Eiband and Fischer General Mercantile

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Eiband and Fischer General Mercantile, right there in the heart of New Braunfels. Now, some stores just sell things. And some stores become the kind of place that holds a whole town together for over a hundred years.

This is the story of one of those stores. It starts in 1846, just one year after New Braunfels was founded. A mercantile company owned by James Ferguson and Henry Hessler opened on the corner of Castell and San Antonio Streets.

New town, new commerce, new beginnings. But by 1858, both men had died. And the business, well, it didn't die with them.

An employee named Ernst Scherff purchased the operation from Ferguson's widow. The name changed to Ernst Scherff Mercantile. Six years later, Scherff moved the whole thing to the center of town, to the corner of Main Plaza and Seguin Street.

And as sole owner, he grew that business into one of the most successful in the region. Not the most successful in New Braunfels. In the region.

Let that sit a moment. In 1887, Scherff leased the business to two men: his nephew George Knoke, who had come over from Germany, and George Eiband, who was an employee. The place became known as Knoke and Eiband.

Then, in the late 1890s, two more employees stepped in to lease it: Ernst Eiband, who went by E.A. and was George's brother, and Emil Fischer. That name, Eiband and Fischer, was the one that stuck. And in 1910, they made it official in grand fashion.

A weeklong grand opening celebration for the enlarged Eiband and Fischer, Incorporated, drew crowds from surrounding areas. A whole week. These people knew how to open a store.

What they sold reads like a portrait of Texas life at the time: groceries, piece goods, clothing, china, crystal, farm machinery, feed and seed. Their customers were local citizens, farmers, and ranchers. And like the men who came before them, Eiband and Fischer also served as cotton buyers and short-term bankers.

They weren't just merchants. They were a pillar. In 1929, they bought the property outright.

Then comes March 2, 1947. The store was consumed by fire. After all those years, all those owners, all those customers.

Gone in the flames. But here's the thing about a business that's woven into the fabric of a community. It doesn't go quietly.

The annex across the courtyard was untouched by the fire, and it served as the store for twelve years after. Twelve years out of the ruins. And that burned-out shell of the basement?

It found one more purpose. From 1963 to 1966, it served as the home of Wurstfest. Since 1975, New Braunfels Utilities has used the annex building for offices.

What started as a corner store opened by two men in a brand new town became something that outlasted fire, outlasted generations, and outlasted the names on its sign. The marker puts it plainly: this site reminds us of the successful businesses that once thrived and laid the foundation for today's downtown New Braunfels. From Ferguson and Hessler to Scherff to Knoke and Eiband to Eiband and Fischer, each generation handed something forward.

That's not just commerce. That's a town building itself, one transaction at a time.

What the marker says

EIBAND & FISCHER GENERAL MERCANTILE IN 1846, ONE YEAR AFTER NEW BRAUNFELS WAS FOUNDED, A MERCANTILE COMPANY OWNED BY JAMES FERGUSON AND HENRY HESSLER OPENED ON THE CORNER OF CASTELL AND SAN ANTONIO STREETS. BY 1858, BOTH MEN HAD DIED AND ERNST SCHERFF, AN EMPLOYEE, PURCHASED THE BUSINESS FROM FERGUSON'S WIDOW. THE NAME CHANGED TO ERNST SCHERFF MERCANTILE. SIX YEARS LATER, SCHERFF MOVED THE BUSINESS TO THE CENTER OF TOWN ON THE CORNER OF MAIN PLAZA AND SEGUIN STREET. SCHERFF, AS SOLE OWNER, GREW HIS BUSINESS INTO ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IN THE REGION. IN 1887, SCHERFF LEASED THE BUSINESS TO HIS NEPHEW, GEORGE KNOKE FROM GERMANY, AND GEORGE EIBAND, AN EMPLOYEE. THE BUSINESS BECAME KNOWN AS KNOKE & EIBAND. IN THE LATE 1890s, ERNST (E.A.) EIBAND (GEORGE'S BROTHER) AND EMIL FISCHER, BOTH EMPLOYEES, LEASED THE BUSINESS. IN 1910, A WEEKLONG GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION FOR THE ENLARGED EIBAND & FISCHER, INC. TOOK PLACE AND WAS ATTENDED BY CROWDS FROM SURROUNDING AREAS. THE MERCANTILE CONTINUED SUCCESSFULLY SELLING GROCERIES, PIECE GOODS, CLOTHING, CHINA, CRYSTAL, FARM MACHINERY, FEED AND SEED TO LOCAL CITIZENS, FARMERS AND RANCHERS. LIKE THEIR PREDECESSORS, THEY ALSO SERVED AS COTTON BUYERS AND SHORT-TERM BANKERS. THE PROPERTY WAS BOUGHT BY EIBAND & FISCHER IN 1929. ON MARCH 2, 1947, THE STORE WAS CONSUMED BY FIRE. THE ANNEX ACROSS THE COURTYARD WAS UNTOUCHED AND SERVED AS THE STORE FOR TWELVE YEARS AFTER THE FIRE. THE BURNED OUT SHELL OF THE BASEMENT SERVED AS THE HOME OF WURSTFEST FROM 1963-1966. SINCE 1975, THE NEW BRAUNFELS UTILITIES HAS USED THE ANNEX BUILDING FOR OFFICES. THIS SITE REMINDS US OF THE SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES THAT ONCE THRIVED AND LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR TODAY'S DOWNTOWN NEW BRAUNFELS.