From Union St., turn onto Common and drive straight to the Guadalupe River. At the bridge and on the east side of the river, as far as you can see, look left and right. You are looking at Hortontown. Down river to the right of Hortontown was Neighborsville. These two areas are referred to by these names only historically. Beginning in 1846, when sickness was rampant on the coast and in New Braunfels, and emigrants were still arriving, Hortontown was settled to avoid going into the sickness- infested town. Neighborsville followed a few years later. Both areas were originally in Guadalupe County but were added to Comal County and also to the City of New Braunfels.

From the bridge, you will notice a gradual incline up to Loop 337. Turn right on the loop, and right before the railroad overpass, turn left on Church Hill Drive. Across the road from Conservation Plaza, a church was built in 1852. It was the St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and next to it, in 1870, a school was built. The Church Hill School served the children of both Hortontown and Neighborsville.

Hortontown was named after Albert C. Horton who came to Texas from Alabama in 1835. He became an active supporter of the Texas Revolution. From 1836-38 he served as senator in the 1st and 2nd congress of the Republic of Texas. He became the first Lt. Gov. of the new state of Texas. Leopold Iwonski became the agent for Horton’s land grant.

The settlement of Neighborsville was laid out by Jacob de Cordoba who designated a lot for the establishment of the church and parochial school. In 1870 the church congregation decided to build a separate building for their school. And that school became the Church Hill School.

The Church Hill School was built of 18” thick hand- cut limestone blocks brought by wagon from a hill country quarry. The doors and floor are also original. The appointments are from other rural Comal County one-room schools.

Martha Rehler, Exec. Director of the Conservation Society, took me on a tour. There is nothing as empty as an empty classroom. Going into the abandoned school, that strange feeling returned. A classroom needs children.

There were wooden desks of all sizes with a hole in the top for an ink bottle. They still had those when I was in elementary school. Our fountain pens had a little bladder that had to be filled with ink. What a mess! In this old classroom the teacher sat in the back of the room by the door. I’m surprised she didn’t notice the initials carved in the older students’ desk, probably by a pocket knife which I’m told, was every boy’s toy. Slate boards were on each desk taking the place of paper. The large chalkboard (black, later green) had the lesson for the day in German script (Fraktur).

Other relics are a long table from the Ursaline Academy in San Antonio displaying photographs of groups of school children. Water was drawn out of a well or a cistern and put in a portable water fountain. There are two large bells. The smaller of the two at one time stood in front of the Guadalupe Hotel (Plaza) which was a stagecoach stop. The bell was used to welcome arrivals. The larger was a school bell to call students.

Rehler gave me a “Texas Public School’s Report Card from 1925 that parents had to fill out about their own child. It was for a 7th grade girl going into the 8th grade. I put myself in my mother’s shoes, evaluating her only chick on a scale of 1 to 100. Knowing that I was a “city girl” in New Braunfels, I would have failed miserably. I would have a “0” in canning, care of stock, care of poultry, cooking, gardening, general farm work, milking, providing fuel, sewing, and sweeping,. I would have done fairly well in dusting, washing dishes, obedience, neatness, reliability and special work. In my case, special work would have been socializing.

The St. Martin’s Church, originally adjoined to the old Church Hill School, was moved in 1968 next to the Hortontown Cemetery on Loop 337. The school remained and was eventually donated to the Conservation Society in 1975 to be used as a museum.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman –

I discovered something interesting the other day. In a 1954 New Braunfels Herald column called, “The Melting Pot,” the writer, Gordon Rose, discusses the names of nearby localities known by both German/Anglo and Mexican citizens. The names these two cultures chose give us insight to how people thought about things. Let me give you some examples.

The community of Zorn, on Hwy 123, was established by Joseph Zorn when he built the first store in the area in the 1850s. In 1903, Fritz Galle drilled a well next to York Creek and found water containing high concentrates of sulfur and other minerals. The Mexican community began calling Zorn “Asufrosa” (Sulfur) and would visit the town’s sulfur well to bathe and drink in the healing water; they would also bring buckets to fill and take home.

Barbarossa, a small town on FM 758, was settled in the 1860s by German immigrants who named their community in honor of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. (It has always sounded like the name of a pirate to me.) Spanish-speaking old-timers called the settlement “El Salon Quemado” (The Burned Room/Hall) after the local dance hall burned down.

Solms, just down IH-35, was originally known as Four-Mile Creek when it was settled in the late 1840s. The settlement was renamed Solms in the 1880s to honor Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. To local Mexicans, the area was known as “Los Olmos” (The Elms).

Four miles southwest of NB, Dittlinger is located on the Union Pacific (IG &N) Railroad. It was organized in 1907 by H. Dittlinger as a company town for his rock crushing plant and lime kiln and included houses, store and school. The Hispanic American families that made Dittlinger their home called it “La Calera” (The Lime Kiln).

The small community of Hortontown was across the Guadalupe River from NB. It was settled in 1847 when Leopold Iwonsky sold fifty-acre tracts from the Albert C. Horton survey. In 1850, Jacob de Cordova provided a lot for St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church to build a structure. The church tower was topped with a “wetterhahne” or a weathervane that included a rooster. The area’s Spanish speakers began referring to the neighborhood as “El Gallo” or” El Gallito” (The Rooster or Little Rooster) in reference to the weathercock.

The neighborhood near the S. Seguin Street overpass got the English nickname of “Frogtown” soon after the construction of the railroad track. The track’s elevation caused serious drainage issues and the flooded areas attracted myriads of croaking frogs until the impromptu ponds evaporated. Local Mexican citizens called the neighborhood “Canta Ranas” (Singing Frogs).

The neighborhood at the end of W. San Antonio Street past Live Oak is known as “The West End.” The neighborhood, predominantly settled by Hispanic families from the very early days of New Braunfels, was one of the last downtown areas to have access to city water and sewage. Its inhabitants aptly called it “Barrrio Seco” (Dry Neighborhood). Many continue to call it that today.

Back behind Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church runs Zink Street, so named because Nicholas Zink set up his survey equipment in 1845 and platted the town of New Braunfels from there. A group of small tin-roofed houses sat along part of the street, which its Hispanic occupants called “La Hojahata” (Tin). The appellation could have described most of New Braunfels which was known as “The Tin City” because its fire codes required tin roofs on all structures.

Hunter is a small community up Hunter Road on York’s Creek (think Riley’s Tavern). It was named for Andrew Jackson Hunter who, in 1867, settled and operated a thousand-acre cotton farm in the area. The town was established in 1880 when tracks were laid by the IG&N Railroad. By 1883, Gustav Schleyer had set up a post office and general store which were joined by a cotton gin, a grocery and a saloon by the next year. As the town grew, more saloons, a blacksmith, a barbershop, a wagon maker, a gristmill and a meat market were added. Hunter’s son-in-law, Edward M. House, and Harry Landa formed a partnership that bought up nearby land, set up the Hunter Cotton Gin Co. and used mule teams to haul cottonseed to Landa Cotton Oil Mill (think the Wurstfest buildings). A large influx of Mexican immigrants began settling in the community and a school and St. John’s Catholic Church reflected that impact. They called the community “La Mota” (The Speck or Weed).

As cotton growing declined with the arrival of the boll weevil, these Mexicans found themselves out of work. An enterprising group, led by town carpenter Pablo de la Rosa, began new businesses which capitalized on the auto traffic going through Hunter/La Mota on its way to San Antonio and Austin. In 1921, Pablo went to San Antonio and learned how to make plaster of Paris casts of animals. He opened the first plaster art shop in the town selling colorful bulldogs and flower bouquets as doorstops and bookends. His bulldogs didn’t have closed jaws but wore a snarl and stuck out red tongues. Pablo de la Rosa also created his own plaster casts of the Virgin de Guadalupe and busts of Hidalgo.

The town barber, Bernardino Sanchez, followed Pablo’s lead and also went to San Antonio to learn how to make plaster casts which included horses and cows, which he painted with spots. Eventually he owned four shops in downtown La Mota – buying nine lots along the road. Soon other families engaged in the creation of plaster dogs, cows, birds, chickens, flower bouquets and the like, all highly painted in bright colors. The plaster art reflected the seasons: longhorns with UT on their foreheads, deer during hunting season, rabbits and lambs during Easter. Cars passing through Hunter whizzed by rows and rows of wooden tables and benches loaded with the painted plaster animals which sold for eight cents to three dollars each. Business was great and Mr. Sanchez was able to pay cash for a brand new 1928 Model A Ford.

My dad remembers going through Hunter as a child. It was a magical drive with what seemed like countless enticing creatures lining the road. His family purchased a life-size bulldog that they used as a doorstop. As we talked, he wondered what had happened to that dog. I wonder too.

Anyone remember Hunter’s plaster animals or still have an example of this unique art?

Do any of you know interesting dual place names of other locales in Comal County? Let me know!

Sources: New Braunfels Herald and Neu Braunfels Zeitung collections; SA Express News Aug 5, 1928; “Reflections” oral history, #81 Albert Hoffman; and vertical files, Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Around the Sophienburg, Myra Lee Adams Goff, pp248-249; Phone interview with Paul O. Sanchez; https://www.co.comal.tx.us/CCHC.htm; http://www.texasescapes.com; https://www.tshaonline.org.

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The articles of the Verein zum Schutz detscher Einwandrer in Texas (also known as the Society of Noblemen or the Adelsverein) required that the spiritual needs of the immigrants were to be met. The calendar and customs of church life were an important part of the Germanic culture. After their arrival and founding of New Braunfels on March 21, 1845, it is said that the people broke into two groups, Catholic and Protestant, and gathered under the shade of trees to literally say, “Thank you, God, for getting us here.”

And now, a little more info on the congregations. Please use the numbered photos for reference.

The Protestants chose to meet in a grove of elms at the foot of what became known as Sophienburg Hill. By 1846, a wooden church (1) with an onion-shaped dome (Zwiebelsturm) had been constructed on the corner of Castell and Church streets (Church later became Coll). The first pastor was Rev. L. C. Ervendberg. The present limestone First Protestant Church, at 296 S. Seguin St., was begun in 1875 and dedicated in 1889. The stately church has seen several renovations but remains alive and well.

The Catholics elected to worship under an oak tree near Comal Creek. The legendary Catholic Oak still thrives. The congregation moved into a small wooden chapel in 1847. This was quickly replaced in 1849 by a larger church built of black walnut (2); Father Claude Dubois led the first Mass. The present limestone Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, at 386 N. Castell St., was constructed around the black walnut church so that masses were not interrupted during the building process. It was dedicated in 1888. The church added a school in 1871 which educates young New Braunfelsers to this day.

As more immigrants settled in the area, other churches began appearing that reflected more specific denominations and congregations. In 1851, Theobald Kleiss, a German missionary, organized St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Neighborsville area across the Guadalupe River (roughly the Milltown area). A wood church building was constructed in 1851, on Church Hill Drive, to house the growing congregation. In 1880, the main door was moved to the end of the building, the pitch of the roof was increased and the bell tower was added (3). The neighboring Church Hill School met the needs of the parish children. St Martin’s was moved to its present location in Hortontown Cemetery in 1968. Visible from Loop 337, St. Martin’s, the “oldest Lutheran church in Texas”, watches over its past congregation.

The New Braunfels German Mission, based on Methodism, was founded in 1853 in the Comaltown home of J. Hirschleber. In 1858, the first Methodist church building was erected at 124 N. Union Street (4) and held services until 1912, when the Karbach Memorial Methodist Church was constructed at 572 W. San Antonio Street. The present First United Methodist Church building replaced the Karbach church in 1952.

By the 1860’s, German-speaking Jews began to establish businesses in the area. Families usually worshipped privately in their homes but made several trips each year to celebrate with the larger Jewish community in San Antonio. There has never been a Jewish synagogue in New Braunfels (5).

The Colored Methodist Church, built in 1900 at 225 E. Commerce Street, was organized in 1890 by H.P. Evans. Though born a slave, Evans could read and write and had a desire to begin a congregation for the African American community of New Braunfels. The church first used a house on the corner of Comal and Castell. In 1907, the church took the name Allen Chapel A. M. E. Church (6).

Rev. Lucky McQueen organized The Colored Baptist Church under a live oak tree at the corner of Houston and Camp Sts. in 1900. By the end of that year, the 14 original members were worshipping in a new church building at 355 N. Washington Avenue (7). The church was built by Sam and Tim Williams and was renamed Live Oak Baptist Church in honor of its founding. Eventually, a cast steel bell was purchased and hung in the bell tower. During renovations in 1983, the weight of the bell was found to be too much for the historic structure and it was removed. The congregation gifted the bell to the Sophienburg Museum in 2008. This small church still holds services and is a testament to the faith of the families which have called it their spiritual home for generations.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church was organized in 1926 by Sts. Peter & Paul as a mission church to serve the growing population of Mexican farm workers settling in the Comaltown community. By December 5, 1926, 40 Spanish-speaking families celebrated Mass in a new church building at 138 W. Austin Street (8). Two years later, a fire destroyed the first church. It was rebuilt along with a school building. The present O.L.P.H. Catholic church was constructed in 1969 near the original location. In 1944, the old O.L.P.H. “Sisters’ House” was dismantled and moved to the corner of Hidalgo and San Antonio Sts. to be used as the first building for Holy Family Catholic Church.

Obviously, these are not the only churches in New Braunfels, but they are among the earliest founded within the city. Other churches, founded around the same time in townships and settlements in Comal County, will have to wait for another time. You can see photographs and artifacts from these early churches in an exhibit at the Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

Today, New Braunfels residents can worship in churches reflecting many denominations and faiths. The Adelsverein did well to uphold the right of freedom of religion in their new colony which was destined to become part of this great country we call home.

Sources: Newspaper collection, Sophienburg Museum & Archives; History of New Braunfels and Comal County, Texas 1844-1946 and First Protestant Church Its History and Its People, Oscar Haas; A Journey In Faith, Gregory and Goff; The History of Sts. Peter & Paul Church and Parish 1844-1974, Monica Fuhrmann

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