DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Now, long before anybody laid a single stone or drew a single lot, this stretch of Texas already had a history. Karankawa, Lipan, Tonkawa, and Waco Indians — they knew this land.
Knew the springs, knew the soil, knew every bend of it. That's where our story begins. Then came the Germans.
And friend, when I say they came, I mean they came. Between 1844 and 1846, an organization called the Verein Zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas — that's the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, and yes, the full name is absolutely worth saying — sent more than seven thousand German settlers to this state. Seven thousand people picking up their lives and pointing themselves at Texas.
Several hundred of them found their way to this particular stretch of ground in 1845. Leading that group was Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. And on Good Friday — March 21, 1845 — they founded a community right here.
Good Friday. There's a weight to that date, and the people who chose it surely felt it. Before they could build a single thing, though, they needed land.
Rafael L. and Maria Antonia Veramendi Garza sold the colonization society more than twelve hundred acres. Twelve hundred acres, and then the settlers held a drawing for lots shortly after arriving. Imagine that — stepping off a long and punishing journey, and then lining up to draw your piece of the future.
The community was briefly called Comal Springs, but the name that stuck was New Braunfels — named for the German town of Braunfels on the Lahn River. On May 11, 1846, the Texas Legislature incorporated the city, though the charter wasn't ratified until the following year. Details, details — the city was growing regardless.
And grow it did. By 1850, New Braunfels was reportedly the fourth largest city in Texas. The fourth largest.
In a state that was already big and getting bigger by the minute. Now here's where you start to understand just what these settlers were made of. The climate was temperate, the natural resources abundant, and the people who arrived brought every skill the old world had to offer.
Bakers and blacksmiths. Butchers and button makers. Fringe makers, cabinetmakers, carpenters.
Coppersmiths, locksmiths, machinists. Saddlers, tailors, shoemakers, tanners, tinsmiths, turners, and wagon makers. That is not a list — that is a civilization arriving with its sleeves already rolled up.
And the industries that followed? Brick kilns. Cotton gins.
A door and blind factory. Flour and grist mills. Breweries.
A sawmill. A soap and candle house. A woolen mill.
Whatever hardship looked like in those early years, these settlers were, as the marker puts it, undaunted by it. Many old-world customs survived among the descendants of those original colonists. The city's heritage lives on today in its buildings, its street names, its institutions.
A community founded on a Good Friday in 1845, drawn from a lottery of lots on twelve hundred acres of Texas soil, and built by the hands of people who brought an entire world with them — and then made a new one. That's New Braunfels. County seat of Comal County.
And it earned every bit of that title.
What the marker says
Early inhabitants of this area included Karankawa, Lipan, Tonkawa and Waco Indians. Between 1844 and 1846, the Verein Zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas (Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas) sent more than 7,000 German settlers. Several hundred of them arrived in this area in 1845. Led by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, they founded a community here on Good Friday, March 21, of that year. Rafael L. and Maria Antonia Veramendi Garza sold the colonization society more than 1,200 acres of land for the settlers, who held a drawing for lots shortly after arriving. Briefly referred to as Comal Springs, the community was named New Braunfels for the German town of Braunfels on the Lahn River. On May 11, 1846, the Texas Legislature incorporated the city, although the charter was not ratified until the following year. By 1850, New Braunfels was reportedly the fourth largest city in Texas. Because of its temperate climate and abundant natural resources, agriculture and industry thrived. Early craftsmen included bakers, blacksmiths, butchers, button and fringe makers, cabinetmakers, carpenters, coppersmiths, locksmiths, machinists, saddlers, tailors, shoemakers, tanners, tinsmiths, turners and wagon makers. Industries included brick kilns, cotton gins, a door and blind factory, flour and grist mills, breweries, a sawmill, a soap and candle house, and a woolen mill. The city's settlers were undaunted by early hardships. Many old-world customs survive among descendants of the original colonists, and the city's heritage is reflected in its buildings, street names and institutions. (1970, 2005)