The New Braunfels Herald

Duane's take

Here's my take on what the official marker has to say about this corner of New Braunfels. Now, if you're standing in the center of town right now, you're standing on ground that has seen quite a few lives. Before there was a newspaper here, before there was a brick building, there was a small wood structure, and inside that structure, a saloon called the Zum Schwarzen Wallfisch.

The Black Whale Saloon. Right there in the center of New Braunfels. The wood structure was likely built by Ferdinand Simon, Senior, the Comal Courthouse Contractor himself, which tells you something about the ambitions of this little spot of ground.

But the whale, eventually, swam off. And something else moved in. In 1892, a man named S.R.

Whitley and his three sons established the New Braunfels Herald. Now that newspaper found its way to this very site in 1896, and it stayed put until 1907. Then, in 1925, the Herald came back, this time settling into a new brick building put up by A.C.

Moeller, a considerable upgrade from whatever the Black Whale had known. The Herald stayed in that brick building clear through 1944. Here is the thing about this newspaper that the marker wants you to understand.

It was the first English-language newspaper in New Braunfels. The first. And that distinction carried weight.

Businesses took notice. Residents took notice. Visitors took notice.

People learned about a prosperous and beautiful community, and they came. The Herald kept the area informed on local, state, and national events, doing the work newspapers are supposed to do. In 1944, the Herald packed up and moved to South Castell Street, carrying that work right along with it.

A saloon, a newspaper, a brick building, and a town finding its voice. Not bad for one spot in the center of town.

What the marker says

Located in the center of town, this site once housed the Zum Schwarzen Wallfisch Saloon (The Black Whale Saloon) in a small wood structure likely built by Comal Courthouse Contractor Ferdinand Simon, Sr. The New Braunfels Herald, established in 1892 by S.R. Whitley and his three sons, was housed here from 1896 to 1907 and from 1925 to 1944 in a new brick building by A.C. Moeller. The newspaper not only kept the area abreast of local, state and national events, but as the first English newspaper in New Braunfels, it attracted many businesses, residents and visitors to the area who learned of the prosperous and beautiful community. In 1944, the Herald moved to South Castell Street and continued its service to the area.