Dr. Ferdinand Ludwig Von Herff

Duane's take

The official marker tells this story, and here's how I tell it. Listen close now, because this one covers some ground worth knowing. We're talkin' about a man who came a long way to put down roots in the Texas Hill Country, and the roots he put down ran deep.

Dr. Ferdinand Ludwig Von Herff, born November 29, 1820, the son of a prominent German family, a veteran of the Prussian Army, and a physician with a gift for innovation that would make him one of the most prominent doctors in the entire Southwest. He first came to Texas in 1847.

Think about that for a moment. A man with that kind of pedigree, that kind of training, crosses an ocean and rides into Texas in 1847. By the 1860s he had set up practice in San Antonio, and he wasn't just treatin' patients.

He was leading. Active civic leader, they say, which in those days meant you were in the thick of things, whether the community wanted you or not. His medical innovations set him apart, gave him a reputation that stretched well beyond any one county or city.

But here's the part the marker wants you to feel when you're standin' on this particular piece of ground. Dr. Herff and his wife Mathilde, born 1823, died 1910, they owned a ranch right here at this site.

And through their interest in this area, the two of them led in the development of Boerne. Not just lived here, not just passed through. Led.

The Herffs had a favorite spot, a place called Malakopf Mountain, and the local residents who had watched this couple pour themselves into the community decided that spot was exactly right for a monument honoring everything the Herffs had given. Ferdinand Ludwig Von Herff passed on May 18, 1912. But Malakopf Mountain still holds the monument, still holds the memory, and out here in the Hill Country, that's about as permanent as a legacy gets.

What the marker says

(Nov. 29, 1820 - May 18, 1912) The son of a prominent German family and a veteran of the Prussian Army, physician Ferdinand Ludwig Von Herff first came to Texas in 1847. By the 1860s he had set up practice in San Antonio, where he was an active civic leader. His medical innovations made him a prominent physician in the Southwest. Dr. Herff and his wife Mathilde (1823-1910) owned a ranch at this site and, through their interest in the area, led in the development of Boerne. Local residents honored their many contributions with a monument here on Malakopf Mountain, a site favored by the Herffs. (1982)