Yesterday (Feb. 9) a historic event took place for New Braunfels Masonic Lodge No. 1109. The cornerstone leveling of a new lodge building at 1353 Wald Rd. took place. This is the fourth home for this lodge.

It is believed that the history of the Freemasons goes back in antiquity to the worker organizations formed into guilds of like trades, particularly the building trades. A group of members is called a lodge. Today members wear aprons that look like the working clothes of the old stonemasons. The term “free” possibly refers to the freedom to move without the restrictions of the feudal lords.

Although it is not a religious organization, nor does it take the place of religion, members must believe in a Higher Being. Freemasonry accepts worthy men and seeks to make good men better. Members work through degrees, the highest being the 33^rd degree. Lodges support all good works, and believe in the equality of people, freedom, and democracy.

The first Grand Lodge was established on June 24, 1717, in London, England. The first Grand Master in America was appointed in 1730 by the Grand Lodge of England. Fourteen U.S. presidents were Freemasons, plus other Revolutionary notables, such as Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere. The cornerstone of the National Capitol was laid by Mason George Washington on Sept 18, 1793. The well-known painting of him wearing his Masonic apron was given to him by the Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat fighting for the American cause.

Closer to home, the Grand Lodge of Texas was formed during the time of the Republic with Sam Houston presiding at the formation. This Grand Lodge set aside 10% of their revenues for free public education. The Texas Freemason charter was received during the Battle of San Jacinto.

With this impressive background, let us get to the history of NB Lodge #1109. Remember that before the Texas Revolution the area that we now call Comal County was in the larger district of Bexar. The Texas Legislature created Comal County in 1846 after Texas became a state. The first Masonic Lodge in Comal County was actually in Twin Sisters on Curry Creek. Then when the final boundaries for Comal County were set in 1858, the western section of Comal County, where the lodge was located, was separated and the lodge was then located in Blanco and Kendall counties. Twin Sisters Lodge #216 was eventually moved to the city of Blanco and named Blanco Lodge #216 where it still exists.

The second Comal County Masonic Lodge, #276, was chartered in 1864 and demised in 1874. Some well-known early leading citizens belonged to this lodge, a few of which were Hermann Seele, Ferdinand Lindheimer, George Pfeuffer, Louis Henne, J.J. Groos, Joseph Landa, John Torrey, and Joseph Faust.

In 1915 the third lodge ,#1109, was chartered and met at the carriage house next to the Jahn building on South Seguin Avenue(building no longer standing). Fourteen Master Masons asked for a charter and chose R.E. Kloepper the first Worshipful Master, J.E. Abrahams the first Senior Warden, and J.E. Herd the Junior Warden. Celebrating the formation of this lodge in 1916, more than 200 Masons from neighboring counties marched with local candidates and guests from the Jahn Building to where the ceremony was to take place in the Knoke building (where the former Eiband and Fischer store was located). Some visitors came by train, but the majority came in automobiles. After the ceremony, they went to Tolle Hall for roast pig and sweet potatoes.

Then in 1923 the lodge moved to the Albert Ludwig building on the corner of W. San Antonio St. and S. Castell Avenue (present site of Phoenix Saloon). Being a Mason, Ludwig built a third floor to his building and offered it to house the lodge. Notice that the third story does not cover the whole building.

Forty two years later, the lodge was moved to its building at 1157 W. San Anonio St. where it remained until the new lodge was purchased and dedicated yesterday. This building is also home of the New Braunfels Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star and the New Braunfels Assembly of Rainbow Girls, affiliates of New Braunfels Masonic Lodge #1109.

Worshipful Master Riley Miller, who jokingly says that “real men do wear aprons”, invites all to come visit the lodge with its Museum and Library any Tuesday evening.

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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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Would you like to know what was on the property on which our present Comal County Courthouse sits? If so, read on.

When Nicholas Zink laid out the town of New Braunfels, with its main plaza and streets leading to it, he was given the town lot #32 by the Adelsverein for his efforts. Town lot #32 is the lot on which our present courthouse is built. Zink built a house on this lot in 1845. In 1847, the year that Zink and his first wife were divorced, he began selling his property in New Braunfels and eventually left altogether.

Zink sold lot #32 to Samuel Millet dated January 21st, 1847, who used the house as a hotel. Millet, in turn, sold the house in 1852 to Dan Wheeler and Wheeler sold it to Karl Floege in 1866. (Source: County Clerk’s office, book A, deeds p. 35) The family moved to a farm outside of Seguin.

Samuel Millet who was originally from Maine has a Texas Historical Marker at his gravesite in Guadalupe County. It states that he had come to Texas in 1827 and died in 1863. Records show his birth as 1801. He came to Texas as a member of Stephen F. Austin’s colony. During the Texas Revolution, he took part in the battle of San Jacinto.

In 1833, he married Clementina Bartlett and they had nine children. She was also with Austin’s colony and from Tennessee. She married her teacher, Samuel Millett, who was a graduate of Bowdoin College. Family tradition claims that Clementina at age 90 could recall early history of the Republic and those who were instrumental in its founding.

Harry Landa, in his memoirs “As I Remember” writes that his father, Joseph Landa, made this statement about the hotel: “Old lady Millett, mother of the well-known cattleman, Alonzo Millett, was operating a boarding house at the corner where the Comal County Courthouse now stands. The Landas boarded for a few months at Mrs. Millett’s establishment until they bought the adjoining property on the Plaza”.

Alonzo Millett, one of Samuel Millett’s sons, made a name for himself in the ranching business. In “The Traildrivers of Texas”, Alonzo Millett is described as spending his boyhood days in Bastrop County and Seguin where he attended school. When the Civil War broke out, he and his brothers volunteered in the Confederate army. Alonzo was only 16 and his twin brother, Leonidas, was killed. After the war, the surviving brothers returned to Texas and over the years that followed, gained wealth by accumulating ranches in several states. “Misfortune came and their wealth was swept away”.(Traildrivers…)  Alonzo persevered and when he died, he owned a large ranch in San Juan Valley, Colorado. He was killed by being thrown by a horse and then buried in San Antonio. Thirty-five miles south of San Antonio was a small settlement named “Millett” after Alonzo. Many local and Seguin Milletts are descendants of Alonzo Millett and his wife, Arlene Wilson Millett.

Now back to the present courthouse: Early on, Comal County conducted its business in rented rooms, then to a privately owned building on Seguin St. (Elks parking lot). In 1860 the first two-story courthouse was built on the corner occupied by Chase Bank. In 1999 the present courthouse celebrated its 100th birthday. (For more information about this courthouse, log on to Sophienburg.com, Jan. 20, 2009)

Our present courthouse was originally designed to sit in the middle of the Main Plaza with four easy accesses. When that plan fell through, the present location was chosen. The jail was added later, obscuring two entrances and another closed to add more office space. When this present restoration is complete, the original four entrances will once again be usable.

Nothing is left of the Millett Hotel, as the building was torn down shortly before the new courthouse was started. Behind the present courthouse where a parking area was located by the jail, a water well was discovered. The Texas Historic Commission evaluated the dry well and said that it pre-dated the Courthouse.  The well would have been in the right spot for use by the hotel. It was recently filled in with sand to protect its integrity and to prevent a cave-in. The last remnant of an era.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

Researching your family? Maybe you want to know about who lived in/owned your home? The Sophienburg Museum and Archives has resources to help you!

Research, of any subject, is basically detective work — analyzing the available records, searching through assembled stories and examining photographs and maps. The Sophienburg has been collecting these kinds of resources for more than 92 years and our staff can assist you in your quest.

So how do we begin the process? At the Sophienburg, we usually start with a surname or a location. If you are researching a property, we look for clues in the phonebooks and city directories. Our telephone book collection goes back to 1906. That’s pretty early in the telephone age. New Braunfels had 7,008 citizens in the 1900 U.S. Census; only 101 phone numbers appear in the 1906 telephone book and many of these are business numbers.

To use a phonebook, you look things up by name or subject. A city directory adds to our chances of finding facts because it also lists by street. For instance, you can look up your home by its address. The directory, depending on the year, can tell you who lives there, what they do, what race they are, if they are renting or own, and other information. The city directory is a little like the census and phone book combined only it is published more than once every 10 years.

City directories were first printed for large cities in Europe in the 16th century. Philadelphia was the first US city to have a directory (1785), followed by New York. The early directories were published by independent publishers who relied on advertisements to fund them. Consequently, most of the listings are from tradesmen and businesses instead of people.

The Sophienburg’s earliest New Braunfels City Directory is 1931 followed by 1940 and 1952-53. Directories from the 1960s-1990s are also available. With the directories, we can trace who lived at a specific address and when residency changed. Each resident change gives us new names to follow for more information. We also find out who their neighbors were, and can sometimes trace the demographic changes in the neighborhood. More property information from the Comal County Clerk’s office is available online.

Following names is how we find out the stories that are associated with your family or your property. As an example, we are currently researching some ranch property for a family who have a log-built structure on their place. By using the resources available to both them and the Sophienburg, we can take their property all the way back to Republic of Texas days (1836-1846). We can find this information by using the Texas General Land Office records, also online. Their property is located on land granted to men who fought in the Texas Revolution. I have a New Braunfels First Founder in my family and on the TxGLO website I found scans of the original German immigrant land granted to my family — if only we still had it!

The Sophienburg has over 500 genealogies of New Braunfels and Comal County names. These are bound volumes of family genealogy that were generated by museum personnel and family members before Ancestry, Family Search and other databases. These volumes contain wonderful anecdotal information which is really what makes your ancestors come alive.

Along with the family histories, the Sophienburg Archives has an almost complete collection of the German-language newspaper Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung (1852-1957), the New Braunfels Herald (1895-1957) and the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung (1957 to present day). These are all on microfilm and can be referenced at the Sophienburg by appointment.

The German Zeitung was painstakingly indexed by volunteers prior to 2000. It can be searched by name or by subject. Of course, the articles will be in German. But that’s okay, because some of us can still read German and, if necessary, you can Google translate it. Newspaper articles will include birth, marriage and death information, as well as everyday occurrences in local, state, national and world news. We are unique in having an overlap in two languages — news is reported with different perspectives. The New Braunfels Herald and the Herald- Zeitung can also be accessed online at the New Braunfels Public Library’s digital newspaper archive.

The Sophienburg Photograph Collection has over half a million images of New Braunfels and the surrounding area. These images (prints, negatives and slides) span the history of New Braunfels and Comal County from the early 1860s to present day. The Photograph Collection illustrates people, homes, city streets, businesses, and farms. It immortalizes city and cultural events and celebrations like parades, festivals and weddings. The collection includes most of the negatives of the Seidel/Braunfels Studio which photographed city and citizens from the 1920s thru the 1970s. The collection is widely used by people searching for old family members, authors needing illustrations, homeowners wanting views of their property and businesses looking for images of New Braunfels in the old days. Copies can be purchased for use and display.

The Sophienburg’s Archive Collection includes early hand-drawn maps and later printed maps of the city, certain neighborhoods, and the county. We have several Sanborn Fire Insurance maps which wonderfully show the evolution of buildings and homes as they rise, are renovated and then replaced. These are my favorite because they include details of building construction, materials and even where the outhouses and wells were located. Other maps in the collection show topographical information which, when it rains again, will show why your street tends to flood after an inch or two.

The Sophienburg welcomes you to come and research in our spacious reading room. There will always be a friendly staff member available to help you find what you are looking for. Well, you might not find ALL you want to know. Research, like detective work, seldom finds all the answers to all our questions. However, it is really fun to try!

To do research, please contact The Sophienburg at 830-629-1572 during office hours (Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m,–4 p.m.) to make an appointment. Daily fee for the Archives is $25 and includes our helpful personnel and admission to the Exhibit Floor. If you need more time, your fee can easily be rolled into an individual membership that allows you unlimited entry to the archives for just $50 per year.

See you in the stacks!

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

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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

This year, the New Braunfels Hermann Sons Lodge #21 is celebrating 135 years. What sounded like a simple “Happy Birthday” article soon became a rabbit hole that I could not ignore. Hold on!

First of all, who is Hermann and why do his sons have a lodge? I learned that the answer is somewhat complex. The Order of the Sons of Hermann fraternal (men only) organization was founded in 1840 by German immigrants in New York. Originally established under the German name “Der Orden der Hermann Soehne”, sometimes shortened to ODHS, it was created to provide mutual aid to members while promoting and preserving the German language and traditions in their new homeland.

Hermann is a hero. The Hermann Sons organization was named after a first century Germanic hero, Hermann the Cherusker (Defender) who destroyed three Roman legions at the Battle of Teutoberg Wald (Teutonia Forest) in 9 A.D. Hermann was revered for helping prevent Roman rule over the Germanic tribes. The Sons of Hermann organization protects its members and their German traditions just like Hermann did centuries before.

It took more than twenty years for The Order of the Sons of Hermann to make it down to Texas. There, several German-speaking San Antonio residents gathered and voted to organize a lodge, mainly to be of assistance to one another. The Harmonia Lodge #1 of San Antonio was created in 1861. Upon the death of one of their members three months later, several in the brotherhood paid for his coffin and grave, as well as provided financial assistance to the widow for several months afterwards.

Strong feelings about assisting and supporting their members in times of need became the driving force behind Harmonia Lodge’s request to National Grand Lodge for an obligatory life insurance program for members. In 1876, The National Grand Lodge adopted the recommendation, mandating a life insurance purchase with each membership so that each brother would receive $300 life insurance and $60 if his wife preceded him.

By March 1890, Texas Germans had organized ODHS Lodges in seven other cities for a total of eight, granting Texas the right to establish a State Grand Lodge of the Order of the Sons of Hermann. Ninety-two more lodges were established that same year, including Teutonia Lodge #21 of Hortontown in Comal County. Teutonia was in deference to the Teutonia Forest region of Germany.

Hortontown, is also sometimes written as Horton Town in documents. It was named for the owner of land where it was located, across the Guadalupe River from New Braunfels/Comaltown, A.C. Horton. Albert Clinton Horton, originally from Alabama, fought in the Texas Revolution and served as the first Lt. Governor of the State of Texas. He was extremely wealthy before the Civil War. According to records, he owned at least three tracts of land in Comal County, including a league (4428.2 acres) that stretched from the Guadalupe River to FM 306, then Nacogdoches-Austin Road (Broadway and Post Roads) to Gruene. Hortontown, by my best calculations, is thought to have been situated at the old Goodwin school grounds and then along Broadway Street (Loop 337 cuts through it) toward the backside of the old textile mill. In Comal County property records, older properties (not subdivisions) located on the Horton league will bear the name Foster, since he surveyed the land.

The Teutonia Lodge was the first one in Comal County. At one time, there were actually 24 separate Brother lodges located in Comal County. Comal Lodge #45 was established in 1892, followed by York Creek #63 and Steuben #73 in 1893. Casper Real #104 was chartered in 1894. Johann Sahm #116, Marbach #125 and Prinz Carl #127 were all chartered in 1895 and then Prinz Solms #136, Hunter #145, Ullrich von Hutten #146 and Thornhill #149 (Gruene) chartered in 1896. There were only four more lodges organized over the next thirteen years: Lone Star #91, Schuchard #181 (Comaltown), Fischer Store #219 and Marienthal #248.

The ladies were not to be left out. In 1896, the National Grand Lodge allowed for Sister (all women) lodges, but it was not until 1900 that the first Sister lodge was organized in Comal County, Prinzessen Heinrich #12. The other seven lodges organized between 1907 and 1911, included Freiheit Sister #45, Fruhling #48, Marie #91, Gludaus #101, Gloeckenbluemen (Bluebell) #104, Gartenlaube (Gazebo) #105, and finally, Heimat #99.

By 1920, the Order of the Sons of Hermann in Texas had more members and greater financial stability than all of the lodges in the rest of the United States combined. The Texas Grand Lodge broke away from the National Order of the Sons of Hermann and became independent and autonomous. They eventually transitioned from the German language to the English language by the late 1930s, although Teutonia meeting minutes were still recorded in German through 1942. Since Hermann Sons was organized for German immigrants, all of the members were of German descent, but by 1965 only about half were. By 1994 membership was open to all ethnic groups.

At the height of its popularity, there were more than 250 Hermann Sons lodges in Texas, with at least 100,000 members. Now the lodges number approximately 125 with less than 65,000 members. Comal County lodges have dwindled to three. Many of them dissolved after trying to survive by merging with others: Casper Real consolidated with Gludaus Sister Lodge, but dissolved in 1943. Johann Sahm, Marbach, Fruhling all merged together and then consolidated with Carl Rompel #268 before dissolving. Fischer Store and Marienthal merged before dissolving in 1954.

The three remaining are Prinz Solms #136, Spring Branch #127 and New Braunfels #21. Prinz Solms (who merged with Heimat Sister Lodge #99) is the only one to retain its original name. Spring Branch (originally Prinz Carl #127) joined with Gloeckenbluemen #104 and took on the name of Spring Branch #127. All of the other lodges, through various moves and mergers finally consolidated with Teutonia #21, which changed its name to New Braunfels #21 in 1962.

Since 1957, the New Braunfels Hermann Sons Hall has been located on Union Street, where the local lodge holds meetings and operates a dance school. Hundreds of girls have taken dancing in that hall, including all three of mine. They have also attended Hermann Sons summer camp along with their friends in Comfort, Texas, which has operated since 1954. True to their mission of lifelong support, the local lodge also offers scholarships to the youth, insurance for every level of life and has a retirement home in Comfort.

In 2017, The Order of Hermann Sons in Texas changed its name and rebranded their organization. Originally founded in 1890 as a fraternal benefit society for German immigrants in Texas, the name became Hermann Sons Life to better reflect its broader mission and inclusivity.

Alles Gut zum Geburtstag, Der Orden der Hermann Soehne, Neu Braunfels #21!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives, New Braunfels Hermann Sons Lodge #21.

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

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff —

The year is 1849, just five years after the first emigrants arrived on the Texas coast. Hermann Seele has been invited to spend December 26th with Pastor L.C. Ervendberg, his wife Luise, their five children, and the 19 orphans left parentless by the devastating immigration conditions beginning in 1846.

The story behind the orphans is a tragic episode. In December of 1846, the first of an additional 5,247 emigrants arrived at Indianola. The Adelsverein had run out of money This factor and excessive rain led to no food and no transportation to the interior. Cholera broke out and the emigrants could not leave. At this time the sad trek to NB began and hundreds died along the way. The sick brought disease to the new colony. In 1846 alone, Pastor Ervendberg, pastor for the Adelsverein, added 348 deaths to his record and 60 children were parentless.

Ervendberg and his wife put up a large tent on their church property to protect the orphans, and friends and relatives claimed all but 19. These, in turn, were taken in by the Ervendbergs. They established Neu Wied outside the city limits, the first orphanage in Texas.

Now let’s return to Hermann Seele and end this story on a happy note. Seele left his home which he called Elisenruhe, located on the banks of the Guadalupe River (Seele Street). On his horse Bill, he galloped north on Seguin St. and down to the Comal Creek. Leaving the muddy street, horse and rider slid down the bank and climbed up on the other side. Now passing Merriwether’s mill, and riding through the river bottom, possibly where the golf course is, he crossed the original Comal about where Schlitterbahn is and on to Austin Street. He rode through the elm forest of Comaltown. Many of those 150-year old elms are still standing.

Suddenly around Rock Street, he noticed a number of crude rock-covered graves. They were some of the first emigrants in Comaltown who never reached their destination. Now on Gruene Road, his attention was diverted toward the Guadalupe River and he saw the rooftops of houses in Hortontown across the river.

Continuing on the prairie, Seele came upon Neu Wied, a charming farm building on a small hill. He was greeted by the boys who raced down the hill to open the gate. The girls greeted him from the porch.

They entered a spacious hall-like entryway that ran the entire length of the house. In the center were two long tables with benches. The schoolroom wing, where Ervendberg taught the children, was on the north. Here tables were covered with white tablecloths and presents for each child. The Christmas tree was a young cedar with a small garden around it and carved rocks to resemble honeycomb. Figurines of shepherds and the Christchild decorated the base.

Also, in the room were volumes from the Smithsonian Institution, maps, silk cocoons strung on strings, insect collections, and stuffed birds.

Handmade presents were abundant. The girls had sewed suits for the boys and knitted stockings. They had crocheted gifts for each other. The boys braided whips for each other and there were new quilts in the boys’ rooms.

A colorful old gentleman named Buegel, visiting with the Ervendbergs, told of his adventures during the Texas Revolution to the gathering sitting around a circle in front of a crackling fire. It was 11:00 in the evening before his enchanting tale was done. Outside a fresh norther whipped up the wind.

The next morning Seele was awakened by the sound of the coffee mill and the clear voice of one of the girls singing a song by Johannes Falk:

O du fröhliche
O du selige,
Gnadenbringende Weihnachtszeit

O, thou joyful,
O, thou wonderful,
Grace-revealing Christmastide

Seele’s day at Neu Wied was over and he made his way back home.

Fast forward to today. Gone are the days of mostly handmade gifts and decorations as Amazon continues to boom, but here in New Braunfels we still share the traditions of our German heritage brought over by the immigrants. One of those traditions is the celebration of Saint Nikolaus Eve on December 5th. St Nikolaus day is observed on December 6, and it is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra. It is a favorite holiday with German children and, with those in New Braunfels as well. St. Nikolaus is not the jolly, old, bearded Santa that we know. He is a little gruffer, taking more interest in the children’s behavior and learning their prayers. Here, on the night of December 5, hang their stockings before going to sleep. Next morning, they find stockings filled with nuts, candy, and small gifts from St Nikolaus.

St. Nikolaus visits the Sophienburg Museum on December 5, to find out if the children have been good. There is still time to call the Sophienburg to RSVP for your family now. If we should miss you, the Sophienburg wishes you Merry Christmas!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Around the Sophienburg by Myra Lee Goff.

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff —

Historically, the first July 4th celebration in New Braunfels goes back to 1846. The emigrants had arrived only three months earlier on March 21, 1845, when Texas was still the Republic of Texas. Now, in 1846 they could celebrate the national festival commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 because they had become a state of the United States.

Maybe a little Texas history background: Texas became a republic in 1836 after a war with Mexico. Sam Houston was elected the first president of the Republic, and when Anson Jones was president in 1844, he called a special session of the Texas Congress to consider annexation of Texas to the United States. Congress met July 4, 1845, and approved the idea of annexation. The voters of Texas approved statehood overwhelmingly in October of that same year. The next step was approval by the US Congress; Pres. Polk signed the act that made Texas the 28th state of the US on December 29, 1845. Finally, in February of 1846 the last Republic of Texas President Anson Jones turned over the reins of government to the first governor of the new state of Texas, J. L Pinckney Henderson.

Here’s how New Braunfels fits into that picture: The first colonists arrived in Texas when it was a Republic so they were considered Texans. They were in NB not quite three months when the Texas president Anson Jones approved annexation to the United States as a state. They voted with other Texans on annexation in October when it passed. So, in a little over 10 months these emigrants were classified first as German, then as Texans, and finally as Americans.

Dr. Ferdinand Roemer in his book Texas tells of that first July 4th celebration in NB commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence: The headquarters building of the Adelsverein on Sophienburg hill displayed a large American flag. Flag raising was significant because the year before, Prince Carl hoisted an Austrian flag on the Sophienburg and shortly thereafter a group of settlers strung up the Republic of Texas flag on the Plaza. (NB under three flags)

In the early days, cannon firing from Sophienburg hill heralded the beginning of every celebration. One cannon blew up after the Civil War as a result of overheating and the other cannon was then moved to Comaltown to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of NB. To find out what happened to this remaining cannon, refer back to the Sophienburg column on July 8, 2008, in the Herald-Zeitung or our web site.

In 1876, the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was celebrated in a grand way. Again, for details, see the column on June 26, 2007, or our web-site.

This year’s July 4th celebration and parade sponsored by the Sophienburg begins at 9:15 a.m. (lineup at Sts. Peter & Paul Church parking lot). The Plaza itself is historically significant because it has been the destination of hundreds of parades and gathering points. After a giant 50th Anniversary Celebration of the town in 1895, the city officials decided to add a fountain and erect a curb around the oval shaped plaza with funds left over from this celebration. The purpose of the curb was to keep people from watering their horses in the fountain. The city actually wanted to extend the curb 15 feet all around, but the merchants objected, saying there would be no room for customers to tether their horses. The merchants won. No horses in the fountain, but there were goldfish and a car or two.

This particular July 4th is a dual celebration: that of America’s birthday and the induction of Main Plaza into the National Registry of Historic Places. Come join the Sophienburg on Main Plaza for another rip-roaring Old-time 4th of July Parade and Patriotic Program. When? You guessed it: Monday, July 4, 2022. See you there!

(This article originally appeared June 23, 2009.)

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Almost 70 years ago (1947), local historian Oscar Haas was asked by the Texas State Historical Association to compile the origin and history of all name-places in Comal County. Haas’ histories and thousands of others are what make up the Handbook of Texas that can be accessed online. One of these places was the small settlement of Neighborsville across the Guadalupe River from New Braunfels. This settlement was founded by Jacob deCordova, who called himself “The Wanderer.” You will know why when you read his story his story.

Jacob Raphael de Cordova was born in Spanish Town on the island of Jamaica in 1808 to Raphael and Judith deCordova. His father was a coffee grower and exporter. During the Spanish Inquisition, many Jewish people were forced out of Spain if they did not convert to Catholicism. The Jewish deCordova family moved to Jamaica. Jacob’s mother died when he was born and he was reared in England by an aunt. In the 1820s, Jacob and his father moved to Philadelphia. Jacob was well educated and learned English, French, Spanish, German, Hebrew and several Indian dialects. He, no doubt, had a “gift of gab.” In Philadelphia, Jacob married Rebecca Sterling and they eventually had five children.

At age 25, he moved back to Jamaica and founded a newspaper, the Kingston Daily Gleaner. He and his wife left there after three years and traveled to New Orleans where he became a merchant, shipping goods to Texas during and following the Texas Revolution. His next “wandering” took him to Galveston, and then to Houston. Here he was elected a representative for Harris County to the Legislature of the State of Texas. After losing the election for his second term, he moved to Austin and then began traveling all over Texas acquiring land to sell. He had a land agency with his brother that surveyed and performed land transactions. It was one of the largest to operate in the Southwest. DeCordova was hired to lay out the town of Waco in 1848-1849. He was also an expert map maker and compiled a map of Texas in 1849 with cartographer Robert Creuzbaur. He was an avid writer of immigrant guides and travel books, and also published newspapers, the Texas Herald out of Houston and the Southwestern American out of Austin. He became well-known by giving lectures all over the United States and even Europe, to attract settlers.

In the 1850s the family moved five miles outside of Seguin where he built a large house for his wife and children. He named it “Wanderer’s Retreat.” A retreat became necessary during the Civil War when he experienced financial issues. The land business slowed and he had overextended himself. He died in 1868 and was buried in Kimball on his land near the Brazos River.

There are many places in Texas named for or by deCordova. There is the De Cordova Bend on the Brazos (south of Fort Worth), the De Cordova Bend Dam (Lake Granbury), Cordova Road (Guadalupe County), Jacobs Creek (Comal County), Cordova Creek (Comal County), Jacobs Well (Hays County) and then there is Rebecca Creek (Comal County) named after deCordova’s wife, Rebecca, Wanderer’s Creek (north Texas running into the Red River), and Phineas Creek, named for his brother (Brazos tributary). He was known as the “Texas Champion Creek-Namer.”

Neighborsville

By 1846, when the legislature formed Comal County, immigrants arriving looked for land. Besides New Braunfels and Comaltown, many settlements emerged in the county outside of New Braunfels. Because of the good farm land on the east side of the Guadalupe River from New Braunfels, settlements developed such as Hortontown (Horton’s League). On the same side of the Guadalupe River as Hortontown but to the south, Neighborsville was established.

In the early years, if you were traveling up from the coast to New Braunfels, you would travel on the east side of the Guadalupe River, crossing into New Braunfels at the Nacogdoches Road crossing or you would use the ferry a little farther up river at the confluence of the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers. Seguin Street (avenue now) was the main street in New Braunfels but you had to cross the Guadalupe first to get there.

Now let’s look at DeCordova’s connection to Neighborsville. In 1851, the land that became Neighborsville was surveyed and a map made by J. Groos for Jacob deCordova. The location was across the Guadalupe River from New Braunfels and deCordova was considered the founder. The land was actually laid out into acreage plots. There were five streets originally laid out that included Benner, Broadway (still there), Rusk (still there), Shaw (changed to Churchill) and Jacobs (changed to Wright). There was also a Seguin Street that changed to Horton Avenue but I drove over to the area and could not find it. The Nacogdoches Road or Camino Real ran right through the middle of the area and the Guadalupe River with the river crossing was one of the boundaries. DeCordova thought the settlement would be ideal right on the Guadalupe River near the Camino Real crossing. If you drive on Churchill Drive, you will see the El Camino Real de las Tejas National Historic Trail signs showing the road as an original route where the first immigrants crossed the river. (You can see the signs also on Nacogdoches Road.)

In order to imagine the area as deCordova saw it, you have to remove the old Mission Valley Mill Plant, the railroad, Loop 337, and the US 81 and IH 35 north to south highways.

The land was situated in the northwest end of the Esnaurizer Eleven Leagues grant and was bound on the north by the Horton League. Hortontown was the next-door-neighbor. In 1830, General Antonio Esnaurizer petitioned the Governor of Coahuila and Texas for a grant of land. He wanted to establish farming and ranching between the San Marcos River and the Guadalupe River. Someone had to take possession of the land to survey and administer the grant. First, Juan Martin de Veramendi was appointed, then James Bowie and finally Jacob deCordova. The Esnaurizer grant begins in Seguin, follows the San Marcos-Austin Road almost to San Marcos, then follows the Austin-New Braunfels Road to the Guadalupe River. It then goes to a mile below McQueeney and then back up around the Clements and Branch leagues to Seguin. DeCordova received land as payment for his services.

Guadalupe County once extended north-east of the Guadalupe River right up to the Nacogdoches Road crossing but in 1853, thirty-one settlers from Neighborsville and Hortontown petitioned the legislature to be a part of Comal County. If you are looking for records between 1845 and 1853 for this area, you might try the Guadalupe County Courthouse.

“For $1 and in consideration for advancement of Religion and Education,” Jacob deCordova conveyed two acres of land for the St. Martin’s Evengelical Lutheran Church and Churchill School. This beautiful quaint little church can be seen as you drive down Loop 337 and at one time was located next to the Churchill School that is part of the New Braunfels Conservation Society campus. The church was moved to its current location in the Hortontown Cemetery in 1968.

In 1935, after seventy years, the bodies of Jacob and Rebecca deCordova were moved to the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, an honor afforded only to those who made an outstanding contribution to the state. Jacob deCordova was one of those citizens.

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