Margarethe Schertz, pioneer woman

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Margarethe Schertz was only 12 years old when she came to Texas with her parents in 1844. If she were alive today, she could tell us a story and a half about Texas, Comal County, and especially New Braunfels. It’s a unique story of an

Continue reading

The year 1846 was a dark year for the German immigrants

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The year was 1846, a year after Hermann Seele arrived in Texas. It was the time of year that we, in Texas, understand – July and August. The heat continued to increase and thunder storms made the Guadalupe River rise. A ferry boat at the

Continue reading

Depression years affected everyone

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The fall and failure of the Stock Market in 1929 was the beginning of an era in American history called the Great Depression. The statistics of this period are staggering. Almost half of the people in the United States had no jobs, homes or food.

Continue reading

Sophienburg scholarship winner chosen

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The Sophienburg Museum and Archives and an anonymous donor established a yearly scholarship called the Myra Lee Adams Goff Sophienburg History Scholarship. It would be awarded to one senior from among our six high schools in Comal County. The way the scholarship was set up

Continue reading

Post office has evolved in 100 years

By Myra Lee Adams Goff An extremely important building in downtown New Braunfels has been saved and renovated by Pat and Becky Wiggins. It is the old Post Office building on the corner of Castell and Mill. It now serves a new purpose, being McAdoo’s Restaurant. The owners are applying

Continue reading

The rise an fall of the Darmstadt

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Called by some, “a catastrophic failure of dreamers”, the organization of about 40 intellectuals, university fraternity members and freethinkers banded together with a common cause. They were called “Darmstadters”, or the “Society of the 40” and their plan in 1847 was to organize a communistic

Continue reading

Landa first fair president

By Myra Lee Adams Goff It did not surprise me to find out that Harry Landa was the first president of the Comal County Fair Association. In those early days before the turn of the century, his name appears over and over for new projects, new industry, innovative ideas, and

Continue reading

New businesses develop during Reconstruction

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Before we say goodbye to the Civil War, let’s look at what the period immediately after the war known as Reconstruction, brought to Comal County. When the war was over in 1865, many did not return home, putting a terrible hardship on the families. Many

Continue reading