DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Slumber Falls Camp, out on the Guadalupe River Road in Comal County. Now settle in, because this one's got layers. Four miles northwest of New Braunfels, there's a bend of the Guadalupe River that people have been drawn to since the late 1800s.
Something about limestone cliffs, majestic views, the sound of moving water — folks just couldn't stay away. And honestly, can you blame them? Now fast-forward to the 1930s.
Harry Landa sold twenty acres in the Veramendi survey to a couple named W.V. and Francis Schulz Lillie, and those two had a vision. Mrs. Lillie and her brother, Herman Schrader, set about building eleven cabins — not all at once, mind you, but one at a time, as they could afford them.
There's something quietly admirable about that. No grand financing, no big backer. Just two people stacking up cabins one by one until they had themselves something worth advertising.
And advertise they did. They called it the paradise of the hills. The camp became a bona fide tourist destination, riding the wave of a rapid increase in automobile tourism, particularly along that River Road.
City folks could point their cars toward the Hill Country, feel the breeze come in through the windows, and by the time they pulled up to those limestone cliffs, the world they'd left behind started to feel very far away. But here's where the story takes a turn. Drought conditions — dry, relentless, unforgiving — closed the site as a tourist camp in 1957.
Just like that, paradise of the hills went quiet. Now, as early as 1956 — before the tourist camp had even officially closed — the Texas Synod of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, had voted to go looking for a campsite. They wanted a place for youth and adult activities.
And when they laid eyes on this wooded stretch of the Guadalupe, those eleven cabins perched on limestone cliffs with those majestic views, well — the search was over. The property was purchased on December 31, 1957. Last day of the year.
One chapter ending, another one already signed and dated. The camp was named Slumber Falls, for the peaceful and serene falls on the river. And in the summer of 1958, it opened with three hundred and eighty-five campers and one hundred staff.
Let that number sink in — nearly four hundred people showing up that first summer to slumber with the sound of waterfalls. Over the years, the facilities expanded and evolved, updated and naturally landscaped, while several of those original 1930s tourist court cabins were kept standing — kept right there for anyone who wanted a taste of what Mrs. Lillie and Herman Schrader built, one cabin at a time, all those decades ago.
The drought that closed a paradise gave rise to something that's still going. Same cliffs. Same river.
Same falls. Different dreamer, same dream.
What the marker says
Located on the Guadalupe River Road four miles northwest of the city of New Braunfels, this area has been a popular swimming and picnicking site since the late 1800s. In the 1930s, Harry Landa sold 20 acres in the Veramendi survey to W.V. & Francis Schulz Lillie and it was developed into a tourist court. Mrs. Lillie and her brother, Herman Schrader, built 11 cabins one at a time as they could afford them. Advertised as “paradise of the hills,” the camp was a popular tourist destination during a rapid increase in automobile tourism, particularly along River Road. The camp was a place to get away from the city and enjoy the beauty of a hill country river. Drought conditions closed the site as a tourist camp in 1957. As early as 1956, the Texas synod of the evangelical and reformed church (United Church of Christ) voted to seek a campsite for youth and adult activities. The wooded site with 11 cabins on limestone cliffs with majestic views overlooking the Guadalupe River was chosen. The property was purchased on December 31, 1957. Slumber Falls Camp, named for the peaceful and serene falls on the river, opened in the summer of 1958 with 385 campers and 100 staff. The camp facilities expanded and evolved into a beautiful naturally-landscaped camp with updated facilities while maintaining several of the original tourist court cabins for a 1930s camping experience. The camp continues the tradition of providing a memorable camping and learning experience for youth and adults where they can slumber with the sound of waterfalls.