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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New Braunfels. Fast-growing Central Texas city. Most likely the only American city founded by a Prince. Settled by Germans. If you live in or near New Braunfels, you probably know this. Here at the Sophienburg Museum and Archives, we tell the story of New Braunfels every day, but did you know our beloved “Beauty Spot of Texas” was a Plan B?

During the 1840’s, Europe was in turmoil both economically and politically. Noblemen from several German states decided to “help relieve” overcrowding by colonizing the new Republic of Texas (as England had done in America). They created the Verein zum Schutz deutscher Einwandrer in Texas (Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas) or simply, Adelsverein (Society of Noblemen). Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels was selected to go ahead to secure the needed lands and provisions. The Adelsverein was able to recruit many countrymen who desired a new life in Texas. The first three ships sailed in October 1844, with one trunk per family (and you thought our airline bag fees were tough!). Many emigrants had sold all they had to pay for the trip which was to include passage, transportation from coast to settlement, 320 acres of land, housing, warehouse of provisions, implements, seeds, farm animals, education and churches in the Fischer-Miller Grant. Prince Carl, arriving in Texas ahead of the group, learned that the Fischer-Miller Grant was out in the middle of Commanche hunting territory and too far from the coast. He seriously needed a Plan B. On March 16, 1845, he purchased a 1265 acre tract nestled on the edge of the Balcones Escarpment between two rivers for the bargain price of $1111. With the ink barely dry on the land deal, the Prince and his entourage met the first immigrants at the Guadalupe River on Good Friday, March 21, 1845. Each immigrant was offered a half-acre town lot and 10 acre farm lot, quite a let down from the promised 320 acres. The Adelsverein’s rating went down from there.

The next wave of German immigrants arrived between the fall of 1845 and April 1846. More than 5200 people landed in Galveston and Indianola and were left to fend for themselves. There were no wagons because they were hired out to haul for the Mexican War. There was no housing, forcing some to camp for more than six months under tents, exposing them to harsh winter weather conditions on the coast. An epidemic broke out, with more than two-thirds of the immigrants falling ill. Of those who decided to travel onward to New Braunfels, proportionately few made it. They brought the epidemic with them, losing family members along the road and infecting their new town. Instead of being greeted by a Prince, the sick and starving immigrants arrived to see the river swollen from floods, unable to cross. They were promised provisions of food, finding instead nothing on hand but cheap “unwholesome beef”.

How do we know these things? Whatever did we do before Ancestry.com? Much like people document their lives in photographs or on social media, people wrote accounts of their travels in diaries, journals and letters back home. And just like today, important actions were recorded in the minutes of meetings of government and social organizations, providing us all a wonderful treasure trove of what early New Braunfels was like. Except, it is all in old German. Enter Oscar Haas and his curiosity.

Oscar Haas was born in October of 1885, at Cranes Mill, a third- generation descendant of German colonists in Texas. His ancestors were among the 5000 immigrants landing in Indianola in the fall of 1845. He moved with his family to Blanco County and then in 1897 to New Braunfels at age 12. He attended the old New Braunfels Academy for third through sixth grade before going to work in a grocery store. He worked his way to a dry goods business partnership. In 1934, at age 49, Haas was elected Comal County treasurer. For twenty-eight years he served the county. It was during his time in the courthouse that he discovered the original Commissioners Court minutes book of 1846. His discovery immediately sparked a lifelong interest in our history and sharing it with others. He began writing articles about the details of the court minutes for the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung (German) and the New Braunfels Herald. Now remember, the minutes were in old German script. He actually copied and hand wrote the full translations of the documents on whatever scraps of paper he had – the backs of calendars, old election ballots, etc. before writing the articles. In 1944-45, he wrote the columns “99 years ago” and “100 years ago” before the city celebrated its Centennial. He continued to write articles until his retirement in 1962, when he focused his energies on writing a book, History of New Braunfels and Comal County, Texas 1844-1946. Published in 1968, it was the most comprehensive book written about the founding of New Braunfels, becoming the bible of local historians and genealogists. 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the book. It is still in print (fourth printing) and can be found at Sophie’s Shop inside the Sophienburg Museum and Archives. Here’s to Oscar Haas, successful businessman and public servant, and most notably a “history geek” extraordenaire.

Sources:

• History of New Braunfels and Comal County, Texas, 1844-1946 by Oscar Haas
• Sophienburg Archives

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Tourism has been an important economic facet in New Braunfels for many years. All can agree that the beauty of natural springs bubbling out of a rocky hillside to form the crystal clear Comal River, Landa Park, historic homes and businesses, music venues in century old dance halls, and the beer, sausage and Gemütlichkeit of Wurstfest are not really a difficult sell. But who started it all? Who was the very first tour guide of New Braunfels?

After a quick search through the Archives, I found that it might be a man by the name of Karl Klinger. Okay, so this might need a little background. In 1845, New Braunfels was settled by German immigrants led by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, Commissioner General of “The Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas” or Adelsverein. When the townsite was surveyed and laid out, the Prince chose a large section of land for the Adelsverein. According to the earliest town maps, the land was bordered by what is today Hill Street, Guenther Street, Cross Street and Butcher Street. A three-room log cabin with large doors was built on the crest of the small hill overlooking the settlement to serve as both the Adelsverein headquarters and guest quarters for visiting dignitaries. The building was also to be the beginning of a fortress to protect the colonists. Now, Prince Carl was already betrothed to Princess Sophia of Salm-Salm, so he did not stick around long in New Braunfels (actually only about 6 weeks). Before he left for his homeland, he dedicated the property and named the log structure “Sophienburg” (Sophia’s Fortress) in honor of his fiancée. A couple of other structures were erected on the site including a supply warehouse (or magazine) for foodstuffs and farm implements (thus the street named Magazine Avenue). After the Adelsverein went bankrupt in 1847, the whole Sophienburg Hill property was sold & divided to satisfy debts. The original headquarters building fell into disrepair, standing as a decaying memory of the Verein for over forty years until it was destroyed in a storm (that’s another story for another time).

For a good part of those forty years, the original Sophienburg building was occupied by Christian (aka Karl) Klinger as a sort of caretaker. Klinger had immigrated to Texas in 1845 as a servant of Prince Carl from the Province of Bavaria. He is listed in census records as a “joiner”, which is an antiquated term for someone who joins wooden building components like stairs, doors, and window frames. He also served during the Civil War in Captain F. Heidemeyer’s Company of Infantry, Texas State Troops, 31^st Brigade with the rank of Private. According to an 1888 New Braunfels Zeitung article, Karl Klinger lived in the “only rainproof corner” of the dilapidated old Sophienburg headquarters building until it collapsed (now that’s dedication!). So, what do you do when your historical hilltop home is blown away? What Klinger would do — build a small cabin to operate out of, keep on showing people around the site, keep telling the history of the Prince, Sophienburg Hill and stories about his time as a bugler in the Prussian Regiment of the Guards. To support himself, he sold such items as candy, soda drinks, homemade cider and postcards… the first tour guide and father of tourism in New Braunfels! Klinger was so well known that he was even included in an anonymous poem lovingly penned in German and submitted to the Zeitung in 1877:

The Sophienburg in New Braunfels

At New Braunfels on the hill
An old ruin perched;
There once dwelt the knight
Where now the Klinger lives.
He planes there all day
He tends to play the flute,
His beer is good, the cider clear
For Little money, one gets a lot.
And if you step out in front of the door,
One sees a friendly picture’
There lies the town in green adornment
Shrouded with gardens.
Prince Solms, a good knight,
Had this house built
Thirty-two years ago
To see something different.
After his much loved Lady
Did the Prince name it.
Sophienburg was its name,
So it is still known today.
There in the valley below swayed
The grasses back and forth,
Where you see the manicured farms
Was in those days, bare and desolate.
Wherever the eye turns
One sees today the fruits of Labor
What the parent’s diligence provided,
Was a blessing for their young.

Fast forward to 1928 and when S.V. Pfeuffer, along with a handful of very civic minded people, raised money during The Great Depression to acquire part of the Hill property and build a museum and library. The Museum, built on the original Hill Property, was dedicated on October 8, 1933. New Braunfels Herald accounts of the dedication reported “this was the first instance in the Southwest, at least, where a memorial has risen on the exact site where a city or town had its birth.”

Almost 84 years to the day, the Sophienburg Hill will be recognized by The Texas Historical Commission as a significant part of Texas history by awarding it an Official Texas Historical Marker. The designation honors Sophienburg Hill as an important and educational part of local history. As an added bonus, The Lindheimer Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas will also recognize the Sophienburg Hill as an Historic Site of the Republic of Texas.

A ceremony to commemorate these two events will be held on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 401 W. Coll at 5:15 pm. The Comal County Historical Commission invites the public to share in and witness this exciting dedication of the historical Sophienburg Hill.

Sources:

• Neu Braunfelser Zeitung
• New Braunfels Herald
• The First Founders, by Everett A. Fey
• THC application for site status

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