DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it straight along to you. Now, you'd think a town like New Braunfels would already have everything it needed — good land, good people, good water. But as early as 1875, folks there knew something was missing, and they started petitioning rail companies to fix that.
Their first major proposal went to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad. That one went nowhere. Didn't even come close.
But New Braunfels kept at it, and patience — well, patience has a way of paying off in Texas. By the end of that decade, the International and Great Northern Railroad had agreed to bring rail through the town. The I&GN had already reached Austin in 1876, so they knew the territory.
And by 1880, New Braunfels had itself a depot and the first trains rolled through. Then in 1885 the rail company built a new depot, and if that wasn't enough, they replaced it with a more modern passenger station in 1907. Three depots in about thirty years.
That's a town growing into itself. Now here's where the story takes a turn worth savoring. The railroad did what railroads do — it changed the economy.
Goods going out, products coming in, all of it moving faster and farther than before. But then came something nobody quite predicted: tourism. Starting in the late 1890s, visitors began arriving.
And one of those visitors was Helen Gould, daughter of railroad financier Jay Gould. She came to New Braunfels, looked around, and apparently liked what she saw. Specifically, she liked a beautiful piece of land owned by a man named Harry Landa.
And Helen Gould proposed that the I&GN build a spur track right into it. The railroad built that spur, that land became known as Landa Park, and soon enough people were riding the rails specifically to get there. A popular tourist destination in central Texas, drawn in by rail.
Today, that park is still the city's primary public recreational site. The story doesn't end there, though. In 1926, a subsidiary of the Missouri Pacific Railroad bought out the I&GN.
By the middle of the twentieth century, the railroad's importance had decreased. And after the Missouri Pacific merged into the Union Pacific Railroad system in 1986, the Missouri Pacific donated that 1907 station — the one that had stood through all of it — to the City of New Braunfels. Today it's home to the New Braunfels Railroad Museum.
From petition to park to museum, that's a long ride. And every mile of it is right there on the marker.
What the marker says
As early as 1875, New Braunfels residents began petitioning rail companies to bring lines into the community. The town's first major proposal, to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad, failed to achieve the goal. By the end of the decade, however, the International & Great Northern Railroad (I&GN), which had reached Austin in 1876, agreed to bring rail through New Braunfels. By 1880, the town had a depot and the first trains rolled through. In 1885, the rail company built a new depot, which was replaced by a more modern passenger station in 1907. The railroad dramatically affected the economy of New Braunfels. With the rail outlet, the town could send goods to market and receive products from other cities more effectively. In addition, the railroad sparked tourism in the area, particularly beginning in the late 1890s. It was during this time that Helen Gould, daughter of railroad financier Jay Gould, visited the town. She proposed that the I&GN build a spur track into a beautiful piece of land owned by Harry Landa, which would become known as Landa Park. I&GN built the spur, and soon the park became a popular tourist destination in central Texas, drawing visitors by rail. Today, the park remains the city's primary public recreational site. In 1926, a subsidiary of the Missouri Pacific Railroad bought out the I&GN and by the middle of the 20th century, the railroad's importance decreased. After merging into the Union Pacific Railroad system in 1986, the Missouri Pacific Railroad donated the 1907 I&GN station to the City of New Braunfels. Today, the former station is home to the New Braunfels Railroad Museum. (2006)