By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

When I was 6 years old, I remember proudly being able to finally count to 100 without messing up. I counted 100 pennies. I counted 100 M&M’s (though I rarely made it through that without eating some). Those were tangible. It is still very hard for me to wrap my head around counting 100 of anything intangible … like 100 years. What was it even like 100 years ago in 1926?

Well, World War I ended in 1918. The U.S. economy was humming along, and automobiles became common place. Queen Elizabeth II was born, and the magician Houdini died. The famed U.S. Route 66 was established, connecting Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. Closer to home, the towering Comal Power Plant (LCRA, now The Landmark Apartments) was built, and, believe it or not, the Women’s Civic Improvement Club funded the installation of a women’s restroom under the bandstand on Main Plaza.

As New Braunfels grew, the number of churches grew to serve the needs of people moving into the community. In August of 1925, an announcement appeared in the New Braunfels Herald touting Rev. H. Schliesser, a field missionary of the Lutheran Texas Synod, was in New Braunfels to organize a Lutheran congregation. The first services, conducted in German, were upstairs at Mergele Hall.

The Mergeles of Harry Mergele’s Hall are founding families from France. They were merchants. Their home is the little green building that sits behind the store at 166 Comal Avenue (now the chiropractor office). Mergele Hall may not ring a bell with you because the building has had so many other occupants. The two-story building, now the home of Water 2 Wine at 185 S. Seguin, has housed many entities over the years, including a place for the militia to drill, a dance studio, piano studio, and an assembly hall, part of Denson-Dedeke Gifts (downstairs) in the ‘80s and the original retail space for Celebrations Bridal (upstairs). St. Paul Lutheran was one of many churches that got their start upstairs at Mergele Hall.

The new Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul Congregation was established and officially recognized March 21, 1926. The church continued to grow under the guidance of the Rev. H Schliesser. The services were conducted in German in the morning and English in the afternoon with Sunday School in between.

By October 1926, the Lutheran Mission Board of the Iowa Synod voted to contribute to the St. Paul congregation, helping them purchase a house and lot on San Antonio Street for a parsonage, along with two adjacent lots to build a church on Santa Clara. They operated out of those few buildings for a while as they continued to grow their services.

Within a year, they added a St Paul Lutheran Ladies Aid and St. Paul Luther League (for teens), and the St. Paul Lutheran Brotherhood. 1928 saw more opportunities to participate in worship with the creation of the sanctuary and junior choirs. Then, the Great Depression hit.

In 1939, Rev. H.A. Heineke formed a building committee to begin planning a new church building. The church, designed by noted architect, Jeremiah Schmidt, and built by C. R. Roessler, was built of native fieldstone with beautiful dark wood interior beams/trim and stained-glass windows. The $6,000 ($110,000 today) note covered the building and furniture. The church, now known as the Chapel, was dedicated on April 14, 1940. The Chapel is one of the only Jeremiah Schmidt buildings in New Braunfels without a Texas State Historical marker.

St. Paul’s congregation continued to grow, much like churches across the U.S. in the 1960s. This growth prompted the congregation to expand their footprint. In 1962, a new, larger sanctuary was built. The new church building wrapped around the original Jeremiah Schmidt chapel, with its modern design incorporating similar stone, wood beams and colorful stained-glass windows.

With New Braunfels being 180 years old, you might wonder why it took 80 years for a Lutheran church congregation to be established. Well, there is a whole backstory to that. The Lutheran denominations began in Europe and arrived in Texas with German, Swedish, Czech immigrants. In 1850, Pastor Kleiss of Baden, Germany, arrived in Texas to check out the possibilities for new Lutheran congregations. He established himself in the Hortontown and Neighborsville communities across the river from New Braunfels.

In 1851, the German-speaking congregation erected St. Martin Church, the oldest Lutheran church in Texas. A school building was built in 1870 (still standing across from New Braunfels Conservation Society gate). The congregation grew until the turn of the century. St. Martin’s was part of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas. It became difficult to supply churches with German-speaking pastors who were of Evangelical or Reformed faith. When services were discontinued, the congregants attended nearby German-speaking churches, First Protestant Church in New Braunfels or Friedens Church in Geronimo.

St. Martin’s Church was taken over and restored by the St. Paul Lutheran Congregation in 1963. St. Martin’s Church was moved to its present place in the Hortontown Cemetery when Loop 337 was built and is marked by a Texas Historical Marker. St. Paul Lutheran Church still holds special services in St. Martins.

One hundred years ago, St. Paul Lutheran began a journey in Christ and extended itself to not only take care of future congregants, but to honor the history of Lutheranism in Texas. Here’s to counting 100 more years!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and 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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By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

A 90th birthday is an event well worth celebrating. My beautiful friend was born in 1933, the same year as Willie Nelson and Carol Burnett. It was the worst year of the Great Depression, when twenty-five percent of the labor force was unemployed, the U.S. bank system failed, and the Texas Rangers brought down Bonnie and Clyde. It was also the year that Adolf Hitler became absolute dictator of Germany. It was a tough time to be brought into this world.

My friend was raised in New Braunfels by loving family and friends, who worked to provide the very best for her. As she grew, she focused on learning as much as she could about her community. Her studies allowed her to become a skilled artisan and storyteller, weaving the threads of history into a beautiful tapestry for all to see. She has contributed greatly to her beloved community, becoming an important figure in the public eye. With age, she has amassed many treasures, which she promises are not for herself, but are heirlooms to share with her family. She loves to tell the story about how she was named after some great-aunt, a princess of some kind, but in my contacts, she is simply listed as Sophie N. Burg. She is a grand lady who lives on the Hill and this month she is 90 years old.

The Sophienburg Museum and Archives, in many ways, is a living breathing entity with so many secrets to share. While I know she is not human, the story of her birth is still pretty cool. German immigrants arrived in 1845 under the auspices of the “The Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas” or the Adelsverein. Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, Commissioner General of the Verein, named the acreage after his homeland — New Braunfels. He set up camp on a little hill above the newly formed colony. On that same hill he built a log cabin structure and named it Sophienburg (Fort Sophie) in honor of his betrothed, Princess Sophie of Salm-Salm. The property continued to be known as Sophienburg Hill long after the land was sold to satisfy debts. The Sophienburg Hill has been the subject of many early artists.

In 1925, H. Dittlinger traveled with his family to Rome to participate in the Jubilee of 1925, called by Pope Pius XI. They also visited the ancestral castle of Prince Carl. There, the Dittlingers received a portrait of Prince Carl with the request that it be placed in our city’s museum. The Dittlingers graciously agreed to keep it until a museum could be built.

On February 18, 1926, fourteen community organizations along with local government officials met with the purpose of discussing the building of a museum. The Central Committee appointed one representative from each organization. They included Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Civic Improvement Club, American Legion, Legion Ladies’ Auxiliary, Child Welfare, Boy Scouts, Protestant Frauenverein, Catholic Mothers’ Society, Echo Singing Society, Echo Home Association, Methodist Missionary Society, New Braunfels Band, New Braunfels Choral Club, Mayor Blumberg, County Judge Carl Roeper, Fire Chief Walter Staats and the local press. S.V. Pfeuffer was elected president; George Eiband, Vice-President; B.W. Nuhn, Treasurer and Louis Scholl, Secretary.

In the months between February and July of 1926, the Central Committee negotiated to purchase portions of the Sophienburg Hill property. Mrs. Runge, wishing to just complete the sale, discounted the $7000 price and settled for $5000. The Central Committee worked very hard to secure subscriptions (pledged funds) from New Braunfels residents to support the project.

Project instigator S.V. Pfeuffer died and the museum project languished. Then, 1929 struck a blow to anything requiring money, as no one had any. Progress seemed to just stop. The Committee picked up speed again when new officers were elected in October of 1930. Early in 1931, the Committee worked on drafting by-laws and designing a building plan. By 1932, the mayor granted permission for temporary use of the City Hall basement to display relics and artifacts of pioneer days.

On March 10, 1933, the Executive Committee, along with Constitution and By-laws, Finance and Building committees, consisting of members R. Wagenfuehr, R. S. Jahn, B.W. Nuhn, Emil Fischer, Mrs. G. Eiband, Mrs. H. Dittlinger, John Faust, Martin Faust, I.A. Ogden, M.C. Hagler and Rev. Charlton, passed a Resolution of Incorporation for the Sophienburg Memorial Association, Inc. The resolution further specified the purpose as perpetuating the memory and spirit of the pioneers of New Braunfels, to encourage historical research and to erect suitable structures to preserve places made historic by the founding and development of the city. By-laws were accepted and Board Officers were elected on April 5, 1933.

Later that same month, the Board accepted a bid of $4,563.60 submitted by W.C. Long. The cornerstone was laid in May of 1933 with the official public cornerstone ceremony held in June. The fortress-like building was designed by local architect Jeremiah Schmidt. Design specs called for irregular rock, a fireplace, two front columns and flagstone front steps. One room of the museum was to be designated a library. The whole community took ownership of the project, bringing treasured rocks to contribute to the building’s exterior, including petrified wood, fossils, geodes, crystals, honeycomb rock, granite and more. On October 8, 1933, the Sophienburg Museum was dedicated and opened to the public.

The Sophienburg Museum and Archives is 90 years old. Special birthday exhibits and events will be coming throughout the summer. We will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the dedication and opening of the Museum on October 8, 2023. I hope that you and yours will celebrate with us this year. Our Sophie is a very grand lady, and she sits like a jewel perched on the edge of Sophienburg Hill. What a treasure!

This edifice may rightfully be termed an expression of the citizens of this community … Let us dedicate this memorial to the memory of the pioneers of the past who made our beautiful city possible; to the living of the present, that they may enjoy it, and to the generations of the future as a reminder of a noble heritage.

— R. Wagenfuehr, President of the Sophienburg Memorial Association, 1933.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

Photo caption: June 12, 1933 Cornerstone Ceremony.

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Driving down Magazine Street the other day, I may have muttered some choice words when I bounced into a pothole that, I promise, a whole pig could have fit into. By the time I got to the Sophienburg, I was thinking hard about the streets in NB. Were they ever worse than they are now?

Oh. My. Yes.

Imagine a time when there were no motor vehicles, only wagons, carts and carriages ALL pulled along by horses, mules and oxen teams. There was a lot of _ _ _ _ on the roads.

To alleviate the amount of manure and urine and God only knows what else was laying on those dirt streets, they needed to be “sprinkled” with water daily. Sprinkling also improved health and living conditions by lessening the awful dust problem caused by street traffic. Shop owners on the main business streets were forever dusting and washing off produce, wares, floors and store counters.

A sprinkling wagon was a large and heavy vehicle designed to carry a tank that held up to 1000 gallons of water. A sprayer system was hung off the back that delivered water “more natural than a shower itself” according to the Fairchild sprinkler wagon patent in 1879.

The first sprinkler wagon in NB was built at the Comal Ironworks (near the old Comal Cottons mill) by Theodor Meckel in October 1893. Citizens paid Meckel a small fee to sprinkle the street in front of their home or business. The City also paid Meckel to sprinkle Main Plaza and the first block of W. San Antonio Street.

In 1905, the City paid Julius Buske a salary of $754.10 ($2.25 per hour) to haul gravel to fix potholes and to sprinkle the main streets. With continued growth came more dirt streets and dust — – more animal-powered vehicles and muck. A small poem was published in the Herald.

The sprinkler man in our town, he works with might and main,
To get the pavement sprinkled well before it starts to rain.

The local Womens Civic Improvement Club marched to the rescue by purchasing a new street sprinkler wagon for the city in 1914. The Mayor “expressed his high appreciation and thanks.” These women also championed the placement of public restrooms under the bandstand on Main Plaza. These women were good people.

By 1917, the city’s growth had made the dust/sanitation problem of gravel streets nearly impossible to maintain. Mr. Clemens suggested the new-fangled asphalting of Main Plaza and W. San Antonio to Academy Streets. The Uvalde Rock Asphalt Company was hired and completed the paving by February 1918, giving “the principle part of the city an up-to-date appearance.” FYI: A public notice was published warning everyone “not to burn trash or make fire for any purpose on the new asphalt street paving, as it will damage the paving.” Duh….

The City Council noted in 1918 that the City had paid $12,590.93 of the downtown paving bill and that 30 (named!) individuals had chipped in another $8,820.32 to extend the paving to the curbs on both sides of the streets. Incidently this public/private payment system remained in play up into the 1960s. The City would pay 1/3 of the cost of paving a street; that part was laid down the center. The other 2/3 of the cost was paid by the owners of the property on each side of the street; they were responsible for the pavement to the curb in front of their homes/businesses. Neighborhoods petitioned the City for paving, then had to get all the property owners to agree to the terms — not an easy thing to do.

A combination street sweeper and sprinkler was purchased in 1922, reflecting the dual nature of NB streets. Dust from unpaved side roads was being carried onto the asphalted main streets. F.F. Fischer ran the unit for 50 cents an hour.

In 1932, the demand from folks across the river in Comaltown was addressed by the renting of a motor-driven sprinkler truck. The truck accomplished in 5 hours what the horse-drawn sprinkler wagon could manage in 7. FYI: It required 22 hours to sprinkle all the unpaved streets in just downtown NB at this time.

Eventually, the city streets get paved and the dust problem is more or less solved, but that doesn’t really happen until the 1960s. That means I should remember gravel roads, but I don’t. By the time I was hitting the streets, it was pretty much all paved. All this has made me come to the conclusion that instead of muttering under my breath when I hit that pothole, I am going to joyfully praise the Lord that 1. I drive a car and 2. I drive on paved roads

Sources:

• Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, New Braunfels Herald, New Braunfel Herald Zeitung
• A Pictorial History of New Braunfels, by Myra Lee Adams Goff and Rosemary Leissner Gregory
• Wheels that Won the West Archives blog, David Sneed
• Meckel family history, Sophienburg Museum & Archives

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