to Oscar Haas

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Almost 70 years ago (1947), local historian Oscar Haas was asked by the Texas State Historical Association to compile the origin and history of all name-places in Comal County. Haas’ histories and thousands of others are what make up the Handbook of Texas that can be accessed online. One of […]

Lindheimer, Father of Texas Botany

By Myra Lee Adams Goff How many times have you said or thought, “I wish I could remember what my grandmother told me about that.” If you have letters or a diary from your family, you are one of the fortunate ones. Our history of New Braunfels is almost totally based on the writings of […]

The area of Sattler includes many names

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Most of our small settlements in the Texas Hill Country, if they survived, grew up next to rivers and creeks. The Guadalupe River Valley NW of New Braunfels has been hailed by many as the most beautiful area in all of the Hill Country. Part of the beauty of the […]

First-hand account of the Indianola hurricane

By Myra Lee Adams Goff New Braunfels loves to celebrate anniversaries, but this date, Friday August 20 in 1886, we can commemorate but not celebrate. It was on this day one hundred thirty years ago (as of yesterday) that a hurricane hit the Gulf Coast. It was so strong that it destroyed the town of […]

Here’s a whale of a tale

By Myra Lee Adams Goff In our downtown New Braunfels, there is a pub at 367 Main Plaza on the south side of the plaza called the Black Whale Pub. Strange? Why would anyone call a pub a black whale? It’s not as strange as it seems because supposedly there are many pubs called “Zum […]

Morales Funeral Home early business in Comaltown

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Dr. Ferdinand Roemer in his book “Roemer’s Texas,” when he arrived in the village of New Braunfels in 1846, wrote that a speculative American had laid out a new city in between the fork of the Comal and the Guadalupe within view of the city of New Braunfels and it […]