Sophienburg Museum and Archives

Hidden in plain sight

April 28, 2019

By Tara Voigt Kohlenberg — Almost everywhere we go in New Braunfels, there is history hidden in plain sight. Perhaps it is something we drive by daily, but when asked about it, can’t recall where it is. Perhaps it is a building that looks like any other built within the

Morales Funeral Home early business in Comaltown

October 4, 2015

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff Dr. Ferdinand Roemer in his book “Roemer’s Texas,” when he arrived in the village of New Braunfels in 1846, wrote that a speculative American had laid out a new city in between the fork of the Comal and the Guadalupe within view of the city

Tenacity leads to progress

January 11, 2015

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff Recently in the “Smithsonian” magazine, consumer sensor expert, Kevin Ashton, talked about successful innovator skills. His observation was that they possessed tenacity. “The difference between successful innovators and everyone else is that innovators keep failing until they don’t.” He also said “For most of history,

The rise an fall of the Darmstadt

October 6, 2013

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff Called by some, “a catastrophic failure of dreamers”, the organization of about 40 intellectuals, university fraternity members and freethinkers banded together with a common cause. They were called “Darmstadters”, or the “Society of the 40” and their plan in 1847 was to organize a communistic

Wo in Himmel ist Anhalt?

June 2, 2013

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff The third weekend in May I realized how hard it was to preserve historic customs. We can remodel, renovate and preserve buildings, bridges and artifacts. Even history is preserved when we write it down. But the arbitrary laws of custom are transient. In other words,”

Klappenbach House on Klappenbach Hill still stands

May 5, 2013

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff Do you know where the Klappenbach House is located? From Landa St., turn onto Fredericksburg Rd. and go straight until you get to a hill, Klappenbach Hill. The house on the left is the Klappenbach property. The story of the Klappenbach family is indeed interesting.

Locke nurseries business of the past

August 26, 2012

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff When I think of Botanists in New Braunfels, I immediately think of Ferdinand Lindheimer. Lindheimer was given property on the Comal for his botanical garden. No doubt his accomplishments were many, but there were others in the field who contributed much to the beauty of