By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

German immigrants crossed the Guadalupe River on March 21, 1845, setting foot in the next long-term waystation. When spring rolls through Central Texas, it is easy to see why the founding families sought to stay here, in New Braunfels, rather than move further along to the promised land of the Fischer-Miller Grant. The reports of Carl, Prince Solms, to the Verein zum Schutz deutscher Einwanderer in Texas (Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas), written on March 27, 1845, describe the vast beauty and resources here that enticed them to stay… except for the bear.

Tenth Report to the Adelsverein by Prince Carl

I have the honor to report to the general directorate that after I had finished the business with Mr. Fisher, I undertook the inspection of the military company I had established. I was quite satisfied with their riding and shooting as well as their general behavior. I left them for San Antonio and arrived there on March 10. The next four days, March 11,12, 13 and 14, were taken up in dealing with Mr. Veramendi and Mr. Garza concerning the purchase of the land which I had mistakenly been told belonged to the deceased Senator Smith. I shall report more completely on my return, but I can assure your that it is a most advantageous purchase.

The contract was signed on the 15th. I rode back to Seguin on the 16th, where Mr. Zink and Mr. von Coll, accompanied by 13 men of the military company joined me on the 17th. Still on that day, I marched six miles upstream and bivouacked at a spring on the Guadalupe. A blustery north wind came up during the night and has blown steadily since then.

On the 18th, I crossed the Guadalupe at the ford where the important military road from Nacogdoches to San Antonio crosses the river. The river is enclosed between cliffs and flows in a turbulent stream over ledges and boulders. The land I have acquired for the association begins here. This area is also watered by the Comal Creek whose right bank adjoins rich prairie land that extends to the dominating range of hills overlooking the country. The left bank of the Comal is richly forested bottom land reaching to hills covered with cedars, oaks, and elms, which reach a considerable elevation, forming a ridge with occasional higher peaks, very similar to the Black Forest. This ridge runs from northwest to southeast. The Comal Springs bubble from seven separate springs at the foot of the cliff, immediately forming a stream of 20 steps width and then gaining in width as it tumbles like a forest brook of crystalline clear water of respectable depth as it meanders down to join the Comal Creek.

I tried to reach the springs from where their water joins the Comal Creek by following their water course but had to give up after I and four companions had spent several hours chopping our way through brush and heavy forest. We had driven our way an estimated five miles but had to turn back without succeeding. Next day, guided by two Americans who were hunting bear in the neighborhood, we reached springs with hardly any exertions.

Every day I explore this region to learn the terrain and on the 20th of March I forced my way on horseback through the heavy cedar thickets on the terraced cliffs. The view from the top of the high ridge is charming. A plateau stretches many miles back from this crest. I rode out on this plateau for three or four miles without reaching any drop off and hope to as soon as time permits, to make a long tour up there.

Everywhere upon this entire area are tracks of more or less imposing Indian camps. Drawn here by rich hunting and excellent water, these nomads who have pitched their tents for periods of various length. However, as soon as our culture approaches they stay away, for they cannot tolerate the sound of the woodsman’s axe in the forest. Should more of these natives find their way here, I am sure the clatter of mills and the ringing of the hammers on anvil along the banks of the forest stream will frighten them away, for the Comal Springs lend themselves most admirably to the operation of such industry because of their constant flow.

A chart of the area is attached to the enclosed contract but lacks any details of the highlands.

The fields have already been staked out and plows are turning the soil. I traced the location of our citadel yesterday atop the dominating heights: the town below will be laid out radiating from it. Thirty-one wagons have arrived and I am expecting the other half of the immigrants shortly. I plotted an encampment upon an elevation overlooking Comal Creek; it will be enclosed by palisades on three sides and I consider it most desirable to fortify it at once. The fourth side is safe because it is formed by the steep and very high bank of the Comal Creek.

I hope to be able to include the details of the layout of the town and its dedication in my next report and expect to include an accurate plat of the city.

The weather is cool and damp, indeed, we had the home-like look of snow. Health conditions among the emigrants are satisfactory.

Camp on Comal Creek, 27 March. 1845
General Commissioner Carl Prince Solms

Sources: The Oscar Haas Collection; Sophienburg Museum & Archives

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How easy we ladies have life today compared to the old days in the 1850s. “You’ve come a long way, baby” is the understatement of our time.

A woman’s role in society has changed dramatically due to not only modern technology but changes that occurred in society such as the equal rights to all humans, including women’s right to vote. Since World War II, a large percentage of women work outside the home. One hundred sixty years ago, women worked at home starting early in the morning until late at night.

Women in the old days were primarily in charge of the living quarters, food, clothing, and children. The typical woman would start her work day very early working all day to accomplish all that was necessary for survival. The one room log house she lived in with her family was cold in winter and hot in summer, but it was better than the tent the settlers lived in on the coast and while traveling to New Braunfels. Floors were added later to keep bugs from invading the house. Furniture legs were placed in dishes of water or kerosene, like a small moat. Bedbugs were kept out or in, using the same method on the legs of the bed.

As the family expanded, so did the house. A second room was added separated by a dogtrot, a covered, breezeway between the two rooms. Originally cooking was done outside but the two-room house allowed cooking to be indoors. The children typically slept in a loft above the dogtrot. The handmade furniture was made of oak, cypress, cedar or pine. Cedar was the choice wood because it repelled bugs. Trunks held the meager supplies that each immigrant was allowed to bring from Germany.

Electricity didn’t appear on the scene until the beginning of the 20^th century. Wood-burning stoves were not only used for cooking but also for heating. Most early houses had no window panes but had openings that were covered with animal hide. With no electricity, homemade candles and oil lamps took the place of lights but the “early to bed” philosophy made light unnecessary.

There is a reason that settlements sprang up around water sources. New Braunfels had two large rivers, the Guadalupe and the Comal. Drinking water was plentiful as a necessity for human survival. A very early water source in New Braunfels was the Comal River from which water was hauled by individuals in wooden buckets. At one time there was a path from Seguin Ave. crossing over to Comal Ave. and down the hill to the river. Piped water was a long time coming.

Clothes were washed outside in large iron pots heated on coals. Homemade soap was made by mixing ash and lard and then slicing it into chunks. The clothes cleaning process took up a lot of a woman’s time. People had very few clothes and tending to animals and the garden was dirty business.

At the Sophienburg Museum, there are many examples of clothing, some even brought over from Germany in the 1840s. Clothing was made of linen woven from flax. Cotton was available for making thread and yarn with a spinning wheel. Notice the picture of the thread or yarn measuring machine called the weasel. When the desired length was obtained, the machine made a popping noise, hence the children’s rhyme “Pop Goes the Weasel.” Sewing was a skill most women learned in Germany.

Growing and preparing food was the job of women. Gardens were mostly tended by women, using the very popular modern concept of growing food called “organic.” How? There were no chemicals and animals supplied the fertilizer.

Raising corn was a matter of life or death. Cornbread was made every day and took the place of the black bread that the Germans were used to. Nut trees, mulberry trees, blackberries and grapes were abundant. The Adelsverein provided coffee, salt, vinegar, and sugar.

Letters were sent home from Texas requesting that immigrants bring plows, axes, scythes, rakes, sewing needles and seeds of all kinds.

Most immigrants had small amounts of cattle. A small pen that was attached to the house held the milk cows and their calves. The calves were left in the pens and the cows were released to graze out on the open land since there was no fencing. At night the cows would come back to their calves and so it wasn’t necessary to round them up. Milk, butter and cheese of all kinds were made from cow’s milk. Another important food came from chickens mainly because of eggs but also meat. They scratched around the yard eating bugs not realizing that they were performing a service.

Spoilage of food was a big problem in the Texas weather. Meat had to be smoked or packed in lard for preservation. Crockery was important for this purpose but oak barrels were cheaper and larger than pottery. The barrels were constructed from large tree trunks and the crocks made from local clays.

Dr. Ferdinand Roemer told the story of the Shawnee Indians that would bring bear meat and bear oil for sale to New Braunfels. Supposedly bear meat was very tasty and contained a lot of fat right under the skin. The Indians brought the bear oil in skins and this oil was preferred in place of lard or other oil. Roemer said that when the Indians came to sell their bear oil they would each bring about 60 gallons. Bear oil needed no refrigeration.

Isn’t it interesting that the latest concept of food production is called “farm to table?”

Child bearing and care were primarily a woman’s job. In old New Braunfels, a sign of a woman’s worth had to do with how many children she had. There was another side effect of multiple children and that was that they helped men in the fields and women in the home.

At the Heritage Village with the Museum of Handmade Furniture there is an authentic kitchen from the 1800s. This free-standing rock kitchen was originally on the Breustedt house property. Most of the contents of this kitchen were donated to the museum by David Hartman. An icebox dates around the 1880s after the first railroad came to town and ice was available by rail. This kitchen and its contents can be viewed when the Heritage Society holds its annual Folkfest on April 9&10. Many of the old methods of survival and living are demonstrated at the festival like sausage making, open hearth cooking, sauerkraut making, quilt making, hand washing of clothes and many other exhibits.

Social changes involving women were a result of technological changes. Of one thing we can be certain: Technological advancements now will have a direct effect on the role of women in society in the future just as in the past. “How’re you going to keep them down on the farm, after they’ve seen Paree?” This song was written about men in WWI but I think the idea is appropriate for women as well.

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