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 utopian settlement in Texas.

The group of about 40 young men organized in the town of Darmstadt, Germany. Why 40s? Because there were roughly 40 of them in the 1840s.

Why freethinkers? Because their liberal ideas were very much against the norm in the small principalities that would later become united Germany. The freethinker movement claimed to be against political and religious tyranny. The Darmstadters wanted to create a classless society with no ruler and guiding themselves by common collective consent. There would be no private property.

The organization of the Darmstadt group of the 1840s was encouraged by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, John O. Meusebach, and Hermann Spiess, the first three commissioner-generals of the Adelsverein. Prince Carl and Hermann Spiess made speeches at the Universities of Giessen and Heidelberg about setting up a utopian type socialistic colony (The word Utopia was coined by Sir Thomas More four hundred years ago in which he described a perfect society). Prince Carl also made speeches at the Industrial School at Darmstadt. He said Texas would be perfect for their communistic and socialistic ideas of freedom and equality; it was a young republic and susceptible to new ideas.

The young university fraternity men’s social life was made up of a fondness for sword dueling, singing, drinking grog (combination of weak beer and rum), and talking. Immediately I pictured a scene from Romberg’s musical “The Student Prince” with its well-known song “Drink, Drink, Drink”. Five men gradually emerged as leaders – Gustav Schleicher, Ferdinand von Herff, Hermann Spiess, Friedrich Schenk, and Julius Wegner. Von Herff had the potential to become a famous surgeon and Hermann Spiess, a naturalist, would become Meusebach’s successor as commissioner- general. Spiess and von Herff first met in the 1830s at the Gymnasium (high school) in Darmstadt.

Spiess had traveled through the United States for two years in 1845-46. He visited NB, then returned to Germany and met with von Herff in Darmstadt. Von Herff was part of a social circle of idealists including Alexander von Humbolt, the Grimm brothers, and poets Bettina von Arnim and Hoffman von Fallensleben.

These endless talks on the university scene led to the intellectual groundwork of the Darmstadt group and finally created the resolve to leave Germany and move to the U.S. The group lacked money, so when Spiess suggested that they join the Adelsverein, they accepted, even though most of them were against the aristocratic system. The Darmstadt probably could never have financed their project alone and, after all, the Adelsverein had free land.

There was trouble within the group from the start. Immediately von Herff took over as leader and that was the exact opposite of the idea of everyone being on equal ground.

Arrival

The Darmstadters arrived at Indian Point on July 4, 1847, and used 14 carts provided by Spiess. They walked, singing German fraternity songs along the way. Some with money bought horses. It was noted that none of them knew any English except von Herff.

When they arrived in New Braunfels they camped outside the Sophienburg (headquarters of the Adelsverein). Not to waste time before leaving for the Llano, they bought 500 acres of land two and a half miles away from NB (location later became Danville). Here they planted vegetables and grapes, built log cabins and called the area the Darmstadt Farm.

Bettina

On Sept 1, one month later, the group left for Fredericksburg. Gustav Schleicher stayed behind to run the farm in Comal County. Reaching the north bank of the Llano, they named the place Bettina after the liberal writer Bettina von Arnim, the woman who inspired the movement. There they built a large log building where all slept on camp beds and began their utopian experiment. There was no Indian problem because John Meusebach had already made a treaty with the Indians and the Comanches received medical help from von Herff. He had actually removed cataracts from the eyes of one of the Comanche chiefs. For that, the chief presented the doctor with a 14 year old captured girl from Mexico who would later become the wife of Hermann Spiess.

Failure

After less than a year, the utopian experiment was doomed to failure because it was humanly impossible to live up to its own ideals. The professionals in the group wanted to direct and order and not work. The laborers and mechanics could not see the justice in what was happening and so they did nothing. The educated men didn’t know farming, and just wanted to hunt and read classical literature. Most did not want to take orders from Herff and Spiess. Within the organization, discord arose over ownership of property.

As other utopian experiments had done, Bettina failed. By 1848, only eight people were left. In the U.S. between 1663 and 1860, one source claimed that there were 130 idealistic utopian communities attempted. Bettina was the first in Texas. And so, the Darmstadt utopia rose and fell.

What happened to the forty 40s? Some went back to Germany, some to other communities in the hill country and some came back to the Darmstadt Farm in Comal County. Many joined together with another freethinker group called the “48ers” who arrived after the 1848 Revolution in Germany. Being strongly against slavery, the Texas freethinkers joined together during the Civil War against the Confederacy. Individuals from these freethinker groups did much to further education in Texas, to further freedom for all and to advance scientific advancements for all.

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff

We are celebrating the 175th Anniversary of New Braunfels and its unique culture in which music played a large part. Music creates sounds that evoke different emotions. Sounds representing joy, sadness, patriotism, history and love and can be produced through many different instruments and particularly through the voice. “Music has charms to soothe the savage breast, to soften and bend the knotted oak.” (William Congreve, an English playwright and poet).

German immigrants brought their music with them when they made their way across the ocean to the shores of the Republic of Texas. One might say that the Germans brought their culture with them by singing. Vocal music can be easily produced and consequently shared by everyone.

The sounds of music are universal. Add words to the tunes and an even clearer picture of the culture emerges. Listen to the rousing Wurstfest song, “Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemutlichkeit” and immediately words added to the tune convey a toast, (“Ein Prosit”) and (“Gemutlichkeit “) meaning good wishes or happiness. Now you know something about the culture. The poet Longfellow said “…the soul of man is revealed through his voice.”

A humorous story first told by Hermann Seele, and repeated many times, was this: The immigrants had strung a table across the flooding Guadalupe River and made a boat out of the bed of an oxen wagon to bring provisions over across the river. One day a barrel of white wine was being hauled across the river and ended up on a stone embankment. The barrel sprung a leak and the men used hats or pots and pans to catch and drink the wine until their jubilation rose above the rush of the waters, singing the song put to verse by Prince Carl and set to music by Captain Alexis Bauer. The song was “Durch des Weltmeers Wogen,” meaning “Through the Ocean Waves.” This story has a lot of “Reallys?” to it but what good story doesn’t?

From the beginning of New Braunfels, music, particularly singing, was a part of family and community life. Germans love to gather together with people of similar interests. It is understandable that singing groups organized early on. I remember that as a child, I would go with my mother to be with her family and they would sit around talking and suddenly burst into song. I thought everyone’s family did that.

In 1850, a singing society named Germania was organized. Under the direction of Gottfried Petmecky, the group sang at their first event July 4th, celebration on the banks of the Comal River. Two cannons were fired to open the celebration. The cannons were brought to New Braunfels in the early years by Prince Carl. July 4th continued to be celebrated in the same manner for the next two years.

In 1853, the July 4th celebration was held on Hermann Seele’s property. A parade through town was led by the Rifle Company and the Singing Society. They were singing what they called “jolly songs.” The Singing Society kept good records of this first event. They (the Society) stomped the clay ground and covered it with tarps topped with branches. Tables were placed inside, and the celebration lasted until dawn the next day. Quite a celebration in true German fashion. Ein Prosit!

It was on this same property that the Society (Saengerbund) built a dance hall called the Saengerhalle. They decided that they would host a festival. Invitations were sent out to nearby groups. Seventy-three singers risked their lives crossing the flooded Guadalupe River to attend. After the event, an informal dance was held.

By 1876, many other singing societies had formed. During World War I and II, German singing society memberships declined due to the unpopularity of German singing. Texas Germans endured anti-German sentiments. They were forbidden to speak German and fewer were willing to openly celebrate their heritage. After WWII, several societies experienced a rebirth. Eventually larger singing leagues were formed and organized. These leagues sponsored Saengerfests or singing festivals.

Several local organizations formed over the years. In 1937, the Gemischter Chor Harmonie was established as a men’s singing club. By 1952, the Gemischter Chor Harmonie had grown to become a mixed choir with both men and women members. However, membership slowly began to decline by the late 1950s due to the aging of the original singers who had been with the group since its founding. Television by this time was competing on the entertainment scene. Then in 1959, the singing groups, Gesangverein Echo, Gemischter Chor Frohsinn and Gemischter Chor Harmonie, decided to build a new hall on property that was donated by Gilbert Becker. This second Saengerhalle was built to continue cultural traditions like Seele’s hall built in 1850. The new Saengerhalle hosted many concerts and family events. In 1996, that hall was sold due to the inability to keep up the expenses.

The Gemischter Chor Harmonie is the only singing group that’s still in existence in Comal County after eighty-two years. They show resilience and dedication and they continue to promote the German heritage and culture through their music.

Research for this article was done by John and Cindy Coers for the purpose of applying for a Texas Historical Marker to be placed in Landa Park.

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Andrew White, a New Braunfels High School senior, is the recipient of the Myra Lee Adams Goff Sophienburg History Scholarship. In order to be awarded the $1,000 scholarship, high school seniors from all over Comal County are invited to write an essay about an historical person or event in Comal County. Andrew wrote the history of Schlitterbahn. It follows at the end of this column. Part of his essay is about his life expectations. Andrew will enter the University of Texas at Austin next fall to study journalism. I think you will see that this young man has something important to say:

Personal life – Andrew White

I come from a long line of proud, courageous and honorable men and women. I think back only two generations to my great-grandfather, who flew every bomber under the sun during the dark days of WWII. He served our country’s Air Force for over 30 years during some of the most dangerous and harrowing times our great nation has ever faced. Step forward a generation and you find my two grandfathers. One was a pastor who once smuggled supplies to build a church across the Mexican border, while the other stood bravely alongside death himself on the Korean DMZ. And finally, my parents. My father was a winner of the Red Cross Hero of the Year Award, a Captain for Austin EMS, and a dedicated public servant for over two decades now. My mother is a Forensic Interviewer for sexually abused children, who saves the lives of hundreds of children each year, despite seeing humanity’s worst side day after day for nearly a decade straight. Each and every one of these people have partaken in a fight bigger than themselves, using their skills and talents to impact a countless number of lives. So, naturally, I’ve lived my entire life hoping to have but half of an impact as those who raised me did. However, I am not a soldier. I am decidedly not equipped to interview abused children like my mother, nor am I seemingly unaffected by even the goriest scenes like my father. Instead, my passion and talents stem from a different source entirely: words.

From the moment I learned to talk, I have been obsessed with words. Talking, writing, singing, I loved all of it. I devoured books in mere hours, and spent more time during recess with my nose in-between the pages of a novel than I would like to admit. But as I grew older, I was drawn specially to writing. There was something archaic and anciently beautiful about the act of putting a pen to paper and making even our wildest fantasies real and tangible. And after all, who is more impactful than the writer? From Shakespeare to Locke, Thomas Jefferson to Hemingway, writers are unique because they can impact millions of people from millions of places, all at the exact same time, by simply using their words. And that, I think, is my goal in life. To earn my degree, be it in Journalism or Creative Writing, and then use it to write. To put my thoughts into words, and allow others to put my words into action. To talk about social issues, and give a voice to those that need to be heard. To spread my values and ideas and beliefs, and impact the people who read them, just like my father and Shakespeare, my mother and Hemingway. To impact people, and to make a difference.

Sometimes, I think of myself as a paradox. Because, at this moment, I am the manifest of everyone that came before me. Everything the generations prior to me worked and fought for are represented in me and my freedoms. It’s my duty and my future to carry out the legacy of courage and honor and change that they implemented in me. And yet, though I am the manifest of the past, I am but a stepping stone for the future, and those who will come after me. I hope that one day my little brother, and maybe even my own kids one day, will look up to me and say that I was an agent of change. That I was someone who made a difference through his words and his action, and impacted the people he cared about most. In the end, how much money we make or what accomplishments we earned are irrelevant. What matters is the legacy we leave behind, the impressions we leave on the people we held most dear. And that legacy, that impression I want to leave, drives me. It is my end goal; my white whale, and I will fight for it until my final days.

History of Schlitterbahn by Andrew White

Nearly 40 years ago, an event occurred that would shape the future of our great city, as well as shift the entire landscape of the Texas Hill Country. An innovative, daring and renowned destination opened its gates for the first time on August 2^nd, 1979 when Bobby and Billye Henry opened a local resort and turned it into the greatest waterpark monopoly known to man: Schlitterbahn.

Our growing town has long predicated itself on one of the most driving factors of economy: Tourism. Year after year, thousands upon thousands of people from all over the world visit New Braunfels, Texas. Whether it be to see the massive waterpark, visit the historic Comal River, or just to get a taste of what German Culture is like, tourists are what make our little town the second fastest growing county in the entire country. And what bigger draw than Schlitterbahn itself? Widely known as the greatest waterpark in the world (as their advertisements demonstrably declare), the allure of a fresh cold dip into the water is a welcome reprieve from the crushing Texas heat. And while it is impossible to truly gauge, I would wager that an incredibly large percentage of people who have moved here did so in part because of the proximity to the park. In fact, my very own parents moved here from Lubbock because my father wanted to work as the head first aid officer at Schlitterbahn in 2002. And I know my family’s story is anything but unique in that regard.

In my opinion, aside from Prince Solms himself setting foot here so many years ago, the opening of Schlitterbahn is the most pivotal moment in New Braunfels history. Without all the exposure and visitors the waterpark has brought, I doubt our town would have reached the lofty heights it has. The economy alone would be vastly different, as we would lose a primary source of income for the city. All the local restaurants and shops and attractions have, without a doubt, benefited from the tourism our city is known for, and much of that tourism can be solely attributed to the park. Overall, Schlitterbahn is responsible for over two million visitors across five states each year, and it all started in the humble town of New Braunfels.

But the effect Schlitterbahn has had on our town goes even deeper. As I mentioned earlier, we are now the second fastest growing county in the nation, a statistic which can be no doubt attributed in part to the waterpark. With the massive influx of residents, real estate has gone through the roof, and with each passing day, the city expands farther and farther, and every plot of land becomes more and more valuable. Some predictions say that within the next 20 years Austin, New Braunfels and San Antonio will merge along the I-35 corridor into a massive metropolis, a meteoric rise from a town that was a mere 50,000 strong just ten years ago. And it is all due in part to the attraction, tourism and exposure Schlitterbahn brings.

While this city of ours has an impressive and rich history, I would argue that no date is more important than August 2nd, 1979, when the gates of tourism were opened and the trajectory of New Braunfels was changed forever. The energy, revenue and exposure Schlitterbahn brings to the town makes it an invaluable and crucial part of our culture, and its impact cannot be overstated.

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