Fredericksburg Social Turn Verein

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna let the story breathe a little. Way back in 1871, a group of folks in Fredericksburg decided they needed a club. Not just any club, mind you.

They were carrying on a proud German tradition, the tradition of gymnastic clubs, and they called their outfit the Fredericksburg Social Turn Verein. They set up shop at a site nearby this very spot, opened a gymnastics school, and, because apparently flipping on the mat works up an appetite for competition, they put in a 9-pin bowling alley right alongside it. Now that's a combination that'll hold a community together.

Just one year in, 1872, the Turn Verein held the first of what would become its annual Christmas celebrations. You do something once and call it annual, that's either confidence or stubbornness. In Fredericksburg, turns out it was both, because those celebrations kept right on coming.

Then in 1883, the club did something that went well beyond gymnastics and holiday cheer. They sponsored a fire brigade. A fire brigade.

That brigade grew up and became the City Volunteer Fire Department, which is the kind of civic contribution that earns a town's lasting respect. In 1909 the Turn Verein made the move to this location, the ground you're likely standing near right now. And here's the part that stops you cold when you think about it.

The children's gymnastics, the Christmas celebrations, the bowling, they continue. Right here. At one of the oldest continuing organizations in the city of Fredericksburg.

Some things just refuse to quit, and in Texas, that's about the highest compliment there is.

What the marker says

The Fredericksburg Social Turn Verein was established in 1871 in the tradition of German gymnastic clubs. Initially located at a site nearby, the club opened with a gymnastics school and a 9-pin bowling alley. In 1872 the club held the first of its annual Christmas celebrations and in 1883 sponsored a fire brigade which became the City Volunteer Fire Department. The Turn Verein moved to this location in 1909. Children's gymnastics, Christmas celebrations, and bowling continue at Fredericksburg Social Turn Verein, one of the city's oldest continuing organizations.