DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little color on the side. August Staffel came over from Germany and set foot in Texas in 1852. Now, a man like that doesn't sit still long.
By 1854, he'd made his way to Boerne and purchased property right here at this site. Two years later, when Boerne was granted a postal station in 1856, somebody had to be first postmaster. That somebody was August Staffel.
And where did he house the post office? Right there on his own property, naturally. Why go far when you've already got the place?
But here's the thing about August Staffel. The man did not stop at one business. Not two.
We're talking the Staffel store, a stagecoach office, a saloon, a livery stable, and a wagon yard. That is a full town's worth of commerce coming out of one family's operation. If you needed to rest your horses, ship a letter, buy a drink, or catch a stage out of Boerne, August Staffel had you covered.
Then August died in 1870, and this is where the story takes a turn that deserves its own moment of quiet respect. His wife, Bertha, stepped in. She operated the post office out of the Staffel store all the way until 1881, keeping that institution running through her own effort.
She eventually sold the property in 1905. The marker says it plainly: the Staffel store and the Staffel family played a significant role in the early economic heritage of Boerne. One German immigrant, one piece of property, and a family that kept the whole thing going.
That's not just a store. That's a town taking shape.
What the marker says
German immigrant August Staffel arrived in Texas in 1852 and in due course made his way to Boerne, where he purchased property at this site in 1854. When Boerne was granted a postal station in 1856, Staffel served as first postmaster and housed the post office on his property. Staffel's other businesses included the Staffel store, stagecoach office, saloon, livery stable and wagon yard. After August's death in 1870, his wife, Bertha, operated the post office out of the Staffel store until 1881 and sold the property in 1905. Reminders of early economic development in Boerne, the Staffel store and the Staffel family played a significant role in that heritage. (2001)