By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

A drive through downtown New Braunfels is somewhat like a visual history of architecture course comparing different architectural styles from 1845 to mid-20th century. It may just look like a bunch of old buildings sitting side by side to some, but they tell the cultural and socioeconomic timeline of our city.

Take the old city hall building on the corner of Seguin Avenue and Mill Street, before the Wiggins Hospitality Company began transforming the historic building into its newest eatery, the building did not seem to fit in with the more traditional Italian Renaissance-style structures of downtown. It had no distinctive curvilinear parapet, no arched windows, no fancy metal cornice. Simply put, the building was rather plain. Why is it so different?

While we do generally think of government buildings being more about function than aesthetics, the design differences of our old city hall had more to do with the era in which it was built.

The good citizens of New Braunfels had established a government consisting of two elected commissioners and a mayor to handle the city’s business. For a number of years, the city commission and the city clerk occupied space in the courthouse, a massive 3½-story Romanesque-style structure built in 1898.

By early 1929, New Braunfels had grown so much that the city required more clerical help and more space. The county closed in the west courthouse porches to office the city clerk. The need for a real free-standing city hall with adequate space for city staff and records was evident.

Grown? Yep! The decade of the 1920s saw tremendous growth in Texas and New Braunfels due to several key factors. The Second Industrial Revolution took place in the U.S. from 1890 to 1930, infused by innovations in electricity, steel, railroad expansion and oil. The Comal Power Plant was built and came online in 1926, creating new jobs. The end of World War I in 1918 saw soldiers returning armed with new skills. They flooded the urban areas seeking jobs and homes. Our proximity to San Antonio military bases helped. New Braunfels’ population increased by nearly 74 percent in 10 years! Yikes! The little town was becoming a city and had nothing more to their name than a couple of desks, chairs and some records in an office they did not own.

In May of 1929, a bond issue of $35,000 passed to construct a city hall and to acquire the necessary land. Several sites were considered: the Peter Nowotny site (Seguin and Mill); the Landa residence (now County Annex), a lot at Bridge and Seguin, the Comal Hotel (now Prince Solms Inn), Eggling Market Square (possibly Markt Platz as Eggling was previous the name of Comal Hotel), and a lot near the City Hospital (Sts. Peter and Paul Thrift area). Obviously, they chose the corner of Seguin and Mill. Good choice!

By mid-July the City Commission had not only purchased the lot, they had also chosen architect Jeremiah Schmidt. Schmidt was busy between 1929 and 1933, designing and supervising a number of buildings in New Braunfels, including the First National Bank, Comal County jail and courthouse, Seele Parish House, Fire Station No. 2 on Coll Street, and Sophienburg Museum, all in varying styles.

Schmidt’s designs for the old city hall are Classic Moderne, a sub-class of Art Deco architecture. True to the Classic Moderne distinguishing features, the original old city hall has a flat roof with a small ledge at the roof-line, horizontal lines and geometric designs, decorative stone banding, metal casement windows, and glass-block windows used as front door accents. Most importantly, it had prominent outdoor steps rising to a centered, arched entry door on three sides to give the square building a powerful presence. For those of you who have looked at that building all your lives, yes, it originally had an over-sized arched front door.

The contract was let to Sipple Construction, and they broke ground on Tuesday, October 22, 1929, with 110 days to complete work. The stock market crashed exactly one week later, Tuesday, October 29, 1929. The Great Depression took a little while to trickle down to New Braunfels, but they were told to rush the work in December.

The city hall was finished and opened on Tuesday, May 7,1930, at a cost of $30,000. The building housed the city staff of four, Chamber of Commerce and the Board of City Development offices. Summer came and their new building was so warm that the city commission paid to have electric ceiling fans and desk fans installed. The final payment on the 1930 city hall was made in September 1955.

City hall became home to other departments over time. The police department, originally based out of Central Fire Station, moved into the basement. In 1955, an exterior light was added to the basement door since they went in and out at night. The police department moved into their own little white brick building next to old Central Fire Station in 1959. (That little building was later torn down for the new Central Station). New Braunfels Independent School District moved into the city hall basement offices vacated by the police department.

At some unknown point before 1959, renovations were made to the old city hall. They replaced the front doors, bricked in the archway, and hung a metal canopy over the entrance. They installed metal awnings over the windows and, although more efficient, completely changed the clean Art Deco styling.

When the city offices moved into a new home on Castell Avenue in 1992, the Sophienburg Memorial Association purchased the 1930 city hall building to house the ever-growing archives. Following the completion of a new city library, the City of New Braunfels gifted the Dittlinger Memorial Library to the Sophienburg Memorial Association in 2001. The old city hall building was sold to fund renovations to the Dittlinger library building, creating an archives library and museum exhibit hall.

Since that time, the old city hall building at Seguin and Mill has served as office space and restaurants. I’m looking forward to the new Old City Hall Restaurant, making something old new again.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

For more than 90 years, the Sophienburg Museum and Archives has maintained artifacts and archival documents to keep the history of New Braunfels alive. Part of our mission is to not only preserve the history of New Braunfels, but to share the stories with the generations that follow. It is both exciting and necessary for the next generation to come back and share with us.

In an effort to promote the love of history, the Sophienburg Memorial Association established the Sophienburg History Award honoring Myra Lee Adams Goff for her dedication to the community and her steadfast love of history. The award, established in 2013, recognizes a student who demonstrates a love and passion for New Braunfels history. The 2025 recipient chosen by the Sophienburg Memorial Association is Rebecca Zuniga. She is a senior at New Braunfels High School and will be attending Endicott College in Massachusetts in the fall. The following is an essay about a historically significant event or person in Comal County submitted as a requirement of the scholarship application.

By Rebecca Zuniga

On the heels of Women’s History Month, I want to recognize someone who has worked together with our community to pave a pathway to honor and dignify those who have come before us and perhaps easily forgotten through the rigors of life. New Braunfels has had many great people who have worked to mold and shape its community to be what it is today and left a profound impact on our identity as a community and on us as individuals. One person near and dear to my life and a living historian, has been at the forefront of a grand partnership with the Sophienburg Museum to expand the documentation of the rich history and cultural heritage of New Braunfels, and carry out its mission of telling the stories about real people in our community.

Estella Delgado Farias is my grandmother. She is a humble woman who has always had a giving heart, especially when it comes to family. Growing up, she would ensure I understood that family had existed before me who shaped who I was, even if I didn’t know who they were directly. She ensured that I knew where our ancestors had come from, and how far my family and I have been able to get today because of them, and the many partnerships they developed in our community along the way. Her passion for ancestry and heritage, has been a driving force for her work in establishing a genealogy database for people in New Braunfels that are of Mexican descent. She had a vision, and through the work of equally visionary community members, she brought it to life. Because of her leadership, she gave our community time to pause and reflect upon the many Mexican American New Braunfelsers, whose families transcend generations, and lived to lay the foundation to the New Braunfels we know today.

As a young child in elementary school, my own experience through her efforts seemed minimal at the time, but as I have researched, interviewed and learned more about her work, I have been in awe of all she has accomplished. One weekend, my grandmother asked my sister and me if we would like to help her with a project she was working on. Not thinking much of it, we said yes, and so she took us along with our cousins to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cemetery. At the time, none of us truly understood why we had to tell her the names on gravestones as well as that person’s birthdate and death date, however, I now understand what she was doing. She was completing records for the cemetery and securing the resting place for the many people who were lost because of incomplete records. There were some graves that hadn’t been formally documented, but she knew that leaving the records as they were was not an option. She wanted to ensure that everyone was accounted for and had their special resting place known. She validated the many lives of people she did not personally know. My grandmother believes that no one should ever be forgotten and their work has shown exactly that.

Through the years, she has been able to give a voice to a section of the New Braunfels community that has always felt forgotten. Estella Farias’ work isn’t only of historical preservation, but of also giving hope to the Mexican-Americans of New Braunfels that their history is important enough to be documented and recognized along with all others.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Some stories write themselves. Some, like this one, began as one idea before evolving into something completely different. The idea stemmed from a visit with Myra Lee Adams Goff, (you know, accomplished author and the one that started this column) when she handed me a copy of the The Golden Book of Favorite Songs. I had seen copies of this songbook in the Sophienburg Archives, but never researched it. I took it as a challenge.

The gold-colored 126-page booklet by Hall & McCreary Company, copyrighted in 1915 and 1923, was a favorite keepsake of hers, in part because she sang from the book when she was in school at the Lamar Ward School. A ward is like our attendance zone today. It was also the book used when she began teaching at Lamar Elementary School in 1954. Same school, updated name.

A man by the name of Curt E. Schmidt was named prin­ci­pal of Carl Schurz Ward School in 1931, a year be­fore Myra Lee Adams Goff was born. Schmidt had be­gun his teach­ing ca­reer in 1922 in a one-room school­house in Gille­spie County be­fore teach­ing Eng­lish at New Braun­fels High School. While at Carl Schurz, he earned his law de­gree from St. Mary’s Uni­ver­sity in 1942, leav­ing ed­u­ca­tion to prac­tice law. He re­turned to ed­u­ca­tion as prin­ci­pal of Lamar El­e­men­tary in 1950.

At that time, prin­ci­pals were not re­quired to teach classes, but he of­ten taught art and mu­sic. He was fond of The Golden Book of Fa­vorite Songs. The book was a teacher’s dream, teach­ing mu­sic, his­tory, pa­tri­o­tism, read­ing and re­li­gion all in one. It had songs of every genre: chil­dren’s songs, Christ­mas, Civil War, folk, pa­tri­otic, re­li­gious, Ne­gro “spir­i­tu­als”, with many of the songs’ his­to­ries be­ing given. There were also read­ings or recita­tions: Lin­col­n’s Get­tys­burg Ad­dress, Pledge of Al­le­giance and Twenty-third Psalm. Curt Schmidt led songs from the song­book fre­quently. He or­ches­trated chil­dren’s skits and mu­si­cal pro­grams every year.

Mrs. Goff graduated from Texas Christian University in 1953. Her first teaching job was at Lamar Elementary. Principal Curt E. Schmidt hired her because she could play the piano. She taught music and handwriting to fourth, fifth and sixth graders. She had a degree in secondary education, and there she was, hired to teach music to elementary kids. What’s more, she could not read a lick of music. She played by ear from the age of seven. If she heard it, she could play it.

As Mrs. Goff tells it, at one particular school assembly, while Schmidt was leading songs, he called out a Civil War song on page number sixteen, “Just Before the Battle, Mother.” Well, Mrs. Goff did not know it. She told me that she suffered through, plinking around, pretending, when he finally stopped to ask her what she was playing. She said, “I told you I couldn’t read music.”

I had a natural curiosity about Curt Schmidt. We lived next door to him on Magazine Street for a couple of years up until I was old enough to start school. I never attended school where he was principal. I would later see him orchestrating the Kindermasken Parade when school teachers helped put it on. I thought that the old German dance, Herr Schmidt, was about him. I remember him to be very energetic, almost intense about things. I wondered if my memories about his nature were correct.

Curt Schmidt was an innovator. He was proud of his German heritage and felt strongly about preserving the ways of the ancestors. German language had not been taught in New Braunfels schools since World War I. After thirteen years without German language instruction, Schmidt felt the children needed it. In 1931, he organized German Summer School, devoted entirely to teaching the German language, folkways, folk songs and German pioneer traditions. The number of German School students grew from the initial forty to over three hundred per summer over the years.

The summer program ran until it was crushed by World War II. Since the United States was at war with Germany, everything German became suspect again. Promoting the German language was considered subversive and the German program ended in 1940. You will frequently see the German language textbooks Deutsche Fibel (German Primer) and Erstes Lesebuch (First Reader) that he used in German Summer School in the Sophienburg collection, or estate sales. We have one of each at our house. Schmidt was very persistent. Later, in 1954, as principal of Carl Schurz, he was instrumental in finally getting German and Spanish language electives back into the elementary schools.

Curt Schmidt was ambitious. He first served as principal of Carl Schurz, then after returning from his law practice, he served as principal at Lamar for three years before returning to Carl Schurz. By the time Mrs. Goff returned to teaching after having a family (no pregnant women could teach!), Curt Schmidt was the superintendent of New Braunfels School District. Mrs. Goff’s teaching career led her to Carl Schurz, Lamar and New Braunfels Junior High before authoring her own articles and books to preserve the history of New Braunfels.

Schmidt served as superintendent from 1962 to 1966, during which time he established the first area vocational school in Texas, inaugurated the first Head Start program and established a vocational school of nursing. Overall, he spent forty years as an educator, mostly in New Braunfels. Some loved him, some did not, but he accomplished a lot in his time. He again practiced law from 1970 until his retirement in 1982.

Curt Schmidt loved his German heritage and his community. He was active in Scouting his whole life, earning the Silver Beaver and Scoutmaster Key awards. He was a charter member and past president of the New Braunfels Rotary Club, and active with the Sophienburg Memorial Association. Schmidt wrote and illustrated two books about German Texan pioneers and was the local correspondent to the San Antonio Light for ten years.

I may not have fulfilled my task of writing an article about The Golden Book of Favorite Songs, but in this final year of Lamar Elementary, I have managed to tie together a bunch of things that I did not know about before writing this article: the Songbook, the German primers, German School, Mrs. Goff and Herr Schmidt. It is almost like the Six Degrees of Curt Schmidt. Too much?

Sources: Myra Lee Adams Goff; Sophienburg Musuem and Archives.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

In this day and age, most everyone has heard of “planned communities.” They are essentially little towns (or subdivisions) that are perfectly engineered to have just the right ratio of houses to businesses to green space, carefully packaged to attract more people to a region. We see the advertisements all the time. Would you believe that New Braunfels, along with nearly every community established by the Adelsverein, is actually a planned community … right down to the “planned open spaces”?

When Prince Carl arrived with the first immigrants, he had Nicholas Zink, a civil engineer, survey the area, lay out town lots and blocks, and designate “planned open spaces” for future use such as churches, meeting areas and other town properties. Immigrants under the auspices of the Verein were to receive a town lot, a farm lot and assistance with basic supplies and food to help them get started in Texas.

Originally, the food was distributed from the Vereinsgebäude (headquarters buildings) und Magazin (warehouse) on Sophienburg Hill. The Magazin, once located approximately where the Dittlinger home stands, is how Magazine Street came to be named. As more and more immigrants arrived, it became clear that the provisions held by the warehouse were not sufficient to support them all. So, like all good people in Texas, they bought cattle!

Cattle to provide the daily provision of beef. Cattle for survival. I know what you are thinking … where did they keep them? Downtown, of course. On a wonderful little “planned open space” just a stone’s throw from the center of town, the Verein set up a meat distribution center for immigrants. That sounds lovely, doesn’t it? Except, the whole “hoof-to-table” operation was right there on the space of one downtown block — combination stockyard/slaughterhouse/butcher shop in August heat. Mmmmm.

The Verein engaged butcher Henry Burkhart to run the slaughterhouse. Initially, the new immigrants were not charged for the butchering service until the successful establishment of the town was assured. The only charge was for the cost to purchase the animals for butchering. People had to arrive early in the morning to receive their ration of meat for the day.

A late 1840s map shows that the unnamed town lot had a building called the Fleischhalle located on the south end of the open lot, right at the edge of Comal Avenue. Fleischhalle translates literally as “Meat Hall,” but “Meat Market”, “Butcher Shop” or “Market House” would be a more recognizable to us. It was described as an open air shed for butchering. The area around the Market House became known as the Marktplatz, now Market Plaza.

As the town grew, so did private enterprise. In 1857, city ordinances regulated butchering and required meat to be sold only through the Market House. Multiple butchers, each with their own cutting blocks, rented space in the butcher shed that was said to be 20 feet wide and 40 or 60 feet long. Holding cattle in town was no longer necessary. In the afternoons, the butchers would go out to the farms to purchase the beeves, then they would butcher and field-dress and skin the carcasses there in the country. They would bring the carcasses to the shed to hang and cool overnight, dropping the skins off at either of the two tanneries. Incidentally, one of those two tanneries was Tolle Tannery. The Market Plaza faces Comal Avenue and is bordered on three sides by Tolle Street. Tolle Street leads down to the Comal River and former location of Tolle Tannery.

What began as a short-term solution to supply the immigrants with provisions evolved into a long-term commercial success lasting more than 60 years. New Braunfels continued to grow and became more “worldly” with the arrival of the railroad in 1880. The smelly business of butchering, complete with flies, was no longer welcome by downtown residents and businesses. (There was no AC!)    In 1908, a petition by citizens on Market Square was presented to the city, calling attention to the unsanitary condition of the surroundings and things began to change.

After serving the area as a central market point, Market Plaza was rented out for various activities. It was the perfect location for storing various crops, such as cotton, until they could be processed in the mills. The site was also the perfect location for a variety of entertainment, including amusement rides, carnivals, music shows and traveling tent theaters. It was close to the center of town, but away from any “traffic” or noise from horse-drawn carriages and automobiles of the day.

It is possible that one of the first movies shown in New Braunfels was at the Market Plaza. In a 1973 New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung article, Frederic Oheim shared remembrances of the first film being shown in New Braunfels. It was a series of short subjects shown as part of a traveling carnival set up on Market Plaza, although he did not see it. He was a kid, and the topic was a little risque.

Just like now, any open space becomes attractive to those who want to build. The Market Plaza was considered as a building site for several projects through the years, but none were carried out, including: an American Legion Memorial Hall (1921), a New City Hall (1929), a Community Center (1934), and a parking lot (1956). In 1937, Emmie Seele Faust offered to fund the building of the first free-standing public city library if they built it on Market Plaza. The citizens of the surrounding streets complained that it would create too much traffic. Emmie Seele Faust Library was then built on the corner of Coll and Magazine, on a lot offered by the Sophienburg Memorial Association.

Even­tu­ally, af­ter failed at­tempts to build on the Plaza for any use, it be­came a park. The Mar­ket Plaza park on Tolle Street is ap­prox­i­mately 500 feet long and 60 feet wide. The City of New Braun­fels has taken steps in re­cent years to make the park even more invit­ing by adding side­walks, pic­nic ta­bles, shade per­gola, land­scap­ing and a wa­ter foun­tain.

The Comal County Historic Commission has designated Market Plaza at 292 Tolle St. as an historic site, the significance of which helped ensure the survival of New Braunfels founding families in 1845. The importance of this historic site will be commemorated with a Texas Historic Marker ceremony to be held in the coming months. Stay tuned.

Sources: Comal County Historic Commission; Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

“Around the Sophienburg” is published every other weekend in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Emmie was not just any little girl. Born Sept 15, 1867, she was the daughter of civic and cultural leader Hermann Seele and his wife Mathilde nee Blum.

Much was expected of Emmie.

Hermann Seele was known as “The Soul of New Braunfels”, a name given him in honor of his impact on the newly founded town. In German, Seele means soul – his name was quite prophetic. He was the first school teacher in NB, holding classes in an elm grove on Coll Street just three months after the emigrants’ arrival to the banks of the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers. Seele organized traditional German societies to protect and keep the cultures of the “Old Country” alive. Vereins (Clubs) and parades like the Gesangverein (singing club), the Drama Club, the Türnverein (gymnastic club), Maifest (May Day) and Kindermaskenball and Parade (children’s masked) promoted both health and culture and kept the German language and literature alive.

Hermann Seele petitioned and got one of the State’s earliest school charters from the Texas Legislature for the formation of the New Braunfels Academy, the first public school in NB. He also helped win the lawsuit of the Veramendi heirs vs the citizens of NB, giving townfolks peace of mind and continued ownership of their property.

Seele was mayor and alderman, preacher and teacher and statesman — a tough act to follow, but Emmie did just that.

Emmie grew up amongst the second generation of the families who had immigrated to Texas. Her father’s stature in town assured her place in town society. She learned, played and worked with members of leading families such as Clemens, Faust, Moreau, Lindheimer, Voelcker, Forcke, Klappenbach and many more. Emmie attended the New Braunfels Academy, however, her father was no longer teaching. She was taught to sew, play several instruments and speak and perform in public (Declamation was a subject in school). Emmie participated in parades, played bridge and performed in plays.

In 1893, she married John Faust, one of the sons of Joseph Faust. Joseph, along with Mr. Clemens and Mr. Tipps, founded The First National Bank in 1881. Son John was also in banking, as well as merchandising, cotton buying and other lucrative endeavors. Throughout their marriage, John and Emmie travelled extensively, taking ocean liners to Europe, and trains to Mexico and parts of the US. Local newspapers record a 1904 trip to Mardi Gras in NOLA and to the St. Louis World’s Fair. They had one of the first automobiles in town and drove to San Antonio to watch “motion pictures”.

Emmie gave birth to twins within their first year of marriage; sadly, one child died at birth leaving them with only their daughter Stella. Stella contracted malaria and the Fausts took her to several health resorts including San Antonio and Mineral Wells and to doctors in San Antonio and Houston.

In 1905, the Fausts moved into their grand new home built on the 300 block of W. San Antonio Street. Still standing, this lovely, ornate, Queen Anne-style home cost $6,700 to build. The contractor/builder, Adolph Moeller, reportedly fell off a 20’ scaffolding while working on the home and ended up with “a slight head injury”.

Emmie and John doted on little Stella. She had tea parties with friends and her Seele cousins. They bought Stella wonderful life-size plaster statues in Germany of Rotkãppchen und der Wolf. These graced the landing of the ornate main staircase of the Faust Home. They were later given to the Sophienburg Museum where they still delight children and adults alike.

Stella Faust died in 1908 at the age of 14 years. It was not unexpected but hit the parents hard. John died in 1926 at the age of 65. Emmie dove head-first into philanthropic works, many benefitting the children of New Braunfels. Her tireless good works and generosity soon earned her the name of “Tante Emmie” (Aunt Emmie) from the many real and “adopted” nieces and nephews in the community.

Tante Emmie was a founding member of the Sophienburg Memorial Association in 1925, and a major contributor and donor to the building of the Sophienburg Museum in 1933. Through her time, efforts, planning and money, she built the city’s first public library in 1938. The cost of $7,500 was paid by her alone as a gift to the children and citizens of New Braunfels. No wonder they named it the Emmie Seele Faust Library in her honor.

Tante Emmie then bought and had installed the first traffic light in New Braunfels. Placed at the intersection of W. San Antonio and Academy Streets, it provided safe crossing for the schoolchildren who had to walk from the Academy to the new library on Coll Street.

Tante Emmie served on city anniversary and various parade committees including Maifest, the May Day celebration begun by her father. She was a major organizer of the 1946 Texas German Pioneer celebration, which included the unveiling of the bronze and granite German Pioneer Monument created by the sculptor Hugo Villa. It stands in Landa Park.

Tante Emmie was a longtime member the NB Bridge Club, the NB Garden Club and the Concordia Gesangverein (singing club). She was instrumental in the formation of the NB Parent-Teachers Association and a member of the NB Music Club.

Tante Emmie was one of the tireless ladies of the Womens Civic Improvement Club and a donor to their projects, some of which were a shelter out at the cemetery and building a women’s bathroom under the Bandstand on Main Plaza. As a woman, having a bathroom on the Plaza was/is a stroke of genius!

Tante Emmie was also generous to New Braunfels hospitals. She donated “a new electrical suction and ether apparatus” for use in the old Krankenhaus which made it easier to remove the tonsils and adenoids of children. She later made the largest single donation towards the building of the new New Braunfels Hospital.

Tante Emmie was a member of the German Protestant (First Protestant) Church. She was active in the adult choir, the Frauenverein (womens club) and served as church organist for 14 years. She attended services regularly until a few weeks prior to her death; on cold Sundays she could be seen sitting at the back with a mink stole around her shoulders. She also contributed to the construction of the Seele Parish Hall which was named in honor of her father.

Emmie Seele Faust died quietly at her home in New Braunfels on Sept 28, 1957 — just two weeks after her 90th Birthday.

An Oscar Haas article in a 1950 edition of The Austin American newspaper contained this quote from Tante Emmie:

“All my life, my heart’s desires have been centered in the civic interests of my home city, the city my father helped to establish in 1845. Here, he married. Here, he reared his family. Our family grew up with this community.”

In German we have a saying, “Die Apfel fãllt nicht weit vom Stamm.” (The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.) Tante Emmie, like her father Hermann Seele, gave to her community in ways we still enjoy today. As one of a later generation of adopted “nieces and nephews” of Tante Emmie, I am thankful for her energetic generosity and truly proud of her amazing legacy in New Braunfels.

Well done, Emmie.

Sources: Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, New Braunfels Herald, New Braunfels Zeitung-Chronicle, The Austin-American; Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

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Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Ninety years ago, on October 8, 1933, New Braunfels celebrated the grand opening and dedication of the new Sophienburg Memorial Museum and Library, erected in honor of those pioneers who founded New Braunfels.

It was a grand affair for the entire community. There was a morning parade from Main Plaza to the Sophienburg, headed by the American Legion Drum & Bugle Corp, Boy Scouts and fire department. All were treated to the music of the Old Heidelberg Band while lunch was served by pretty girls in German costume. After the official dedication and customary speeches praising the pioneering spirit of our ancestors, the beautiful new museum and library building was opened to the public for the first time. The party continued into the evening with entertainment by the Music Club String Ensemble, the Echo Singing Club and a musical pageant depicting the important events in the founding of New Braunfels.

You may have raised an eyebrow upon reading the word “Library” with Sophienburg Memorial Museum, but the Sophienburg has long been entwined with the public library. For several years, in a series of locations, people could pay a membership fee to use a local small library (see Emmie Seele Faust Memorial Library, April 1, 2018, Sophienburg.com). It was not until the new museum built a dedicated library room in 1933 that there was truly a free public library.

By 1937, it was clear that the library needed its own space. A new public library building for the city of New Braunfels became a reality in October 1937. Mrs. Emmie Seele Faust, daughter of Hermann Seele, offered a large donation to build a memorial library. The Sophienburg Memorial Association donated a parcel of the Sophienburg Hill property for the new library, with the understanding that when it ceased to be a library, it would revert back to the Association. Built in the same rock style, the Emmie Seele Faust Memorial Library opened adjacent to the Sophienburg Memorial Museum on W. Coll Street in the fall of 1938.

As it is with the ebb and flow of life, so it goes for organizations. The Sophienburg Memorial Museum grew and flourished in place, filling the empty space left by the library room vacancy. In 1968, the city built the Dittlinger Memorial Library on property once the site of the Ernst Gruene home, located directly behind Emmie Seele Faust Library and Sophienburg Museum buildings. Since the Emmie Seele Faust building was no longer used as a library, per the agreement, it reverted back to the Sophienburg Memorial Association and became the Archives building.

The collection and archives continued to grow. By 1975, the Museum’s need for space prompted renovations and addition of the Cedar Room. In 1992, the Association purchased the 1929 New Braunfels City Hall building on the corner of North Seguin Avenue and Mill Street to house the ever-growing Archives. At that time, the old library building became storage for the artifact collection.

Now, all these years, the museum was run by one or two employees and a whole host of members and volunteers spread out in three buildings. Money was derived from memberships and a small Weihnachtsmarkt fundraiser, but it was almost always a struggle to have a steady income. The museum gift/book shop helped contribute to the coffer a little, but the page turned in 1998, which was the first year the museum participated in Wurstfest. Any items, mostly German themed, that were left over from Wurstfest and Weihnachtsmarkt came back to the museum, taking the gift shop to new heights. Our beloved Sophie’s Shop was born… but it didn’t get that name until 1999. Whether in the museum, online, or at Wurstfest, Sophie’s Shop serves to make money for the sole purpose of supporting the non-profit museum operations.

Following the completion of a new city library, the City of New Braunfels gifted the Dittlinger Memorial Library to the Sophienburg Memorial Association in 2001. Renovations to the Dittlinger Library building, creating an archives library and museum exhibit hall, would take money, so a capital campaign was held and the Old City Hall building was sold.

In 2004, Phase I is completed and the Archives, which has been closed for a couple of years, opens in their portion of the renovated building. The Museum exhibit space opened a year later. The original museum building became storage for the collection.

The Sophienburg Museum and Archives was created by the community as a memorial to our founders. She has always given back as a supportive community partner. She has been there to not only support New Braunfels’ anniversary celebrations, she captures and catalogues the history to share with future generations. The Sophienburg Memorial Association presents the annual Fourth of July Patriotic Celebration in partnership with the City of New Braunfels. The Museum presents programs such St. Nicholas Eve and Fiesta Patria celebrations.

In 2009, Sophienburg Museum and Archives proudly became the anchor for the Sophienburg Hill Historic District to help protect the rich architectural history of New Braunfels. As proof of the Association’s dedication, the Emmie Seele Faust Memorial Library was fully restored to its original historical splendor.

The Sophienburg continued to be recognized for excellence in protecting the history of New Braunfels. In 2017, the Sophienburg received two Texas Historical Commission honors: a Historical Site designation for Sophienburg Hill, and a Recorded Historical Landmark designation for the Emmie Seele Faust Library.

This year, the Sophienburg Memorial Association celebrates 90 years of preserving New Braunfels History. The Sophienburg Museum and Archives is an integral and vital part of New Braunfels. “Guardians of History, Keeper of the Treasures and Stewards of the Stories”.

Join us in celebration, Sunday, October 8, 2023, on the campus of the Sophienburg Museum and Archives, 1-4 p.m. All are invited.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; LaVerne Pearce; Nancy Classen; Anna Lee Hicks.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Now in our 90th year of existence, the Sophienburg Museum and Archives has maintained artifacts and archival documents to keep the history of New Braunfels alive. Part of our mission is to not only preserve the history, but to share the stories with the generations that follow. I am beyond thrilled when the next generation can come back and share it with you, too.

The Sophienburg Memorial Association is proud to bestow the Sophienburg History Award, established in 2013, honoring Myra Lee Adams Goff for her dedication to the community and her steadfast love of history. The award recognizes a student who demonstrates a love and passion for New Braunfels history. The 2023 recipient chosen by the Sophienburg Memorial Association to receive the award is Logan Summerville. She is a senior at New Braunfels High School and will be attending Texas A&M University in the fall. The following is an essay about a historically significant event or person in Comal County submitted as a requirement of the scholarship application.

By Logan Summerville

New Braunfels, Texas, founded in 1845 by Prince Carl, values its rich German culture. The town was built by German emigrants who spent days at sea to eventually settle in their new home — New Braunfels. Much of New Braunfels’ heritage can be seen by simply taking a walk downtown. The Plaza, Naegelin’s Bakery, and First Protestant Church are just a few historic structures in Comal County that depict life in the town’s early days. Preserving New Braunfels’ historic buildings, sites, and artifacts have kept the town’s heritage alive for generations.

I am a 7th generation New Braunfels resident, and as a descendant of German immigrants, I have always been intrigued by its history. I am a descendant of the Scheel and Altwein family who left Germany in the 1800s and started a new life in New Braunfels. I have recently been researching my family’s heritage and learning more about my German roots. My family’s roots run deep in Comal County and the Scheel and Altwein family name continues to live on in New Braunfels, Texas.

As someone who has attended all 12 years of school through NBISD, I have learned that many of the schools are an important piece to New Braunfels’ history. Hermann Seele was the first school-teacher in New Braunfels and held the first class beneath elm trees. It can be said that the first class held by Seele laid the foundation for NBISD. Seele Elementary was named after Hermann, and elm trees can be seen on the front of the school, a nod to the history of the New Braunfels education system. Many of the schools in NBISD are rich in character, including New Braunfels High School’s history. New Braunfels Academy was established around 1856 and still stands as a tax office for the school district. The old New Braunfels High school, located on West Mill Street, was built in 1913 to replace New Braunfels Academy. The building also still stands and is owned by the district. I have been inside the building multiple times when I was younger, as my mom frequently had meetings there since she works as a teacher for the district. While my mom was in her meetings, I remember wandering around the building and being deeply intrigued by the old architecture and historical elements. The old high school served the district for over fifty years until New Braunfels High School moved to its current facility on Loop 337. Our unique mascot, the unicorn, has ignited a culture of school spirit that’s unlike any other. The blue unicorn was initially taken from the coat of arms of Prince Carl, a nod to the town’s German roots, but it was later discovered that the coat of arms was a lion instead. Despite the misunderstanding, the mighty unicorn continues to be the mascot that is just as unique as New Braunfels.

Living in New Braunfels and being a proud unicorn for the past twelve years has allowed me to learn about New Braunfels’ roots that are firmly planted in German heritage. Even as the population explodes, the city’s history will continue to live on through the town’s historical buildings and value for preserving its German heritage. New Braunfels’ education system also has a long-standing history, and I am proud to be a third-generation New Braunfels high school graduate who has gotten to experience the pride of being a unicorn.

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

Who would believe that a Union soldier residing in New Braunfels for a mere three months could leave a lasting mark on our city? Nicolaus Dittlinger did just that.

In December of 1865, Nicolaus Dittlinger arrived in New Braunfels with his wife and youngest child, taking a room at the Schmitz Hotel. Dittlinger, originally from Germany, made his home in Cape Giradeau, Missouri, where he and his brother built and operated their business before the Civil War. It was at the end of the war that he contracted tuberculosis and headed south to warmer weather in hopes of regaining his health. That never happened. Nicolaus Dittlinger died in March 1866 at the age of 38. Before she departed for Germany, his wife had a limestone marker cut and inscribed with his name. An iron enclosure was placed around the grave, and she planted a wild rose in the enclosure. The rose bloomed faithfully each April. Mrs. Dittlinger died a short six years later.

Wait … what kind of legacy is that? Dead in three months? Family in Germany?

Fast forward a few years. After graduating from school, the orphaned Dittlinger son, Hippolyt, borrowed money in 1876 to travel from Germany to the United States to check on his father’s holdings. After learning that everything was decimated by the war, he traveled to New Braunfels to pay respects to his deceased father. The April Texas weather was beautiful and very inviting. Hippolyt decided to stay. Mr. Schmitz, the owner of the hotel where his father had died, offered him a place to stay until he could find work.

Hippolyt found employment in Scherff’s Store on the Plaza doing a little of everything. He slept in the store as a night watchman, then in the morning, groomed and fed the horses. He loaded beer barrels, swept the store, helped customers and after closing, kept the books. He then moved to Tips, Clemens and Faust Mercantile where he became a partner. The twenty-year partnership was very successful. What began as a general merchandise store, grew to include a grist mill and cotton gin. In 1887, H. Dittlinger, Peter Faust, and John Faust petitioned the city council to run a cable from Clemens Dam on the Comal River to power the mill. The grist mill grew into a real flour mill. The cotton gin, run by the same power, prospered and grew into an export business based in New York.

Dittlinger Mills (now ADM) was established in 1886 by Hippolyt Dittlinger and Peter Faust. Dittlinger bought Faust out in 1901. The mill was originally water powered, obtaining its power from Clemens Dam across the Comal River. Take-off from the water turbine was by a metal rope drive, one of the longest known in the United States, comprising a loop about 1500 feet long, extending from the north end of the dam across the river to the mill on the south side. The mill was changed to diesel power in 1914 and eventually completely changed to electric power.

By 1930, Dittlinger Mills bought the retired Landa Flour and Feed Mill (now part of Wurstfest grounds). Dittlinger re-tooled the Landa Mill entirely to process poultry and stock feed, greatly increasing the feed production capacity.

In 1904, Hippolyt took his wife and children to meet his remaining sister and aunts in Germany. He was taken with the 2000-year-old buildings erected by the Romans that were still standing strong. He recognized lime mortar as a very important building material. Once back in New Braunfels, he and his engineer studied how to develop a lime plant, just like the one his father Nicolaus had built in Missouri.

The lime plant opened in 1907. Dittlinger hired migrant laborers from Mexico to work the plant, providing them with year-round work. The company built small houses to replace their tents and shacks. The Lime Company also built a combination church/school, two stores and a dance hall. The community was known as Dittlinger Village or La Calera. He was also instrumental in organizing Holy Family Church.

In 1925, the Dittlingers travelled to Rome for the Holy Year or Jubilee as declared by Pope Pius XI. While in Europe, they visited Schloss Braunfels, the castle of Prince Carl’s family, where they received a print of Prince Carl to “hang in our museum.” Hmmm. New Braunfels didn’t have a museum. The Dittlingers graciously kept it until a museum could be built just across the street from their very grand home in 1933. The generosity of the Dittlingers toward the Sophienburg Memorial Association over the years has been incredible. Hippolyt, known as the “father of industry in New Braunfels” died in 1946 at the age of 87.

The Dittlinger Family’s love of New Braunfels was visible again in 1967 when Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Liebscher and Bruno Dittlinger gave $80,000 in memory of their parents, Mr. & Mrs. Hippolyt Dittlinger, for the construction of the new modern library on a lot adjacent to the museum and Emmie Seele Faust Library. The Dittlinger Memorial Library served the city of New Braunfels for thirty years before becoming the home of the Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

Oh, yes, remember that wild rose? In 1985, while conducting a survey/inventory of all cemetery headstones to be published in a book, there was a rose bush growing on the grave of Nicolaus Dittlinger. Turns out, it was a very rare antique rose. Cuttings were taken and propagated, with the first Dittlinger Rose bushes planted around the library in 1993 and again when the new library was built. I thought it sad that none of those existed anymore. Then, I drove to the cemetery. There is an old, old wild rose growing on that grave — 156 years? That’s some legacy.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives

Caption: Special guests at the Dittlinger Rose Dedication at the Dittlinger Memorial Library, April 1993. L-R: Bill Schumann, County Agent; Hippolyt Mengden, a Dittlinger grandson; Maria Liebscher, Dittlinger granddaughter; Christine Brown, who donated the roses; Ethel Canion; and Sue Ragusa.

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The Sophienburg Memorial Association is proud to bestow the Sophienburg History Award, established in 2013, honoring Myra Lee Adams Goff for her dedication to the community and her steadfast love of history. The award recognizes a student who demonstrates a love and passion for New Braunfels history. The 2022 recipient chosen by the Sophienburg Memorial Association to receive the award is Joshua Wesloh. He is a senior at Smithson Valley High School and will be attending the University of Texas in the fall. The following is the essay about a historically significant event or person in Comal County submitted as a requirement of the scholarship application.

John O. Meusebach

By Joshua Wesloh

This is one of my favorite historical figures that I have learned about in my life, and he lived just a few miles away from me. Versatility, resolute and multifaceted are not fabricated adjectives or false praise; this man was truly all of those things. It is a shame that I only have a thousand words to talk about who I believe should be called the “Father of New Braunfels”. That person is John O. Meusebach, also known by his shorter name, Otfried Hans Freiherr von Meusebach. Friends of the Brothers Grimm, polyglot, lawyer, Bürgermeister, Commissioner-General, delegate for Native American treaties, founder of Texas settlements, this list of Meusebach’s achievements is getting too long. I need another sentence. Meusebach was a state senator, special state commissioner, botanist, mercantile business owner, justice of the peace, winemaker, postmaster, and outspoken opponent of slavery all in his lifetime.

Meusebach was born on May 26, 1814, in Dillenburg, Duchy of Nassau, a long way from the change he was to cause in Texas. Meusebach was born to scholar, Karl Hartwig Gregor von Meusebach and pianist Ernestine von Meusebach née von Witzleben. Karl, his father, was great friends with the notable folk storytellers the Brothers Grimm, who “sent compilations of their immortal fairy tales to the Meusebachs when the children were young”(King 12). When it came time for Meusebach to begin his perpetually long list of jobs, he enrolled in the University of Bonn in 1832 where he studied law. While at University, John became a polyglot, as he learned to read in five languages and speak English fluently. During this time, Meusbach noted the hypocrisy that America was founded on the ideas of liberty while continuing to allow slavery to exist. Meusebach continued working for cities in Germany, eventually becoming the Bürgermeister, or chief executive, of the city of Anklam in 1841.

I know, that got very repetitive, but it is now 1845 and Meusebach is finally in Texas. He signed his contract with the Adelsverien on February 24, 1845. Meusebach paid his $2,000 membership fee, which, calculated for inflation, is about the cost of a single piece of wood nowadays. Technically, it is still The Republic of Texas for a few more months. What matters, however, is that Meusebach is there, and from the looks of it, he is there to fix some problems. I do not mean problems like low Wi-Fi signal or low battery like we must deal with today, but problems of the 1840s. Just to name a few: “Lack of cash, the arrival of too many immigrants in too short a time, the shortage of the necessary vehicles for transporting them to the interior of Texas, the outbreak of war with Mexico, an unexpectedly severe winter, and disease” (Smith and Tetzlaff). However, as they say, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Even though I am sure that saying did not exist in 1845, Meusebach was definitely tough. He solved the financial problems of New Braunfels that Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels caused and provided food, shelter, and protection for the incoming colonists. Also founding the settlements of Fredericksburg, Castell and Leiningen during this time, he really was the Tom Hanks of 1840s Texas. In 1847, Meusebach signed the Meusebach-Comanche Treaty, a treaty in which Meusebach met with, you guessed it, the Comanche tribe. This treaty, apart from being that type of treaty that really makes it easier to learn history (looking at you, 67 Treaties of Paris), was one of the most important works of the Germans in Texas. After signing the treaty, Meusebach, whose name I really should have mastered the spelling of by now, resigned from being Commissioner-General. In 1851, he was elected to be a Texas State senator, where he represented Comal County and fought for a public school system. Meusebach eventually became a special state commissioner because, apparently, this guy did not know how to say “no.” He learned five languages and not one of them taught him the word “retirement.” After settling land disputes for a few years, Meusebach moved to Fredericksburg. He then moved back to New Braunfels, before settling in Loyal Valley, north of Fredericksburg. When he moved to Fredericksburg, Meusebach finally settled down and retired. No, I am just joking, of course, Meusebach kept working. He ran a stage stop where, in 1875, he was shot in the leg by vigilantes during the Mason County Hoo Doo War over cattle rustlers. That roller coaster of a sentence might just be the most Texas Wild West sentence ever written. Meusebach obviously survived the gunshot wound and became a justice of the peace in Loyal Valley as a result. This is where the life of John O. Muesebach finally slows down. In his last years, he tended to his vineyard and rose garden before dying in Loyal Valley on May 27, 1897.

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The Sophienburg History Award was established in 2013 and honors Myra Lee Adams Goff for her dedication to the community and her steadfast love of history. The award recognizes a student who demonstrates a love and passion for New Braunfels history. The 2021 recipient chosen by the Sophienburg Memorial Association to receive the award is Mia Weidenbach. She is a senior at New Braunfels High School and will be attending Texas A&M University in the fall. The following is the essay about a historically significant event or person in Comal County submitted as a requirement of the scholarship application.

By Mia Weidenbach

Julius F. Schwandt Jr. helped shape New Braunfels while sharing his authentic German heritage with the community. I cannot help but share my excitement in learning about the impact Julius F. Schwandt Jr. had on New Braunfels! My mom is Michelle Schwandt. While she was not born in the Schwandt family, she married into it.

You can imagine how shocked we were when we learned that my mom’s favorite home, in New Braunfels, actually belonged to Julius Schwandt Sr. and then belonged to Julius F. Schwandt Jr. While traveling down Mill Street, my mom always pointed out the welcoming little green home with the large porch swing and gingerbread architectural features. One day, my mom spoke with the owner and to her amazement, my mom learned that Julius Schwandt Sr. built this home in 1900. In fact, the home is still known as the Julius Schwandt home!

The Schwandt family is steeped in German heritage and has invested in our community for over a century. By serving as the Mayor of New Braunfels, for two terms, Julius F. Schwandt Jr. played a vital role to the citizens of New Braunfels. He served on many committees and commissions in the area. Julius F Schwandt Jr.’s childhood home has been restored to its original beauty and was honored with the prestigious Historic Landmark designation in 2012. The New Braunfels City Council voted unanimously to approve the home as a designated Historic Landmark. This has preserved the history and highlighted the importance of the Schwandt House to the original Folk Victorian Architecture.

Our once small town is quickly losing our heritage to parking lots and commercial real estate development. We must do all we can to honor those who came before us and preserve the heritage that has made New Braunfels that special German town that so many have come to love and call home.

Let’s go back a hundred or so years and learn a little about the Schwandt family. Shortly before 1900, Julius Schwandt Sr. left Germany and headed to the promise land of the United States. Having traversed the countryside, Julius found Comal Town and decided to put his roots down. Not long after arriving in New Braunfels, Julius married Clara Rahe. According to the 1900 Census, Julius and Clara were full time residents of New Braunfels. At that time, the Schwandt’s had two children Julius F. Schwandt Jr. and Norma Schwandt. The 1900 census states that Julius was a blacksmith.

Prior to building their home, the Schwandt’s were able to purchase lot #9 from William Geue for $300.00. The lot was from the original 10acre farm lot #2 that was sold by Charles Seibert. William Geue bought the 10-acre parcel for $800.00 and then platted the land to create a subdivision. What makes this property unique is that it is located in the first subdivision beyond the Original Town Lots. The subdivision was located off Ferguson Road which is still in existence today. You may be wondering how this has any relevance to our community now.

My parents, Scott and Michelle Schwandt are in real estate. New Braunfels real estate is one of the most sought-after assets in all the state. The preservation of historic real estate may be one of the most important factors in being able to protect our heritage. To know that my parents share the Schwandt name but also have a love for our town and the desire to protect our most beloved heritage makes me so proud!

In order to honor the Schwandt Family name and preserve our German Heritage, I hope to serve our community one day by buying a piece of history. I plan to protect what I can from the constant destruction that growth is bringing to New Braunfels. My college career is just starting but I plan to raise my family in New Braunfels because no matter what it will always be home. My deepest hope is that we will maintain the culture, heritage, history and architecture by protecting and preserving it rather than tearing the homes down to make room for parking or office buildings. One day, I will make an impact just like Julius F. Schwandt Jr. has!

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