The Town of Waelder

Duane's take

The official marker for the town of Waelder in Gonzales County, and here's how I tell it. Back in 1876, the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad came pushing through Gonzales County, and wherever that iron track went, towns had a habit of sprouting right up beside it. So a new town was laid out, meant to serve as a shipping point for the farms and ranches spread across that surrounding country.

Now, five miles to the north sat Hopkinsville, already a thriving community. When Waelder came along, Hopkinsville didn't just fade away. It moved.

The whole nucleus of that community picked up and came south to become the heart of this new place. That's the kind of thing that happened when the railroad showed up. You either went to it, or you got left behind.

The new town needed a name, and here's where it gets interesting. The G. H. and S.

A. Railroad had a company attorney, a man named Frederick Jacob Waelder, born in Germany in 1820. Because of valuable services rendered to railroad interests in those early days, the railroad honored him by putting his name on the town.

Frederick Jacob Waelder was no ordinary figure. He spent most of his life in Texas, working as a lawyer, serving as a representative in the State Legislature from 1855 to 1859, and briefly serving as an officer in the Confederate Army. Beyond all that, he was a leader among German-Texas colonists in numerous undertakings.

He died in 1887, his name already fixed permanently to this stretch of Gonzales County. And that name carried some weight, because by 1900 the town of Waelder had grown to be the second largest in the entire county. The people who filled that town didn't arrive all at once.

The marker traces the history of Waelder's populace back through three waves of German immigrants who settled in Texas from 1831 to 1900. Those German citizens were considered, by their neighbors, frugal and industrious, and they were highly regarded for it. They didn't keep to themselves either.

They joined with Latin-Americans and old-south Anglo-Americans, the two other largest ethnic groups in Texas, and together those three communities left a distinctive mark on the culture of the whole state. A railroad cuts through Gonzales County, a thriving town moves five miles south, a company attorney gets his name on a map, and nearly a century of German immigrants help shape Texas itself. Not bad for a shipping point.

What the marker says

In 1876, when the Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio Railroad built through Gonzales County, this town was laid out to serve as a shipping point for the surrounding agricultural and ranching area. Hopkinsville, a thriving community five miles north, moved here to become the nucleus of Waelder. Because of valuable services rendered to railroad interests in the early days, the G. H. & S. A. named the new town for the company attorney, Frederick Jacob Waelder (1820-1887). Born in Germany, Waelder spent most of his life in Texas, where he was a lawyer, representative in the State Legislature (1855-1859), and briefly an officer in the Confederate Army. He was also a leader of the German - Texas colonists in numerous undertakings. The town of Waelder, which grew to be the second largest in the county by 1900, can trace the history of its populace back to the three waves of German immigrants who settled in Texas from 1831 to 1900. Highly regarded by their neighbors, German citizens were considered frugal and industrious. Joining with Latin- Americans and "old south" Anglo-Americans, the two other largest ethnic groups in Texas, they have left a distinctive mark on the culture of the state.