We know a lot about our Comal River but not so much about the Guadalupe. Did you know that the Guadalupe is 226 miles longer than the Comal? It’s a tumultuous and erratic river. The Comal, on a flooding rampage, affects New Braunfels; the Guadalupe, on a flooding rampage, affects 230 miles of property, trees, land, and people.

Here’s the really good side of the Guadalupe: it has provided hours and days of camping, boating, and summer camps. Where else but a summer camp would you have learned the words to “Doktor Eisenbart”?

I am Herr Doktor Eisanbart, Twil li wil li witt boom boom

I’ll cure your ills with healing art, Twil li wil li witt boom boom

Sing to ri ay, sing to ri ay,Twil li wil li witt boom boom boom boom!

Let’s take a trip down the Guadalupe River starting at its source in Kerr County and eventually giving up the ghost when it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. There it is a small stream in a big pond. The river in Kerr County is formed by two tributaries and the towns of Kerrville and Comfort were established nearby.

The story goes that the Guadalupe River, as far back as 1689, was called Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe by Spanish explorer, Alonso De León. Other names were applied by later Spanish explorers. At one time the river’s major contributory, the Comal, was actually called Guadalupe and the Guadalupe was called the San Ybón. It’s impossible to know what the Indian tribes who inhabited the banks called it. The Tonkawa, Waco, Lipan Apaches, Karankawa, Coahuiltican and Comanche all left evidence of their presence up and down the banks.

Missions were established along the river’s tributaries. Several were located above Victoria, one near San Marcos Springs, and one near the Comal Springs.

After the mission era, Mexicans, Europeans and Americans moved into Texas and along the Guadalupe. Martin De Leon established Victoria in 1824 and in 1825 James Kerr established Gonzales. Ben Mc Cullough surveyed Walnut Springs in 1839. This name changed to Seguin. You will remember that most of those towns, except Victoria, were stopping points for the early settlers who were following the Guadalupe from Indianola on their way to New Braunfels, now the largest town along the Guadalupe.

The completion of the large Canyon Lake and Dam interrupted the river’s flow. After forming a large lake, the river resumes its flow at the outlet of the dam. Before Canyon Dam floods were rampant but now somewhat controlled by the dam.

At this point a really beautiful part of the Guadalupe begins as it comes out of the outlet. It begins its journey to New Braunfels, passing the River Road, several crossings and tourist courts and camps. Let’s look in particular at one camp, Slumber Falls Camp.

Slumber Falls Camp developed along the Guadalupe in the early 1930s at just the right time due to the building of roads and the popularity of the automobile. The camp was a place to get away from the city and enjoy the beauty of the hill country river. In the open air cabins the sound of the water falls contributed to the enjoyment of outdoor camping.

The history of the ownership of the land on which Slumber Falls is located goes back to 1890 when Joseph Landa purchased a large parcel of the Veramendi Tract on the Guadalupe for cattle raising. There is evidence that locals already used this area for picnicking and swimming. Years later the property was owned by Harry Landa, Joseph Landa’s son. Harry sold 20 acres in this tract to Francis Schulz Lillie for $1,545. Francis Lillie, along with her husband Will and brother, Herman Schrader, developed the property into a tourist camp. Steps leading down to the river show their presence with etchings of their names in concrete steps .Retaining walls were built and together the three built 11 cabins, one at a time as they could afford them. The tourist camp was a popular spot, a place to get away from the city, enjoy the beauty of the hill country river valley and slumber in the open air cabins with the sound of waterfalls. Situated on top of a high bluff’s pinnacle on the camp property is a stunning view of the river below.

World War II had a devastating effect on the tourist industry in general, but after the war, interest resumed. In 1946 Will Lillie died and Francis sold the tourist court to her two nephews and a third party for$20,000.Then in 1954-56 a terrible drought virtually caused the Guadalupe to dry up and the tourist court was closed. The nephews decided to sell.

The Texas Synod of the United Church of Christ purchased the tract for $16,500. They held their first youth camp in the summer of 1958. Preservation of the open- air cabins, out of financial necessity, resulted in campers of today experiencing nature and camping like the 1930s. They can still slumber with the sound of waterfalls. Improvements have been made, but several of the screened-in cabins remain. Slumber Falls Camp and Recreation Center still has remnants of the tourist camp that reflect the early tourism trend, making it eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

At the base of the steps leading down to the water, the Guadalupe River rushes over rocks and past cypress lined banks to its final destination. On the way to the Gulf it picks up water from its largest tributary, the Comal. About two miles west of Gonzales, the San Marcos River flows into the Guadalupe and then the San Antonio River joins the river just north of Tivoli. Heading down to the coast and ahead of the estuary, the river forms a delta and splits in two sections referred to as the North and South Guadalupe. Each flows into the San Antonio Bay and then to its final destination, the Gulf of Mexico.

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As I grow older, I find myself more appreciative of the natural elements of our environment and especially of the natural beauty of New Braunfels and Comal County. I’m not so naive to think that changes don’t have to be made to accommodate a bursting population. But, “those were the days, my friend, we thought they’d never end”.

I remember particularly the beauty of Landa Park with its lake, lined with elephant ears, and I remember “shooting the rapids” at Camp Warnecke in the area where the bottom of the water was solid soapstone. And then the cold, clear Comal River, so filled with crayfish that you couldn’t put your feet down without getting pinched.

When I got my driver’s license (which was at age 13) the River Road was a favorite route to drive. I was familiar with this road because it was a route that I went with my parents on their weekly Sunday drive. I wasn’t too happy about this entertainment that was forced on me at that time, and most of the time I slept in the car, which in itself was quite pleasant. But of all the places that we drove, the River Road was one to remember.

As an independent teenager, just driving along the road, never meeting another car, with the Guadalupe on one side and the bluffs with their flood-chiseled walls on the other, was a thrill. These were days when one could just stop the car, wade in on the smooth rocks and swim in the deeper parts. This was before the dam regulated the depth of the river and the water level was ever-changing.

As a young girl, my mother and her friends frequented the Guadalupe River even more than the Comal. That’s probably because in the 1920s they were part of the “touring car” crowd. It was probably much more exciting to drive out the River Road to the Guadalupe than to walk down to the Comal. The photo shows my mother in the center with some of her friends sitting on the rocks in the Guadalupe. When I see this picture, I am amazed that she is even in the water. She couldn’t swim. My grandmother told me that in the local culture, it wasn’t proper for females to swim in rivers. I guess I was lucky to have a father who at one time was a lifeguard at the pool at Camp Placid in Landa Park. He taught me to swim at age five.

Canyon Dam didn’t stop the flooding entirely on the Guadalupe but it did modify it. As you drive out the River Road, you can see how high and how forceful water has been in the past by the gouged-out bluffs of rock. It’s hard to imagine water that high and that forceful to create these canyons and cave formations.

Originally the River Road was just a narrow lane following the river used mostly by farmers and ranchers. The original rocky trail had four crossings that could be crossed only in dry weather. Sometimes the driver had to stop and clear a path. As can be seen now, large boulders line the road’s edge. Eventually concrete bridges were built. This easier access eventually contributed to the tourist industry.

In the 1930s, camp houses began to spring up along the road. One of the earliest resorts was Waco Springs Park owned by Bob Gode and leased to Phil and Gertrude Rawson. Waco was also spelled Huaco or Hueco, all referring to the same area. There were small cottages with fireplaces, and of course, swimming. Inexpensive to rent, they were perfect for family vacations. After WWII, Gode went into partnership with NBHS coach, Weldon Bynum, forming Camp Huaco for Boys. Football camps were very popular and many of the original buildings are still standing on the side of the hill by the first crossing. For more information on Waco Springs, see Sophienburg.com, Around the Archives, August 10, 2010.

Another such campground was Slumber Falls Camp, ideal for large groups. These camps offered basically the same accommodations as camps along the Comal in New Braunfels. (camps like Camp Warnecke, Camp Giesecke, Camp Ulbricht). Boats could be rented; even bathing suits.

Keep on driving on the River Road and eventually you come to the area known as the Guadalupe Valley with all its small settlements and big ranches. When Canyon Dam was being built, my husband Glyn, began taking slides of the building of the dam, which he did for the next five years. On the website for Comal County one can view this collection of about 50 of the best slides. The whole family would pile in the car and head out on the River Road towards the dam. Close to the end of the road lived Roland Erben and his family. Roland had a contract with the builders of the dam to sell them rock from his ranch, the rock that is hand-set on the side of the dam called rip-rap. Since he was a friend of my father, he allowed us to go rock hunting on his property. Dynamite had been used to loosen the rocks and amazing caves were exposed. What a joy! This experience started our whole family on one of our activities that we all love – rock hunting.

If you grew up in Comal County, you can’t help but have wonderful recollections of the River Road.

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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 think I have got the gist.

I first found a paragraph in the Marjorie Cook files. She was a feature writer/editor for the NB Herald.

Six Shooter Ranch was owned by Coreths and got its name from a man named John Sippel (who married a daughter of Ernst Gruene, Sr. Sippel lived in the house there and used to get drunk, lie on his bed and shoot flies with his six-shooter. The ceiling was full of holes as a result. The house stood on top of the hill adjoining the Eden Home. This was levelled for crushed rock by Landa on a lease from Coreth. Just before the house was torn down, it served as a bordello.

Is your interest peaked? Are there facts to back up any of this tale?

A transcript of an interview with Coreth Family descendants fills in some details of the location.

At one time they [Coreths] owned property from Mission Hill all the way over to the Eden Home. My uncle Rochette Coreth referred to it as the Six Shooter Ranch. There was a quarry there on the edge. That was in 1913, when Landa wanted to establish a rock quarry on the Coreth property and [paperwork] refers to it as the Six Shooter Ranch.

I looked into the land area a little closer and it seems that it was first owned by Ernst Gruene. His daughter Johanna and husband John Sippel lived on the property when they got married in 1873. In 1887, Sippel opened a rock quarry on the hill to get rock and gravel for the construction of the Guadalupe River Bridge (Faust St. Bridge). Sippel later recovered an 8-pound mammoth tooth at the site. The Coreth’s then acquired the land and they leased it to Landa to quarry gravel.

Olinska Sippel Posey, one of the daughters of John and Johanna Sippel, shared a very personal insight on her family. John built a home on the corner of Academy and Coll in 1881, and that’s where she lived so she didn’t live on the Six Shooter Ranch. She did remember that her father was a little bit crazy and dangerous. Olinska remembered that father John took her to visit her Gruene grandparents who lived on Rock Street one day. They crossed the San Antonio Street bridge, went through Comaltown and at the railroad tracks there on Rock Street, John told her to get out and walk the rest of the way. As she walked, he shot his gun several times over her head to hurry her along.

Olinska’s mother Johanna had a mental breakdown in 1893. Olinska said her mother felt she had to file for divorce in 1894. After her husband shot himself in the head on the second floor of his Phoenix saloon in 1900, Johanna Gruene Sippel lived until 1942.

Doesn’t this recollection just break your heart? Here is a bit more of the Sippels’ story.

John was the son of Valentin Sippel, one of NB’s first founders. John was quite the entrepreneur. He and father Valentin built the first Phoenix Saloon — same location, different building — in 1873. Off and on he lived on the 2nd floor of “Sippel Hall” and rented out the first-floor saloon. He also added an alligator pond and a bowling alley. In 1885 he became the local distributor for Anheuser-Busch. John set up a soda and mineral water bottling works, St. John’s Bottling, in 1886. In 1887, he opened the quarry at the Six Shooter Ranch. He added an ice factory to his line of businesses and became the distributor for Lone Star Beer in 1890.

I think his world started falling apart in 1892. His 18-year-old, first-born son Henry was shot and died while at business college in Dallas. The Sippels’ had already lost a two-year-old daughter in 1883. Henry’s death caused Johanna to have a mental breakdown and require several months of hospitalization. John was having a hard time financially as well. The bottling works went bankrupt after a bad freeze and it and the ice factory were put up for sale. Johanna filed for divorce and six years later, most likely depressed and drinking, John shot himself.

Perhaps this is the origen of the “drunk and shooting the flies on the ceiling” story; so much trauma and heartache for this man and his family to handle.

My last reference to Six-Shooter Ranch is later in time. Hanno Welsch Sr. recorded an oral history at the Sophienburg and told an interesting story. His family lived on a farm out on River Road and Rock Street. Remember that the ranch house of the Six Shooter Ranch was located about where the Eden Home and Dean Word’s pit is now.

There was a fella by the name of Clapp, of Clapp Shoe Company. He was living up there. He was a playboy. I imagine they gave him lots of money to get him away from their business. He hooped it up! He had some nice black horses and a buggy; well-groomed. He’d go to town and meet these girls. He’d get a pretty girl from off the train and have big parties there. And he liked six shooters, pistols and stuff like that. He was shooting at the fella that was working in the field on Rock Street, and, of course, once in awhile this fella would shoot back too you know. I don’t know but I think they were both drunk. They couldn’t hit a target.

Finally. I think I understand the bordello reference in Marjorie Cook’s notes. Mr. Welsch also talks about the “pretty ladies” which came in on the train. Behind the depot was a one-story house about 30 feet long with a porch along the sidewalk of Mill Street. The mostly dark and shuttered house was “verboten to us youngsters” but Welsch and his friends would slip over to the windows and listen to the “sweet talk”. Hanno describes how the ladies would come in by train, pulling up their skirts above the ankle as they stepped down onto the ground. There were always a lot of cowboys ready to help and then escort the ladies to the “entertainment house”. I think the Clapp gentleman at the Six Shooter Ranch would bring “these girls” to the ranch house to party.

So it looks like I’ve figured out quite a bit of the story. But Mr. Welsch gave me one more tantalizing tidbit connected to Six Shooter Ranch. One day Hanno’s father was plowing in the field down on the corner of Rock Street and he plowed up an old pistol.

It was a very peculiar pistol. It was originally a rim fire and it had been converted into a center pin fire pistol. It had beautiful engraving on it and a nice wooden handle. It must have come from the Six Shooter Ranch somehow.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum: Neu Braunfelser Zeitung; New Braunfels Herald; Marjorie Cook Collection; Myra Lea Adams Goff Collection; Hanno Welsch Sr. “Reflections” oral history.

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There was a time when teachers in the rural areas were furnished a house called a teacherage. These dwellings were either attached to the school or nearby. One such teacherage can be seen while driving along the Guadalupe River Road. The school and teacherage were located at the confluence of the Guadalupe River and Jacobs Creek between the third and fourth crossing.

A teacherage was offered to attract a teacher for the rural school. It provided a place to live, raise a family, raise animal stock, and a garden. The Jacobs Creek teacherage, one of the first built in Comal County, was built using a combination of log cabin style combined with fachwerk using handmade brick and cut limestone infill. These were prevalent building materials in early New Braunfels and especially the rural areas. Mountain cedar beams were used as well as wooden shingles for the roof. There are two rooms, the parlor with loft and the back room that was used for sleeping and storage. Can you imagine living with your whole family in a home this size?

The Friedrich family was responsible for beginning the Jacobs Creek School. Oskar Friedrich was one of those Germans who came to the United States in the 1800s. He landed in New York and there married Augusta Rudolph. They came to Texas and bought land to ranch near Sattler. The ranch was eventually 1,695 acres and it was called “Friedrichstahl” which means Friederichs Valley. In 1867, the Friedrichs donated land for the Jacobs Creek School and teacherage next to Jacobs Creek. Friedrich allowed his fellow rancher neighbors along River Road, access to cross the property to attend school. This gesture led the way for other ranchers to do the same and allow access all the way to Hueco Springs near the first crossing and also passage to Sattler from New Braunfels. Friedrich is often credited with the beginning of the Guadalupe River Road.

One of Oskar’s and Auguste’s daughters, Agnes, married Carl Pantermuehl and they built the teacherage that is still standing. Carl became a teacher at the school. He was born in 1838 in Germany to Joachim and Katherine Markwardt Pantermuehl. His mother died in Germany and the rest of the family came to Texas and settled on Rebecca Creek. They were a founding family of the Rebecca Creek area. Sons, Joachim Jr., Friedrich, Wilhelm, Carl and Christian Pantrmuehl all bought property near Sattler and were prominent Sattler citizens. Carl and Agnes had three children, Alfred, Julius and Louisa, all born and raised in the teacherage.

Pantermuehl descendant, Valeska Pantermuehl, recalled in a Reflections program at the Sophienburg, that it took all day to go to New Braunfels and back on River Road. She grew up in the teacherage and she recalled opening and closing 12 to 14 ranch gates along the trip.

Laurie E. Jasinski in her book, Hill Country Backroads, Showing the Way in Comal County, wrote that, “Sometimes getting an eyeful of reward took work like traversing many farms and ranches and encountering cattle guards and gates along the way.” Of course, it was courteous to close the gate behind you, which meant lots of getting in and out of the car. If you were lucky, there were bumper gates that were large swinging gates rotating on a pendulum that you tapped with the front bumper to swing open. The River Road was at times a narrow, rocky trail and the river had to be crossed several times. Extra tires, tree removal equipment and lots of time was required so that you could experience the beautiful river and scenic vistas.

Joe Sanders was Laurie Jasinski’s grandfather. Joe and others belonging to the American Legion, were responsible back in the 1930s, for putting up road signs in Comal County and also compiling the American Legion Scenic Road Map of Comal County, Texas. This Centennial (of the Republic of Texas) map was printed in 1936 and has some amazing little details concerning River Road. One bit of information noted is the portion of the road labeled “Shoreline proposed flood-control lake” and noted with “dots.”

The idea of a reservoir along the Guadalupe River was even talked about back in the 1930s. The flooding of the most of the time beautiful and calm Guadalupe River had always been a problem downstream. Incidentally, you can get a frame-able copy of the 1936 centennial map at Sophie’s Shop at the Sophienburg.

A problem with having a reservoir along the Guadalupe River Road was discovered when it was found that all of the sheer riverside walls and cliffs contained caverns. The extensive cavern systems would not allow the area to hold water. The alternative was to build the Canyon Dam and Reservoir where it is now. On the north side of the dam, there are cavernous bluffs that had to be plugged prior to the filling of the lake.

The area at the confluence of Jacobs Creek and the Guadalupe River would have been under water if it had not been for the caverns discovered. But, the plans for the lake were changed and the Jacobs Creek School ruins (mostly rubble) and the intact Jacobs Creek School teacherage survived.

According to Oscar Haas, the statutes of the German Emigration Company called for the immediate establishment of churches and schools upon the founding of New Braunfels. Schools and education were important to the immigrants and as early as August of 1845, Hermann Seele began teaching under the elm trees at the foot of Sophienburg Hill. In 1853, New Braunfels established a city school and in 1854, the Comal County Commissioners Court divided Comal County into eight districts with the corporate limits of New Braunfels being district one. In 1857, the Comal County Commissioners Court apportioned state funds to the several schools functioning. It was not until 1908 that funds from taxation would be used for equipment in school buildings. By this time, the rural schools in Comal County were already established as settlements spread out from New Braunfels.

Rural schools organized boards of trustees and the first trustees for the Jacobs Creek School included Gottfried Rohde, Carl Baetge, W. Schlather, Adolph Otto, Oskar Friedrich, J. Pantermuehl, Alton Kanz, John Marschall, F. Pantermuehl and F. Krause. The school was incorporated in October of 1867. Carl Pantermuehl was the third teacher and the builder of the Jacobs Creek teacherage in 1870.

The Jacobs Creek School later was incorporated into the Mountain Valley School District and ceased to be a school but the teacherage became a home for several generations of Pantermuehls and others to follow.

In 1978, Robert and Bess Story fell in love with and purchased the small cabin and restored it. They also added their own living quarters while preserving the charm of the structure. It is likely that the 150-year-old teacherage would not be standing today if it had not been restored by them. Members of the Comal County Historical Commission along with Pantermuehl family descendants, helped Bess research the property and write the story of the home and its contribution to the history of Comal County. The cabin is located at 12794 River Road and can be seen while passing by on a scenic journey.

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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 valley has to do with the Guadalupe River, 230 miles long, it has a very inauspicious beginning 80 miles north of New Braunfels near Hunt, Texas. Its beginning is not as impressive as our own Comal Springs, but it overcomes stumbling blocks like Canyon Dam to make its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Below New Braunfels, the Comal River gives up its dominance and merges into the Guadalupe.

Native Americans long ago took advantage of these areas along the river valley. Most were nomadic, generally peaceful and lived off the bounty of the land and rivers. Fish, oysters and clams were a few of the many sources of food from the water, and deer, turkeys and rabbits provided food from the land. Berries and nuts grew in abundance along the river valley. Other nomadic tribes were not so peaceful because the area was also the hunting grounds of the Comanche.

The German immigrants were the first Europeans to actually settle in the Guadalupe Valley. One of those settlements about which we will speak became Sattler, named for Wilhelm Sattler.

Alton Rahe and Brenda Anderson-Lindemann have done extensive research on the Sattler area. Notice that I said “Sattler area.” There was not a town of Sattler although there is an area referred to as Sattler. The name of the current location of Sattler was given to the area over 136 years ago after it was relocated from the original Sattler postal station founded over 160 years ago. The area over time has also been referred to and includes Walhalla, Marienthal, Hidden Valley, Mountain Valley and of course, Sattler. Research is hard enough without this confusion. Just remember the Sattler of today includes these other settlements.

Areas frequently became named the same as the postal station established and this is how it happened. Wilhelm Sattler contracted with the US government to operate a postal station. In 1856, he was approved for the postal station and operated out of a log cabin built on his ranch. There is, however, a postal journal owned by the family that records transactions as early as 1849. Wilhelm’s son Heinrich was appointed postmaster in 1856. When Heinrich was killed in the Civil War, it is possible that Wilhelm acted as postmaster in place of Heinrich. The post office is still standing and in remarkable condition. Next to the small structure, Sattler built his home and two other log cabins. One of the log cabins was Wilhelm’s office for bookbinding and bookkeeping and the other was where he officiated as a judge.

Where is this Sattler ranch and first post office? It is located just north of FM 306 on Point Creek Road between Point Creek and the Guadalupe River. After Wilhelm Sattler’s death in 1880, community members moved the post office to a more central location in a general store in the area that is now considered Sattler at the crossroad of River Road and FM 2673.

Here is a little more about the Sattler family. Wilhelm Sattler and his wife Sophia arrived in Texas in 1845 from Germany. Sattler drew town lot 230 in New Braunfels. He is on Oscar Haas’ first founder list. The family settled in Comaltown in New Braunfels at an unknown date, however, it is known that he was selected as a city alderman (city councilman) for the Comaltown district in 1849. He was one of the organizers of the Comal Union School located in Comaltown.

In 1853, Sattler bought 320 acres of mountainous land from Texas land agent, Jacob de Cardova. It was on this property that the home, post office and other offices were built. His profession was bookbinding and bookkeeping for prominent New Braunfels men like Hermann Seele, Dr. Theodor Koester, Franz Moreau and Ferdinand Lindheimer. He was a member of Texas Land Commission and worked on and off in Austin. Sattler was educated, spoke several languages, and had an extensive library in his home. Unfortunately, due to a fire in 1925 in the home, the book collection burned but the postal journal survived.

Presently six families that are direct descendants of Wilhelm and Sophia Sattler live on the property. The ranch is not as large as the initial 800+ acre Sattler Ranch but it still maintains the beauty of the Guadalupe River Valley ranch of old. One of the g-g-g-grandsons of Wilhelm Sattler, Ed Walker, was my guide on the ranch recently. The Point Creek, named because of the point formed where the creek joins the Guadalupe River, has two waterfalls on the property. Ed operates the Point Creek Haven Cabins at the confluence of the Point Creek and the Guadalupe River with ¼ mile of river frontage. The cabins are on the outside of the Guadalupe River horseshoe that goes from FM 306 to FM 306. It reminds me of my childhood days on the Guadalupe River experiencing the slow-paced lazy days of summer cooling off in the river.

The old post office is nearby and all manner of animals inhabit the place-peacocks, emus, guineas, a turtle, ducks and Texas longhorns. The Sattler family cemetery is located across Point Creek from the post office and contains the graves of Wilhelm and Sophia Sattler and other family members. The cemetery has been designated as a Historic Texas Cemetery.

The Sattler descendants are very conservation minded and the whole piece of property shows a respect for heritage and a desire for preservation. The Sattler Post Office is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.

And now that you are not confused anymore, we can talk about the other names associated with the Sattler area.

The name Walhalla in Norse mythology was the “hall of Odin.” Odin receives the souls of heroes slain in battle. The early settlers named their dance hall after this mythological hall and the Walhalla Singing Society. Four halls were built over time with the same name but in different places. The last hall was next to the VFW Canteen Lounge at the corner of River Road and FM 2673 (or the old Sattler-Cranes Mill Road). It is no longer standing.

Another name in the Sattler area is known as Mountain Valley. The Mountain Creek runs through this valley, therefore possibly the name Mountain Valley. It was the location of the Mountain Valley School that closed in 1957. There is also a Mountain Valley Cemetery located in the area.

Hidden Valley was used to describe an area accessible by only one dead-end road that went from the current Sattler intersection towards the Guadalupe River. It is still there but now mostly covered by Canyon Dam. It is the direction of the South Access Road.

The last but not least area was called Marienthal that means Marie’s Valley. In 1849, New Braunfels merchants Ferguson and Hessler established a farm located where FM 306 crosses the Guadalupe River. It was a 300+ acre farm named after Ferguson’s wife Marie. Use of the name for that location continued into the 1900s.

Near the municipal buildings, there is a Texas historical marker titled “Sattler.” With the Weil-Nowotny-Guenther Store, post office, dance hall, cotton gin and bowling alley, the area served as a gathering place for farm and ranch families. Changes came after the building of Canyon Dam but the heritage of Sattler remains significant in the history of Comal County.

By looking at the different names of mountains and valleys in this area of the Guadalupe Valley one can see why it is still considered one of the most beautiful Texas Hill Country areas.

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Next Saturday, March 28^th at 11:00 a.m. a rededication of an historical marker will take place at the Canyon Dam Overlook. All are invited to view this beautiful view of the lake and dam. This site which was originally honored in 1968 with a Texas Historical Commission marker was vandalized and the marker removed some time ago. It has been replaced. Words on the new marker read:

IN THIS AREA, NOW COVERED BY CANYON LAKE, GERMAN EMIGRANTS WERE THE FIRST SETTLERS. A SOCIETY OF NOBLES (MAINZER ADELSVEREIN) SPONSORED THE EMIGRATION OF 7,380 GERMANS TO TEXAS FROM 1844 to 1847. THEY FOUNDED NEW BRAUNFELS IN 1845. MOVING WEST, THEY ESTABLISHED FREDERICKSBURG IN 1846. THEIR COMANCHE INDIAN TREATY OPENED 3,800,000 ACRES BETWEEN THE LLANO AND COLORADO RIVERS TO PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT. FARMERS AND ARTISANS, SCHOLARS AND SCIENTISTS, THEY TRIUMPHED OVER EPIDEMIC AND PRIVATION TO HELP BUILD TEXAS AND THE WEST.

Sponsoring the marker are the German American Society of New Braunfels, Helgard Suhr-Hollis, John and Cindy Coers, the Canyon Lake Rotary Club, the Canyon Lake Noon Lions Club, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/GBRA, the Comal County Historical Commission and the Texas Historical Commission. Installation of the new marker was provided by Don and Jean Koepp, Bob Warnecke, and John and Karin Brooks with Danny Zunker of Brooks Stone Ranch. The marker is mounted on a 2,000 pound limestone rock from the area.

It is appropriate to honor the German Pioneers in Texas at this site. Canyon Lake, filled by the Guadalupe River, was the settling place of so many.

The idea of constructing this dam to minimize flooding and conserve water goes as far back as 1929 when the idea arose. After a survey in 1935, plans were authorized and construction began in 1958. In 1964, the gates were closed and the lake began to fill. The water reached its conservation level of 909 ft. (ideal) above sea level in 1968.The flow of the upper Guadalupe, plus rainfall, constantly allows the Corps of Engineers and the GBRA to control the lake level. This is done by monitoring the amount of water flowing from the Guadalupe into the lake every day and the lake level. If the amount of water is too great, the amount released below the dam is increased and sent down to the lower Guadalupe River.

The spillway crest is 943 ft. At the dam’s outlet, a maximum release of water is 5,000 cubic feet per second.

The building of Canyon Dam and Lake has saved many lives and millions of dollars which would have been lost as a result of flooding. Flooding on the Guadalupe affects towns all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. When you drive out River Road next to the Guadalupe River, look up and you can see how high flood levels reached probably thousands of years ago.

The year 2002 saw the lake overflow the spillway for the first time in the history of the lake. With a recorded elevation of 950.32 feet, water went over the spillway in a very short time. This overflowing of the spillway, created the Canyon Lake Gorge. It has become a “true Hill Country treasure” unearthing fossils, 110 million years old, crustaceous limestone formations, dinosaur footprints, springs, channels, and waterfalls. For a small price and a reservation for a tour, the three-hour walk is available at canyongorge.org.

With the first flood above the dam in 1978, the lake reached 930.60 ft. Another 20 feet and it would have been over the spillway. Another flood in 1987, the lake reached 942.67 feet and another in 1991 reached 937.77. In 1997 an elevation of 937.60 feet was attained. The 2002 level was the flood of record.

When the lake level is under the conservation level, the gates below the dam are adjusted, waiting for rain on the upper Guadalupe to flow into the lake. The lowest the lake has been was 892.70 in 2009. This, of course was the result of the drought.

In 2011, I wrote an article for the Sophienburg column printed in this newspaper called
“So, what exactly is under Canyon Lake?” I think some of the information bears repeating:

Imagine the Canyon Lake area with no lake. What would it have been like? Ranchland, farmland, trees, cemeteries, the Guadalupe River and the site of two very small communities, Hancock and Cranes Mill. These two communities would eventually be under the lake.

Hancock was named after John Hancock, who in 1851, was granted land on the north bank of the Guadalupe River. Although a thriving little community, the population of Hancock had dwindled to 10 in 1940.

The community of Cranes Mill was the other community that is under water. James Crain established a cypress shingle mill along the Guadalupe River in 1850. Crain changed the spelling of his name to Crane in the Civil War. No one knows why, but it’s been Cranes Mill ever since.

Where there are communities, there are cemeteries. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1958 was responsible for the re-interment of approximately 89 bodies from 16 cemeteries along the Guadalupe that would be under water. These remains were moved to various other cemeteries like Comal Cemetery, Fischer Cemetery, Mt. Sharp Cemetery, Twin Sisters Cemetery, and some smaller family cemeteries. Each plot was researched and next of kin contacted in order to get permission as to where the remains would be moved. Many opted to not have the remains removed, which was their choice.

Two years ago John and Cindy Coers, who are members of the Comal County Historical Commission, decided to trace the re-interment of John’s great- great- grandparents, Heinrich and Karoline Startz Coers. What they found out was not only where the Coers lived, but where they were buried. Their bodies were re-interred to the Fischer Cemetery.

Heinrich Coers emigrated from Germany in 1846 and settled in the Guadalupe River Valley. He and his wife were buried on the Coers property along the Guadalupe River. John Coers was able to locate photographs of the original interment sites along with headstones for both Heinrich and Karoline. She died in 1864 and her tombstone was destroyed. The family decided to leave her stone, but move the body. The tombstone is now under the lake. Heinrich’s stone was in good condition and it was moved intact to the Fischer cemetery. A beautiful inscription on the tombstone in German, here translated in English, reads:

You have quietly carried your burden through the Pilgrim’s Valley. Christ was your life and dying your gain.

The Coers have partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and have scanned all of the re-interment documents. They will be soon available for research purposes at the Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

“Rest in Peace” seems quite appropriate.

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