DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it along to you straight. Now, if you want to understand what a town is made of, look at what it gathers around year after year. In New Braunfels, that thing is the Comal County Fair — and it has been, going back to the early 1890s.
Agriculture, animal husbandry, home economics, arts, entertainment, patriotism, local industry. That's not a fair, friend. That's a portrait of a place.
The story kicks off in 1892, when the city hospital — the Krankenhaus — held its dedication and wanted a fair right there on hospital grounds as a fundraiser. That's the seed of the whole thing. The very next year, 1893, the Comal County Fair Association organized, and Harry Landa was elected president.
Then in 1894, they held the first official Comal County Fair out on Landa's Pasture, near what's now Landa Park. They'd hold it right there for the next four years. By 1898, the association was ready to put down more permanent roots.
They purchased eleven acres on the Guadalupe River in Comaltown. Eleven acres on a river — now that's room to grow. Then in 1905, that initial acreage was sold to the city, but with a lease agreement that let the fair association keep using the land.
That agreement, if you can believe it, is still in effect today. And they kept growing. In 1923, the association reorganized into a corporation and purchased additional adjacent acreage from the Braunfels subdivision.
Roots going deeper, spread going wider. But here's what the marker wants you to know about the hard years. The fair reflected the times.
It scaled back during WWI. It scaled back through the Great Depression. It scaled back again during WWII.
There's something quietly powerful about a community event that doesn't pretend those seasons didn't happen — it just leans in and rides them out. And then came 1946. The fair came roaring back to celebrate the end of WWII, and it did double duty that year — it also marked the New Braunfels centennial.
Now, the centennial technically should've been a year earlier, but the war had pushed it back. So they celebrated it a year late, and they celebrated it right. The fair has always been about the people.
Fair queens and rodeo queens. Marching bands, fair floats, the parade. Carnivals, rodeos, and horse racing.
And here's the detail that tells you everything: the Comal County Fair is the only community event in New Braunfels where all the schools and many local businesses close — just to encourage participation. Not a holiday handed down from on high. A choice the community keeps making, year after year.
From a hospital fundraiser on dedication day in 1892 to one of the largest county fairs in the entire state of Texas. That's not just tradition. That's a town that kept showing up.
What the marker says
The annual Comal County Fair represents tradition and community in New Braunfels, where it has been an important event since the early 1890s. The fair emphasizes agriculture, animal husbandry, home economic skills, arts, entertainment, patriotism, organizations and local industry. In 1892, the opportunity for the first fair arose when the city hospital, the Krankenhaus, held its dedication and wanted a fair to take place on hospital grounds as a hospital fundraiser. In 1893, the Comal County Fair Association organized with Harry Landa elected as president. The first Comal County Fair was held in 1894 on Landa’s Pasture near Landa Park and would be held there for the next four years. In 1898, the association purchased eleven acres on the Guadalupe River in Comaltown to host the fair. The initial acreage was sold in 1905 to the city with a lease agreement with the fair association for use of the land that is still in effect today. In 1923, the fair association reorganized into a corporation and purchased additional adjacent acreage from the Braunfels subdivision. The fair has reflected the times, scaling back activities during WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII. The 1946 fair celebrated the end of WWII and also the New Braunfels centennial. The centennial was celebrated a year late due to the war. The fair has always been about the people from fair queens, rodeo queens, marching bands, fair floats and the parade to carnivals, rodeos and horse racing. The Comal County Fair is the only community event where all schools and many local businesses close to encourage participation. Today the Comal County Fair has become one of the largest county fairs in Texas.