1.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
Germany
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The
Nebra sky disk is dated to c. 1600 BC.
Germany
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Flag
Germany
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Martin Luther (1483–1546) initiated the
Protestant Reformation.
Germany
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Foundation of the
German Empire in
Versailles, 1871.
Bismarck is at the center in a white uniform.
2.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
Texas
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Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Texas
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Flag
Texas
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Texas Hill Country
Texas
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Big Bend National Park.
3.
Wiesbaden-Biebrich
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Biebrich is a borough of the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. With over 36,000 inhabitants, it is the most-populated of Wiesbadens boroughs and it is located south of the city center on the Rhine River, opposite the Mainz borough of Mombach. Biebrich was an independent city until it was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1926, numerous prehistoric and early-historical archeological finds indicate that the Biebrich area has been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic Age. In the Middle Ages, from the beginning of the reign of Charlemagne, Biebrich was first mentioned in historical documents in 874. King Louis the German and his entourage boarded vessels at Villa Biburg on a trip from Frankfurt to Aachen, beginning of the 18th century, the princes of Nassau built the Baroque Biebrich Palace. When this magnificent building was completed in 1744, the Prince of Nassau-Usingen relocated his residence from the far side of the Taunus to Biebrich, until the completion of the City Palace in Wiesbaden in 1841, Biebrich was the principal residence of the Princes of Nassau. In the 19th century, Biebrich became an important industrial center of the Rhine Main Area with the plants of Dyckerhoff Concrete, Kalle and Albert Chemistry, following the composers wishes, local wind instrument producer Wilhelm Heckel invented the so-called Heckelphone. Sofia of Nassau, Queen consort of Sweden and Norway, wife of King Oscar II, was born Princess Sofia Wilhelmina Mariana Henrietta of Nassau in Biebrich on 9 July 1836. Seligman Baer, a Biblical scholar and scholar of Jewish liturgy, was born and died in Biebrich, Wilhelm Dilthey and Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl, two pioneers of the early German Kulturgeschichte of the 19th century, grew up in Biebrich. General Ludwig Beck was born in Biebrich in 1880 and he lost his life struggling against Hitlers regime in the failed revolt of German officers on 20 July 1944. If this coup détat had succeeded, Beck would have been nominated by his conspirators to be the first postwar President of Germany, physicist Walter Gerlach was born in Biebrich on August 1,1889. With Otto Stern, Gerlach co-discovered space quantization in a magnetic field and their experiment demonstrated that electrons and atoms have intrinsically quantum properties, and how measurement in quantum mechanics affects the system being measured. Former German footballer Jürgen Grabowski grew up Biebrich and was part of two clubs in Biebrich. He played for years at Eintracht Frankfurt, which won the German Cup in 1974 and 1975. He made 44 appearances with the German national team and scored five goals and he was a member of the German squad in the World Cups of 1966,1970 and 1974. Derived from German Wikipedia Private unofficial Wiesbaden-Biebrich website
Wiesbaden-Biebrich
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Biebrich Palace
Wiesbaden-Biebrich
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The Rhine at Biebrich
4.
Rhine
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The largest city on the river Rhine is Cologne, Germany, with a population of more than 1,050,000 people. It is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe, at about 1,230 km, with an average discharge of about 2,900 m3/s. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days. The many castles and fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire, in the modern era, it has become a symbol of German nationalism. The variant of the name of the Rhine in modern languages are all derived from the Gaulish name Rēnos, spanish is with French in adopting the Germanic vocalism Rin-, while Italian, Occitan and Portuguese retain the Latin Ren-. The Gaulish name Rēnos belongs to a class of river names built from the PIE root *rei- to move, flow, run, the grammatical gender of the Celtic name is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch and French. The Old English river name was variously inflected as masculine or feminine, the length of the Rhine is conventionally measured in Rhine-kilometers, a scale introduced in 1939 which runs from the Old Rhine Bridge at Constance to Hoek van Holland. The river length is shortened from the rivers natural course due to a number of canalisation projects completed in the 19th and 20th century. The total length of the Rhine, to the inclusion of Lake Constance and its course is conventionally divided as follows, The Rhine carries its name without distinctive accessories only from the confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein near Tamins-Reichenau. Above this point is the catchment of the headwaters of the Rhine. It belongs almost exclusively to the Swiss Canton of Graubünden, ranging from Gotthard Massif in the west via one valley lying in Ticino, traditionally, Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is seen as the source of the Vorderrhein and the Rhine as a whole. The Hinterrhein rises in the Rheinwald valley below Mount Rheinwaldhorn, the Vorderrhein, or Anterior Rhine, springs from Lai da Tuma, near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta formed by the largest visible rock slide in the alps, the Flims Rockslide. A multiday trekking route is signposted along the young Rhine called Senda Sursilvana, the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur, or Posterior Rhine, starts from the Paradies Glacier, near the Rheinwaldhorn. One of its tributaries, the Reno di Lei, drains the Valle di Lei on politically Italian territory, after three main valleys separated by the two gorges, Roflaschlucht and Viamala, it reaches Reichenau. The Vorderrhein arises from numerous source streams in the upper Surselva, one source is Lai da Tuma with the Rein da Tuma, which is usually indicated as source of the Rhine, flowing through it. Into it flow tributaries from the south, some longer, some equal in length, such as the Reno di Medel, the Rein da Maighels, and the Rein da Curnera. The Cadlimo Valley in the Canton of Ticino is drained by the Reno di Medel, all streams in the source area are partially, sometimes completely, captured and sent to storage reservoirs for the local hydro-electric power plants. In its lower course the Vorderrhein flows through a gorge named Ruinaulta through the Flims Rockslide, the whole stretch of the Vorderrhein to the Rhine confluence near Reichenau-Tamins is accompanied by a long-distance hiking trail called Senda Sursilvana
Rhine
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Lorelei rock in
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhine
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Map of the Rhine basin
Rhine
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The Rein da Tuma is captured in the center of the picture and led into the
Curnera Reservoir
Rhine
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The outflow from
Lake Toma is traditionally seen as the source of the Rhine
5.
Duke of Nassau
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The Duchy of Nassau, or simply Nassau, was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the German Confederation and its ruling dynasty, now extinct, was the House of Nassau. The duchy was named for its core city, Nassau, although Wiesbaden. In 1865, it had 465,636 inhabitants, after being occupied and annexed into the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866, it was succeeded by the Province of Hesse-Nassau. The area today is a geographical and historical region, Nassau, today, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg still uses Duke of Nassau as his secondary title, and Prince or Princess of Nassau is used as a title of pretense by other members of the grand ducal family. Nassau is also part of the name of the Dutch Royal Family, on 17 July 1806, the remaining counties of Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg joined the Confederation of the Rhine. Under pressure from Napoleon I both counties merged to form the Duchy of Nassau on 30 August 1806, under the joint rule of Frederick Augustus, as Frederick August had no heirs, he agreed that Frederick William should become sole ruler after his death. However Frederick William died from a fall on the stairs at Weilburg Castle on 9 January 1816, williams son Adolphe, the last Duke of Nassau, received Luxembourg after the male line of Nassau-Dillenburg became extinct in 1890
Duke of Nassau
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Flag
6.
Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
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Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau was the first monarch of Luxembourg from the House of Nassau-Weilburg. He was a son of William, Duke of Nassau and his first wife Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Adolphes half-sister, Sophia of Nassau, was the wife of Oscar II of Sweden. Adolphe became Duke of Nassau in August 1839, after the death of his father, wiesbaden had by this time become the capital of the Duchy and Adolphe took up residence in the newly constructed Stadtschloss in 1841. On 4 March 1848 he consented to the population of Nassaus 9 Demands of the Nassauers, a few years later, however, he revoked his liberal views and took a strongly conservative and reactionary course. In general, though, he was seen as a popular ruler and he supported the Austrian Empire in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. After Austrias defeat, Nassau was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia, in 1879, Adolphes niece Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the daughter of another of his half-sisters, married William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1890, their only daughter Wilhelmina succeeded on his death without surviving male issue to the Dutch throne, the Grand Duchy, which had been linked to the Netherlands in personal union since 1815, passed to Adolphe in accordance with the Nassau Family Pact. Adolphe was King-Grand Duke William IIIs 17th cousin once removed through male line and he had, in fact, taken over the regency of Luxembourg for a short time during William IIIs illness. In any case, as he was already 73 years old and knew little of Luxembourgish politics, he left his hands off the day-to-day governing. The prime minister Paul Eyschen, in office since 1888, took care of the affairs of state, in 1902 Adolphe appointed his son William as Lieutenant-Representative. He died in 1905 at his home, Schloss Hohenburg in Lenggries. On 31 January 1844, Adolphe married firstly in St. Petersburg Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia and she died less than a year afterwards giving birth to a stillborn daughter. Adolphe built the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Elizabeth 1847 to 1855 as her funeral church, on 23 April 1851, he remarried in Dessau Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau. In 1892, Grand Duke Adolphe conferred the hereditary title Count of Wisborg on his Swedish nephew, Oscar, Wisborg was the old castle in the city of Visby within Prince Oscars lost Dukedom of Gotland, but the title itself was created in the nobility of Luxembourg. On April 20,1842, the Adelsverein, Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, was organized in the Grand Dukes castle at Biebrich on the Rhine and he was named the Protector of the organization
Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
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Photograph by
Ludwig Angerer
7.
Mainz
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Mainz is the capital and largest city of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the capital of the Electorate of Mainz at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The city is famous as the home of the invention of the printing press. Until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English by its French name, Mainz is located on the 50th latitude, on the west bank of the river Rhine, opposite the confluence of the Main with the Rhine. The population in the early 2012 was 200,957, an additional 18,619 people maintain a primary residence elsewhere but have a home in Mainz. The city is part of the Rhein Metro area comprising 5.8 million people, Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 25 minutes by commuter railway. Mainzs history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to the Rhine river historically handling much of the regions waterborne cargo, todays huge container port hub allowing trimodal transport is located on the North Side of the town. The river also provides another positive effect, moderating Mainzs climate, after the last ice age, sand dunes were deposited in the Rhine valley at what was to become the western edge of the city. The Mainz Sand Dunes area is now a reserve with a unique landscape. When the Mainz legion camp was founded in 13/12 BC, the buildings near the Rhine River, historical sources and archaeological findings both prove the importance of the military and civilian Mogontiacum as a port city on the Rhine. The Roman stronghold or castrum Mogontiacum, the precursor to Mainz, was founded by the Roman general Drusus perhaps as early as 13/12 BC. As related by Suetonius the existence of Mogontiacum is well established by four years later, although the city is situated opposite the mouth of the Main river, the name of Mainz is not from Main, the similarity being perhaps due to diachronic analogy. Main is from Latin Menus, the name the Romans used for the river, linguistic analysis of the many forms that the name Mainz has taken on make it clear that it is a simplification of Mogontiacum. The name appears to be Celtic and ultimately it is, however, it had also become Roman and was selected by them with a special significance. Mogontiacum was an important military town throughout Roman times, probably due to its position at the confluence of the Main. The town of Mogontiacum grew up between the fort and the river, the castrum was the base of Legio XIIII Gemina and XVI Gallica, XXII Primigenia, IIII Macedonica, I Adiutrix, XXI Rapax, and XIIII Gemina, among others. Mainz was also a base of a Roman river fleet, the Classis Germanica, remains of Roman troop ships and a patrol boat from the late 4th century were discovered in 1982/86 and may now be viewed in the Museum für Antike Schifffahrt. A temple dedicated to Isis Panthea and Magna Mater was discovered in 2000 and is open to the public
Mainz
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Mainz Old Town view from the citadel (2003)
Mainz
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View north along the Rhine with the old Winterhafen in the lower left, the other port facilities further north
Mainz
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50th latitude on the Gutenbergplatz
Mainz
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Remains of a Roman town gate from the late 4th century
8.
Land grant
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The United States historically gave out numerous land grants as Homesteads to individuals desiring to prove a farm. Roman soldiers were given pensions at the end of their service including cash or land, augustus fixed the amount in AD5 at 3,000 denarii and by the time of Caracalla it had risen to 5,000 denarii. One denarius was roughly equivalent to a days wages for an unskilled laborer, starting from 1788, the British crown granted land to released convicts in the colony of New South Wales. Males were allowed 30 acres, plus 20 acres if they were married, instructions were issued on 20 August 1789 that non-commissioned Marine Officers were to be entitled to 100 acres additional and privates to 50 acres additional. Governor Macquarie canceled land grants issued during the Rum Rebellion 1808-09, Land grants started to be phased out when private tendering was introduced, and stricter limits were placed on grants without purchase. The instructions to Governor Brisbane were issued on 17 July 1825, eventually, on 9 January 1831, Viscount Goderich commanded that all land was to be sold at public auction. There were also significant land grants in the Swan River Colony, in 1886, the Midland Railway of Western Australia was granted land concessions to build and operate a railway from Midland, near Perth, to Walkaway, near Geraldton. This was built, but taken over by the government railway in the 1950s and it was and is 1,067 mm gauge. In 1889, a land grant railway was from Roebuck Bay in Western Australia to Angle Pole in the Northern Territory or South Australia was proposed and this would have been 1000 miles long. Angle Pole was a locality where the Telegraph line had bend in it, the gauge would have been 1,600 mm. In 1897, a transcontinental North-South land grant railway was proposed to complete the link between Oodnadatta and Darwin, the latter then called Palmerston or Port Darwin. This was still-born, though the government railway was extended in the 1920s from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs and it was originally 1,067 mm gauge, but was replaced by a new 1,435 mm gauge line on a different route. In 1909, a land grant railway was proposed in Queensland from Charleville to Point Parker on the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, but this was stillborn. The Hudsons Bay Company was incorporated in 1670 with the grant of Ruperts Land by King Charles II of England, following the Ruperts Land Act in the British Parliament, Ruperts Land was sold in 1869 to the newly formed Canadian Government for the nominal sum of £300,000. The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company built and operated the 134 km Wellington-Manawatu Line north of Wellington to the Manawatu from 1881, the company was New Zealand owned. It was taken over by the government in 1908, and the became part of the North Island Main Trunk. In America, starting in the 16th century, land grants were given for the purpose of establishing settlements, missions, countries granting land included Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Britain. Under colonial law, a patentee had to improve the land, under this doctrine of planting and seeding, the patentee was required to cultivate 1-acre of land and build a small house on the property, otherwise the patent would revert to the government
Land grant
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Virginia Land Office warrant issued in 1779 to Joseph Cabell, assignee of
Sgt. Gabriel Penn, to receive 200
acres of land in return for Penn's service in the
French and Indian War
9.
Republic of Texas
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The Republic of Texas was an independent sovereign country in North America that existed from March 2,1836, to February 19,1846. The citizens of the republic were known as Texians, the Mexican province of Tejas declared its independence from Mexico during the Texas Revolution in 1836. The United States recognized the Republic of Texas in March 1837, the Republic-claimed borders were based upon the Treaties of Velasco between the newly created Texas Republic and Antonio López de Santa Anna of Mexico. The republics southern and western boundary with Mexico continued to be disputed throughout the republics existence, Texas claimed the Rio Grande as its southern boundary, while Mexico insisted that the Nueces River was the boundary. However, the United States again inherited the southern and western border dispute with Mexico, Texas had been one of the Provincias Internas of New Spain, a region known historiographically as Spanish Texas. Though claimed by Spain, it was not formally colonized by them until competing French interests at Fort St. Louis encouraged Spain to establish permanent settlements in the area. Sporadic missionary incursions occurred into the area during the period from the 1690s–1710s, in 1762, France ceded to Spain most of its claims to the interior of North America, including its claim to Texas, as well as the vast interior that became Spanish Louisiana. During the years 1799 to 1803, the height of the Napoleonic Empire, Spain returned Louisiana back to France, starting in 1810, the territories of New Spain north of the Isthmus of Panama sought independence in the Mexican War of Independence. Many Americans fought on the side of Mexico against Spain in filibustering expeditions, one of these, the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition consisted of a group of about 130 Americans under the leadership of Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara. Gutierrez de Lara initiated Mexicos secession from Spain with efforts contributed by Magee, bolstered by new recruits, and led Samuel Kemper, the expedition gained a series of victories against soldiers led by the Spanish governor, Manuel María de Salcedo. Their victory at the Battle of Rosillo Creek convinced Salcedo to surrender on April 1,1813, on April 6,1813, the victorious Republican Army of the North drafted a constitution and declared the independent Republic of Texas, with Gutiérrez as its president. Soon disillusioned with the Mexican leadership, the Americans under Kemper returned to the United States, the ephemeral Republic of Texas came to an end following the August 18,1813 Battle of Medina, where the Spanish Army crushed the Republican Army of the North. Since Mexican independence had been ratified by Spain shortly thereafter, Austin would later travel to Mexico City to secure the support of the new country in his right to settle. The establishment of Mexican Texas coincided with the Austin-led settlement, leading to animosity between Mexican authorities and ongoing American settlement of Texas, the First Mexican Empire was short lived, being replaced by a republican form of government in 1823. Following Austins lead, additional groups of settlers, known as Empresarios, in 1830, Mexican President Anastasio Bustamante outlawed American immigration to Texas, following several conflicts with the Empresarios over the status of slavery in the region. Angered at the interference of the Mexican government, the Empresarios held the Convention of 1832, on the eve of war, the American settlers in the area outnumbered Mexicans by a considerable margin. Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna revoked the 1824 Constitution of Mexico, the Texian leadership under Austin began to organize its own military, and hostilities broke out on October 2,1835 at the Battle of Gonzales, the first engagement of the Texas Revolution. In November,1835 a provisional government known as the Consultation was established to oppose the Santa Anna regime, on March 1,1836 the Convention of 1836 came to order, and the next day declared independence from Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
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Map of the Republic of Texas and the Adjacent Territories by
C.F. Cheffins, 1841
Republic of Texas
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Flag
(1839–1846)
Republic of Texas
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Sam Houston and
Stephen F. Austin depicted on a 1936 US
postage stamp commemorating 100th anniversary of the Texas Republic
Republic of Texas
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The Hôtel Batailles de France (now Hôtel de Vendôme), place Vendôme in Paris, housed the Embassy of the Republic of Texas
10.
Nassau Plantation (Texas)
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Nassau Plantation was a 4,428 acres endeavor purchased by the Adelsverein on January 9,1843 in Fayette County, Texas, near what is now Round Top. Designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1968, Marker 3550 and it was named for the Duke of Nassau, in whose castle the Adelsverein was established. The acreage was developed as a working plantation by slave labor bought by Count Boos-Waldeck in New Orleans, Galveston. When Prince Solms inspected the plantation in 1844, he recommended the Verein divest itself of the property, Nassau Plantation became a luxurious noblemens retreat for representatives of the Adelsverein. Prince Solms enjoyed horse racing and extravagant entertaining on the property, john O. Meusebach resided at Nassau from April to July 1846 to recover his health. One of the managers of Nassau appointed by Prince Solms was Friedrich W. von Wrede, Sr. from Oberhausen. On October 24,1845, Wrede and New Braunfels botanist Oscar von Claren were scalped and killed by Indians while camping about ten miles from Austin, the plantation was mismanaged and operated at a loss. Gustav Dresel, Special Business Agent for the Adelsverein, sold Nassau plantation and its twenty-five slaves on July 28,1848, in 1853, Bexar County district court ordered the Fayette County sheriff to sell the league, to satisfy creditors of the Adelsverein. The sheriff sold the property to James A. Chandler on May 3,1853, Chandler filed suit for legal title. In June 1868, Chandler recovered judgment, Nassau Plantation, The Evolution of a Texas German Slave Plantation. Solms, Carl, Gish, Theodore G, Von-Maszweski, Wolfram M. Voyage to North America, 1844–45, Prince Carl of Solms Texas Diary of People, Places, and Events
Nassau Plantation (Texas)
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View of the historical marker on the site of the plantation
11.
Fayette County, Texas
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Fayette County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 24,554 and its county seat is La Grange. The county was created in 1837 and organized the next year, Fayette County was established in 1837 from land given by Bastrop and Colorado counties. It is named for the Marquis de la Fayette, a French nobleman who became an American Revolutionary War hero, an early resident of Brazoria County and then Fayette County, Joel Walter Robison, fought in the Texas Revolution and served in the Texas House of Representatives. There are more than a dozen historic properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County, Fayette County is the location of the real Chicken Ranch, which was the basis of the musical play and feature film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 960 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 21,804 people,8,722 households, the population density was 23 people per square mile. There were 11,113 housing units at a density of 12 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 84. 58% White,7. 01% Black or African American,0. 36% Native American,0. 22% Asian,0. 06% Pacific Islander,6. 66% from other races, and 1. 11% from two or more races. 12. 78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,34. 9% were of German,16. 4% Czech,7. 6% American and 5. 3% English ancestry according to census 2000. Christianity is the one religion and Judaism is the second. 28. 00% of all households were made up of individuals and 16. 40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97. In the county, the population was out with 23. 20% under the age of 18,7. 00% from 18 to 24,23. 60% from 25 to 44,24. 20% from 45 to 64. The median age was 43 years, for every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males, the median income for a household in the county was $34,526, and the median income for a family was $43,156. Males had an income of $29,008 versus $20,859 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,888, about 8. 10% of families and 11. 40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12. 70% of those under age 18 and 13. 50% of those age 65 or over. The county owns Fayette Regional Air Center, in an area west of LaGrange
Fayette County, Texas
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The current Fayette County Courthouse in La Grange was finished in 1891. The
Romanesque Revival style building uses four types of native Texas stone to detail the exterior.
12.
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels
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Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, was a German prince and military officer in both the Austrian army and in the cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. As Commissioner General of the Adelsverein, he spearheaded the establishment of colonies of German immigrants in Texas, Prince Solms named New Braunfels, Texas in honor of his homeland. Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Ludwig Georg Alfred Alexander of Solms-Braunfels was born in Neustrelitz and his father was Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels, second husband of Princess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who bore thirteen children during the course of her three marriages. In 1837 his mother became queen consort of Hanover, luise and Marie, Karl Louis, and Melanie, were ennobled in the Grand Duchy of Hesse under the name von Schönau on 25 March 1841. The family was ennobled in 1912 with the surname von Schönau de Solms. Prince Solms married Maria Josephine Sophie, widow of Prince Franz of Salm-Salm, the union produced five children, Prince Ludwig Princess Eulalia, married Edouard, son of Eugène, 8th Prince of Ligne Princess Marie Princess Sophie Prince Alexander. Friedrich was well-educated, well-connected, and handsome, an adventure seeker, he became Captain in the cavalry in the Imperial Army of Austria in 1841. It was during his service with the cavalry that Carl read books about Texas, appointed its Commissioner General in 1844, he was the motivating force for the first colony of German emigrants to Texas. He arrived on Texas soil in July 1844, making a tour as advisor to the Adelsverein. Subsequently Carl purchased an additional 1,300 acres on the Guadalupe River on behalf of the Adelsverein and his vision cleared the path for John O. Meusebach to follow in 1845 as the organizer, negotiator and political force needed for community-building structure in the New Germany. In anticipation of his marriage to Maria Josephine Sophie, Prince Solms formed plans to build Sophies Castle, Sophie refused to leave Germany, and Carl never returned to Texas after his 3 December 1845 marriage to her. After returning to Germany, he left the Austrian army and became a colonel in the cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1846 and he was able to rejoin the Austrian army in 1850, becoming a brigadier in 1859 with command of dragoons on Lake Constance. He took part in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War and he retired as a Feldmarschallleutnants in 1868 to his residence at the estate of Rheingrafenstein near Kreuznach on the Nahe River. Prince Solms died on 13 November 1875 and is interred in the city cemetery of Bad Kreuznach, the Sophienburg New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce Official New Braunfels, Texas, web site
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels
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Prince Carl
13.
Westphalia
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Westphalia is a region in northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of 7,802 sq mi and 7.9 million inhabitants, the region is almost identical with the Province of Westphalia which was a part of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1918 and the Free State of Prussia from 1918 to 1946. In 1946, Westphalia merged with the Northern Rhineland, another part of Prussia. In 1947, the state with its two parts was joined by a third one, Lippe, a former principality and free state. All of the 17 districts and 9 independent cities of Westphalia, the Westphalian language, a variant of the German language, spreads north of Westphalias borders into southwest Lower Saxony. Being a part of the North German Plain, most of Westphalias north is flat, in the south the German Central Uplands emerge. Westphalia is divided into the following landscapes, other important rivers are the Ems and the Lippe. The Langenberg and the Kahler Asten in the Sauerlands part of the Rothaar Mountains are Westphalias, Westphalia is divided into three governmental districts. These are subdivided into districts and independent cities. All districts and independent cities of the districts of Arnsberg. The District of Lippe as successor of the Free State of Lippe in the Governmental District of Detmold is rather considered to be a historic region. The traditional symbol of Westphalia is the Westphalian Steed, a horse on a red field. It is derived from the Saxon Steed in the coat of arms of the medieval Duchy of Saxony which most of todays Westphalia was part of. In official contexts the coat of arms of Westphalia is being used by the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association which represents these two historic parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. The coat of arms of Lower Saxony uses a different version of the Saxon Steed since the state also covers parts of the Old Saxons duchy. The colors of Westphalia are white and red, the flag of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association uses these colors with the Westphalian coat of arms in its center. The flag of North Rhine-Westphalia is a combination of the Northern Rhinelands colors green/white, the flag of the Prussian Province of Westphalia already displayed the colors white and red. The flag of Lower Saxony shows the colors of Germany and the Saxon Steed, composed in Iserlohn in 1886 by Emil Rittershaus, the Westfalenlied is an unofficial anthem of Westphalia
Westphalia
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Westphalian (German) ladies peasant costume - illustration by Percy Anderson for Costume Fanciful, Historical and Theatrical, 1906
Westphalia
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Westphalia within the federal state of
North Rhine-Westphalia bordering on
Northern Rhineland in the west and
Lippe in the northeast
Westphalia
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Ratification of the
Peace of Westphalia of 1648 in
Münster by Gerard Terborch (1617–1681)
14.
Stephen F. Austin
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Stephen Fuller Austin was an American empresario born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. Known as the Father of Texas, and the founder of Texas, he led the second, in addition, he worked with the Mexican government to support emigration from the United States. He was also granted Mexican nationality when settling Texas, Stephen F. Austin was born in the mining region of southwestern Virginia in what is known as Austinville today, some 256 miles southwest of Richmond, Virginia. He was the child of Moses Austin and Mary Brown Austin. On June 8,1798, when Stephen was four years old, his family moved west to the region of present-day Potosi. His father Moses Austin received a sitio from the Spanish government for the site of Mine à Breton. His great-great-grandfather Anthony Austin in Bishopstoke, Hampshire, England, he and his wife Esther were original settlers of Suffield, after graduating, Austin began studying to be a lawyer, at age 21, he served in the legislature of the Missouri Territory. As a member of the legislature, he was influential in obtaining a charter for the struggling Bank of St. Louis. Left penniless after the Panic of 1819, Austin decided to move south to the new Arkansas Territory and he acquired property on the south bank of the Arkansas River, in the area that would later become Little Rock. After purchasing the property, he learned the area was being considered as the location for the new territorial capital and he made his home in Hempstead County, Arkansas. Two weeks before the first Arkansas territorial elections in 1820, Austin declared his candidacy for Congress and his late entrance meant his name did not appear on the ballot in two of the five counties, but he still placed second in the field of six candidates. He was later appointed as a judge for the First Circuit Court, over the next few months, Little Rock did become the territorial capital, but Austins claim to land in the area was contested, and the courts ruled against him. The Territorial Assembly reorganized the government and abolished Austins judgeship, Austin left the territory, moving to Louisiana. He reached New Orleans in November 1820, where he met and stayed with New Orleans lawyer and former Kentucky congressman Joseph H. Hawkins and made arrangement to study law. During Austins time in Arkansas, his father traveled to Spanish Texas, Moses Austin caught pneumonia soon after returning to Missouri. He left his empresario grant to his son Stephen, Austin boarded the steamer Beaver and departed to New Orleans to meet Spanish officials led by Erasmo Seguín. He was at Natchitoches, Louisiana, on June 31,1821 and this news has effected me very much, he was one of the most feeling and affectionate Fathers that ever lived. His faults I now say, and always have, were not of the heart, at the age of 24, Austin led his party to travel 300 miles in four weeks to San Antonio with the intent of reauthorizing his fathers grant, arriving on August 12
Stephen F. Austin
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Stephen F. Austin (by an unidentified artist)
Stephen F. Austin
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Sam Houston and Stephen Austin depicted on the
Texas Centennial Issue
postage stamp of 1936
Stephen F. Austin
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Stephen F. Austin was an important figure in early Texas.
Stephen F. Austin
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Marble sculpture of Stephen F. Austin (1903) by
Elisabet Ney at the Texas State Capitol
15.
Latin Settlement
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A Latin settlement is a community founded by German immigrants to the United States in the 1840s. Most of these were in Texas, but there were Latin Settlements in other states as well and these refugees of the post-1848 era later came to be called Forty-Eighters, in the tradition of earlier political refugees being called Dreißiger, which is German for Thirtiers. From as early as 1832-1833 onwards, German intellectuals had been emigrating to North America and these settlements, however, were not destined to survive for very long. The settlers were young adventurers or classically educated intellectuals, so-called Latinists or Latin Ones, sometimes both, but by no means farmers. It is therefore no wonder that most of them went to cities like San Antonio or Houston after the Civil War. He described them and their peculiarities, after dinner, they would walk miles to meet in a log cabin to play music, to sing and to dance. I do not depend on anything except on my oxen and on the weather, there is nothing hindering me in expressing my revolutionary thoughts, except that there is no one listening to me. The evening after this encounter, Kapp attended a meeting of the Latin farmers, many friends of gymnasium or university days gathered together within the radius of a few miles. In 1849 there was added Friedrich Hecker, the leader of the forces in Baden during the revolution of 1848-49. At the university Hecker had fought a duel with Gustav Körner, the German immigrants of St. Clair County, Illinois, were interested and wide awake in politics. In Belleville, with over 15,000 inhabitants, it happened that for years no native-born American sat in the city council, the county officers likewise were generally German immigrants, and their influence extended beyond the county limits. Eduard Retz was three times state treasurer, and Gustav Körner was lieutenant-governor of Illinois in 1852. Under Julius Raith, a company of German immigrants was recruited for the Mexican-American War, as early as 1836 a “Deutsche Bibliotheks-Gesellschaft” was formed in Belleville, which founded a library that in 1879 contained 5,500 volumes, exclusive of public documents presented by Congress. Clair County, Illinois Kurt Klotzbach, “Ernst Kapp, der Gründer der ‘Lateinische Kolonie’ Sisterdale, ” in, rudolph L. Biesele, The History of the German Settlements in Texas 1831-1861, Boeckmann-Jones Publishing House, Austin 1930. Adalbert Regenbrecht, “The German Settlers of Millheim before the Civil War, ” in, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, louis Reinhardt, “The Communistic Colony of Bettina, ” in, Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Vol.3,1899. Annie Romberg, “Texas Literary Society of Pioneer Days, ” in, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, moritz Tiling, History of the German Element in Texas from 1820 to 1850, Houston,1913. Gilbert G. Benjamin, The Germans in Texas, University of Pennsylvania, don H. Biggers, German Pioneers in Texas, Gillespie County Edition, Fredericksburg Publishing, Fredericksburg,1925. Albert Bernhardt Faust, The German Element in the United States, refugees of Revolution, The German Forty-Eighters in America
Latin Settlement
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Ubi libertas, ibi patria inspired
Carl Schurz 's emigration to the United States in 1852. He was a
Forty-Eighter and lived on a farm in
Wisconsin for a time.
16.
Galveston, Texas
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Galveston is a coastal resort city on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U. S. state of Texas. The community of 209.3 square miles, with a population of 50,180 in 2015, is the county seat. It is within Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area, the Port of Galveston was established in 1825 by the Congress of Mexico following its independence from Spain. The city was the port for the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution. During the 19th century, Galveston became a major U. S. commercial center and it was devastated by the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, whose effects included flooding and a storm surge. The natural disaster on the barrier island is still ranked as the deadliest in United States history. Much of Galvestons economy is centered in the tourism, health care, shipping, the 84-acre University of Texas Medical Branch campus with an enrollment of more than 2,500 students is a major economic force of the city. Galveston Island was originally inhabited by members of the Karankawa and Akokisa tribes who called the island Auia, the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca and his crew were shipwrecked on the island or nearby in November 1528, calling it Isla de Malhado. They began their trek to a Spanish settlement in Mexico City. During his charting of the Gulf Coast in 1785, the Spanish explorer José de Evia named the island Villa Gálvez or Gálveztown in honor of Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez. The islands first permanent European settlements were constructed around 1816 by the pirate Louis-Michel Aury to support Mexicos rebellion against Spain, in 1817, Aury returned from an unsuccessful raid against Spain to find Galveston occupied by the pirate Jean Lafitte. Lafitte organized Galveston into a kingdom he called Campeche, anointing himself the islands head of government. Lafitte remained in Galveston until 1821, when the United States Navy forced him, in 1825 the Congress of Mexico established the Port of Galveston and in 1830 erected a customs house. Galveston served as the capital of the Republic of Texas when in 1836 the interim president David G. Burnet relocated his government there. In 1836, the French-Canadian Michel Branamour Menard and several associates purchased 4,605 acres of land for $50,000 to found the town that would become the city of Galveston. As Anglo-Americans migrated to the city, they brought along or purchased enslaved African-Americans, some of whom worked domestically or on the waterfront, in 1839, the City of Galveston adopted a charter and was incorporated by the Congress of the Republic of Texas. The city was by then a port of entry and attracted many new residents in the 1840s and later among the flood of German immigrants to Texas. Together with ethnic Mexican residents, these tended to oppose slavery, support the Union during the Civil War
Galveston, Texas
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Downtown Galveston in June 2011
Galveston, Texas
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Plan of the City of Galveston, Texas (circa 1845)
Galveston, Texas
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Map of City of Galveston (circa 1904)
Galveston, Texas
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The Beach Hotel catered to vacationers until a fire in 1898.
17.
Indianola, Texas
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Indianola is a ghost town located on Matagorda Bay in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. The community, once the county seat of Calhoun County, is a part of the Victoria, Texas, Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1875, the city had a population of 5,000, but on September 15 of that year, Indianola was rebuilt, only to be wiped out on August 19,1886, by another intense hurricane, which was followed by a fire. Indianola was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1963, marker number 2642, Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, representing the Adelsverein, selected Indian Point in December,1844 as port of entry for the Verein colonists from Germany. Prince Solms renamed the port Carlshafen in honor of himself, Count Carl of Castell-Castell, Prince Solms choice of Carlshafen and its inadequate accommodations as a port of entry, as well as the isolated route to New Braunfels, was to keep the Germans from interacting with any Americans. In May 1846, Meusebach received a letter from Count Castell informing him 4,304 colonists were on their way to Texas, with no funds and no new settlements, the mass of emigrants were stalled at Carlshafen. Meusebachs requests to the Verein for more money, and his warnings at pending bankruptcy for the Verein, as a last resort, Meusebach instructed D. H. Klaener to publish the plight in the German news media. Embarrassed by the publicity, the Verein established an inadequate $60,000 letter of credit, Meusebach had arranged with the Torrey Brothers for transporting the emigrants inland, but the United States hired the Torrey Brothers for use in the Mexican-American War. An epidemic of spinal meningitis broke out at Carlshafen and spread with the emigrants to New Braunfels, Samuel Addition White and William M. Cook founded Indian Point, later Indianola, in August,1846. Some of these immigrants purchased land from Samuel White and established a settlement at Indian Point, the name of the settlement changed to Indianola in 1849 by combining the word Indian with ola, the Spanish word for wave. The German immigrants continued to refer to the community as Carlshaven in honor of Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, from its founding in 1846, Indianola served as a major port, and before the 1875 storm was second only to Galveston as Texas primary port. In 1856, the port received cargoes of camels, part of the US Army Camel Corps experiment to replace horses and mules as the pack animal in the southwestern parts of the country. During the American Civil War, Indianola was twice occupied by Union troops, in October 1862, during the second occupation, part of a Union infantry regiment moving from Indianola to Matagorda Island drowned in Matagorda Bay. In 1869, the worlds first mechanically-refrigerated shipment of beef left Indianola for New Orleans, having survived severe storms before, Indianola was almost totally destroyed on 16 September 1875. The New York Times reported in detail on the loss of life. Even the lighthouses were swept away and the keepers, including Thomas H. Mayne and Edward Flick Jr. of the East Shoal Lighthouse, the town was rebuilt but events were repeated in 1886. The destruction served as a lesson for many residents of Galveston,100 miles up the Texas coast. However, their calls for a seawall to protect that city went unheeded, a railroad was intended to connect the port of Indianola to San Antonio
Indianola, Texas
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Indianola by Helmuth Holtz, Sept. 1860
Indianola, Texas
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Indianola, Texas in 1875
18.
Comal Springs
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Comal Springs are the largest concentration of naturally occurring freshwater springs in Texas. They are located in the city of New Braunfels and are the result of water percolating through the Edwards Aquifer formation, the springs were historically a magnet for the indigenous population of the region, often Tonkawas. The first Spanish explorer to visit the springs was Damián Massanet in 1691, the site was later home to a Spanish mission. Spanish settlers eventually called the site Las Fontanas, the area has been home to a mixture of recreational and commercial endeavors, including Landa Park. The Comal Springs are fed by the Edwards Aquifer, a large karst aquifer that runs through most of central Texas, the aquifer consists of porous, water-bearing limestone features which channel rainfall and surface runoff from the aquifers recharge zone down to various discharge zones, including the springs. The Comal Springs are home to a variety of unique plant, one notable example is the Fountain Darter. e. Springs of Texas, Vol.1, Fort Worth, Branch-Smith C. Michael Hogan, california Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera, GlobalTwitcher. com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg Comal Springs from the Handbook of Texas Online. 2008 Edwards Aquifer Authority Edwards Aquifer, Comal Springs Detailed video tour Comal Springs Detailed video and narration of Comal Springs on Youtube. com
Comal Springs
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Comal Springs
19.
New Braunfels, Texas
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New Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U. S. state of Texas. It is the seat of Comal County and is a city of the San Antonio–New Braunfels metropolitan statistical area. The citys population was 57,740 at the 2010 census, New Braunfels was established in 1845 by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, Commissioner General of the Adelsverein, also known as the Noblemens Society. Prince Solms named the settlement in honor of his home of Solms-Braunfels, the Adelsverein organized hundreds of people in Germany to settle in Texas. Immigrants from Germany began arriving at Galveston in July 1844, most then traveled by ship to Indianola in December 1844, and began the overland journey to the Fisher-Miller land grant purchased by Prince Solms. Prince Solms bought two leagues of land from Rafael Garza and Maria Antonio Veramendi Garza for $1,111.00. The land was located northeast of San Antonio on El Camino Real de los Tejas and had the strong freshwater Comal Springs, known as Las Fontanas and it was about halfway between Indianola and the lower portions of the Fisher-Miller land grant. The first settlers forded the Guadalupe River on Good Friday, March 21,1845, as the spring of 1845 progressed, the settlers built the Zinkenburg, a fort named for Adelsverein civil engineer Nicolaus Zink, divided the land, and began building homes and planting crops. Prince Solms would also lay the cornerstone for the Sophienburg, a permanent fort, in 1844, Prince Solms was so disillusioned with the logistics of the colonization that he asked the Vereins to remove him as Commissioner-General and appoint a successor. When John O. Meusebach arrived, the finances were in disarray, due in part to Prince Solms lack of business experience, to a larger degree, the financial situation happened because the Adelsverein was an organization of noblemen with no practical backgrounds at running businesses. They were on the side of the world and did not witness the situation with which both Prince Solms and Meusebach were dealing. Henry Francis Fisher had not supplied transport and supplies for which the Verein advanced money to him, Meusebach found Prince Solms in Galveston trying to return to Germany, detained by authorities for unpaid bills. Meusebach made good on the debts, so Prince Solms could depart, according to Nicolaus Zink, Prince Solms had planned to establish a German feudal state by secretly bringing in immigrants and placing them in military fortresses. Meusebach, who had renounced his own title of nobility, took a different approach, Prince Solms, being an officer of the Imperial Army of Austria, had kept a uniformed military unit at the ready in Indianola. Meusebach converted the unit to a more needed work detail. A finance and business structure for the colony was put in place by Meusebach and he also provided for adequate food and shelter for the colonists. On August 11,1845, Hermann Friedrich Seele became the first teacher for the German-English school in New Braunfels, Meusebach established friendly relations with a local tribe of Waco Indians. Upon seeing his reddish-blonde hair, they called him Ma-be-quo-si-to-mu, Chief with the hair of the head
New Braunfels, Texas
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Guadalupe River under
Interstate 35 in New Braunfels
New Braunfels, Texas
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Seal
New Braunfels, Texas
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German immigrants on the way to New Braunfels (1844)
New Braunfels, Texas
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Old map (1881)
20.
Fisher-Miller Land Grant
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The Fisher-Miller Land Grant was part of an early colonization effort of the Republic of Texas. Its 3,878,000 acres covered 5,000 square miles between the Llano River and Colorado River, originally granted to Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller, the grant was sold to the German colonization company of Adelsverein. Very few colonizations resulted from the grant, as most settlers preferred Fredericksburg and New Braunfels. Designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1964, Marker number 9438 and they were limited to a given time period in which the colonization had to take place. On February 8,1842, Henry Francis Fisher, Joseph Baker and Burchard Miller, representing the San Saba Colonization Company, petitioned for a land grant from the Republic of Texas. On June 7,1842, Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller received a land grant to settle 1,000 immigrant families of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish. The grant was issued as the Fisher-Miller Land Grant, the contract was renewed on September 1,1843 by the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. The Fisher-Miller land grant consisted of 3,878,000 acres over 5,000 square miles between the Llano River and Colorado River, in the heart of the Comancheria and these lands constituted part of the hunting grounds of the Penateka Comanche Indians. Fisher and Miller had no success of colonization within the allotted time, when Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller sold the grant to the Adelsverein on June 26,1844, they were aware of the dangers of settling in Comancheria, but did not inform the Verein. Likewise, the Verein accepted the sale on face value and did not question it, the Verein was also obligated to take over expenses of the San Saba Colonization Company, and to make Henry Fisher part of the Verein colonial committee. The first Adelsverein Commissioner-General Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels had no success in colonization of the land grant, the responsibility then fell to John O. Meusebach as his successor. Meusebach successfully negotiated a non-government peace treaty with the Penateka Comanche in 1847, in return, they were to receive $12,000 in money, livestock, equipment and provisions for a year. After the first year, the colonies were expected to support themselves, emil Kriewitz was detailed to guide the settlers through the land grant territory. The colonies attempted were Castell, Leiningen, Bettina, Schoenburg and Meerholz in Llano County, Darmstädler Farm in Comal County, and Tusculum in Kendall County
Fisher-Miller Land Grant
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The Mason County Courthouse, built on land included in the Fisher-Miller Land Grant.
21.
History of Fredericksburg, Texas
–
The History of Fredericksburg, Texas dates back to its founding in 1846. It was named after Prince Frederick of Prussia, Fredericksburg is also notable as the home of Texas German, a dialect spoken by the first generations of German settlers who initially refused to learn English. Fredericksburg shares many characteristics with New Braunfels, which had been established by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels the previous year. Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 by Baron Otfried Hans von Meusebach, new Commissioner General of the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, also known as the Noblemens Society. The emigration was in part the liberal, educated Germans fleeing the social, political and economic conditions that resulted in the Revolution of 1848. Baron von Meusebach renounced his title and became known in Texas as John O. Meusebach. The areas Barons Creek was named in Meusebachs honor, the reddish-blonde haired John O. Meusebach was named El Sol Colorado by Penateka Comanche Chief Ketemoczy, who had encountered Meusebach and his group in the area of present-day Mason. Meusebach paid the Penateka Comanches $3,000, slightly less than $70,000 in todays money, in food, gifts, the native American signers of the treaty were only from the Penateka band. It is one of the very few treaties with native American tribes that was never broken, the Easter Fires pageant in Fredericksburg draws from two beginnings. In Germany and the Catholic Church, there have been variations on the custom of lighting hilltop evening bonfires in close proximity of Easter to celebrate the coming of spring, the Fredericksburg variation is a living history event which celebrates the signing of the 1847 Meusebach-Comanche Treaty. While the Treaty was signed after Easter, the negotiations were completed on March 1 and 2. The Fredericksburg Easter Fires legend has it that Penateka Comanches signaled each other about the progress of the treaty negotiations by lighting fires on the hills. In some versions of the story, the Comanches lit the fires to celebrate the signing of the treaty, the pageant is held traditionally the Saturday before Easter and recreates the signing of the treaty with bunny-dressed participants of all ages lighting the fires on surrounding hillsides. The show has been a big tourist draw since 1946, the pageant was suspended in recent years due to cost and logistics, but a group of citizens is trying to revive it. In 1845, Meusebach set out from New Braunfels, traveling 60 miles northwest to select the second settlement of the Fisher-Miller Land Grant and he opted for a valley situated between two creeks, which are now known as Barons Creek and Town Creek, and surrounded by seven hills. He named it in honor of Prince Frederick of Prussia, the member of the Mainzer Adelsverein. For the settlement, he purchased 10,000 acres on credit, for an allotment per settler of one town lot, plus 10 acres of farmland. In December 1845, on orders from Meusebach, Lieutenant Louis Bene, along with lead surveyor Johann Jacob Groos and crew, the town was laid out by surveyor Herman Wilke
History of Fredericksburg, Texas
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The Vereins Kirche was the first public structure erected in Fredericksburg
History of Fredericksburg, Texas
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Bust of Baron von Meusebach in Fredericksburg Town Square
History of Fredericksburg, Texas
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Frederickburg, Texas 1896 parade celebrating 50th anniversary of the town's founding. Vereins Kirche in the background.
History of Fredericksburg, Texas
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House of Heinrich G. Dietz
22.
John O. Meusebach
–
John O. Meusebach, born Otfried Hans Freiherr von Meusebach, was at first a Prussian bureaucrat, later an American farmer and politician who served in the Texas Senate, District 22. John O. Meusebach was born May 26,1814, in Dillenburg, Duchy of Nassau, to Baron Karl Hartwig Gregor von Meusebach, a judge solicitor and he was the namesake of brother Orfried Isador who died young. He had two sisters, Ludowine and Caroline, and a younger brother Carl Bernhard. The children grew up in a filled with music. Mother Ernestine was a pianist, and the family enjoyed entertaining visitors with the singing of poems, folk songs, the elder Meusebach, a poet himself, took delight in collecting German folk music and literature. As an adult, Meusebach stood 6 foot 2 inches tall with reddish-blonde hair, Waco Indians near New Braunfels called him Ma-be-quo-si-to-mu. Penateka Comanche Chief Ketemoczy named him El Sol Colorado, during this period, grandfather Christian Carl von Meusebach in Vockstedt took the young men on outdoor excursions to share their common interest in botany. Otfried enrolled in the University of Bonn in 1832, majoring in law, cameralism and he transferred to the University of Halle, where he studied natural science. In 1836, he passed his bar examination at Naurmburg, Meusebach was appointed administrator of Trier in 1836. He became an assistant judge in 1838 at Berlin and Potsdam, the Meusebach home was a gathering place for intellectual and political discussions of personal freedom and less government versus a nationalist state. In 1841, Meusebach held a position in Stettin. Because of his expertise at handling a dispute between Stettin and Anklam, he was appointed as Bürgermeister of Anklam. The Adelsverein was formed in Biebrich, Germany on April 20,1842, co-founder Count Victor August of Leiningen-Westerburg-Alt-Leiningen was president of the society, and Count Carl of Castell-Castell became vice-president and business director. The Republic of Texas issued colonization land grants totaling 4,494,806 acres, the contract was renewed on September 1,1843 by the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. On June 26,1844, Fisher sold an interest in the grant to the Adelsverein, on December 30,1845, both Fisher and Miller sold their grant rights to the Adelsverein, conditional that Fisher be on the Vereins colonial committee. On April 7,1844, a land grant acquired by the Verein was the Bourgeois-Ducos grant. The Verein appointed the grants namesake Alexander Bourgeois dOrvanne as Colonial Director, in the end, the Bourgeois-Ducos grant was not extended. On October 24,1844, Meusebach wrote a letter to Count Castell to express his interest in moving to the Republic of Texas in order to pursue his love of geology, botany and he had become fascinated by Texas and had been reading everything about the area
John O. Meusebach
–
John O. Meusebach
23.
Fredericksburg, Texas
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Fredericksburg is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 10,530, Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. Old-time German residents often referred to Fredericksburg as Fritztown, a nickname that is used in some businesses. The town is notable as the home of Texas German. Fredericksburg shares many characteristics with New Braunfels, which had been established by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels the previous year. Fredericksburg is the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz and it is the sister city of Montabaur, Germany. On October 14,1970, the Fredericksburg Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas, Fredericksburg is located east of the center of Gillespie County at 30°16′27″N 98°52′19″W. It is 70 miles north of San Antonio and 78 miles west of Austin. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 8.6 square miles, of which 8.6 square miles are land and 0.05 square miles. Enchanted Rock is a geographical landmark 17 miles north of Fredericksburg in Llano County, the rock is a huge, pink granite exfoliation dome that rises 425 feet above the surrounding land, has a summit elevation of 1,825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres. It is one of the largest batholiths in the United States, in 1994, the State of Texas opened it as Enchanted Rock State Natural Area after adding facilities. The same year, Enchanted Rock was added to the National Register of Historic Places, balanced Rock was a famous local landmark that perched atop Bear Mountain 10 mi north of Fredericksburg. The natural wonder stone pillar, about the size of a small elephant and it fell prey to vandals who dynamited it off its base in April 1986. The first known record of Cross Mountain was in 1847 by Dr. Ferdinand von Roemer, Native Americans used the location to signal each other about intrusions into their territory. The area was part of settler Dr. John Christian Dursts 10-acre allotment, durst found a timber cross on the mountain, indicating that Spanish missionaries had once used the site. Durst named the place Kreuzberg or Cross Mountain, in 1849, Father George Menzel erected a new cross. In 1946, St. Marys Catholic Church erected a metal, the mountain has been used both for the Easter Fires pageant and for Easter sunrise services. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 1976, the Vereins Kirche, the Pioneer Museum Complex, Pioneer Memorial Library, and other architecture
Fredericksburg, Texas
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Part of downtown Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Texas
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Main Street at Fredericksburg, a biergarten is along the major street.
Fredericksburg, Texas
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Fredericksburg city limits sign
Fredericksburg, Texas
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The Vereins-Kirche, c. 1847
24.
Comanche
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The Comanche people are federally recognized as the Comanche Nation, headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma. Post-contact, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers with a horse culture, there may have been as many as 45,000 Comanches in the late 18th century. They were the dominant tribe on the Southern Plains and often took captives from weaker tribes during warfare, selling them as slaves to the Spanish and they also took thousands of captives from the Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers. Today, the Comanche Nation has 15,191 members, approximately 7,763 of whom reside in tribal jurisdictional area around the Lawton, Fort Sill, the Comanche Nation Homecoming Powwow is held annually in Walters, Oklahoma in mid-July. The Comanche language is a Numic language of the Uto-Aztecan family, only about 1% of Comanches speak their language today. The name Comanche is from the Ute name for them, kɨmantsi, the Comanche Nation is headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma. Their tribal jurisdictional area is located in Caddo, Comanche, Cotton, Grady, Jefferson, Kiowa, Stephens, membership of the tribe requires a 1/8 blood quantum. The tribe operates its own housing authority and issues tribal vehicle tags and they have their own Department of Higher Education, primarily awarding scholarships and financial aid for members college educations. Additionally, they operate the Comanche Nation College in Lawton, Oklahoma and they own ten tribal smoke shops and four casinos. The casinos are Comanche Nation Casino in Lawton, Comanche Red River Casino in Devol, Comanche Spur Casino, in Elgin, in 2002, the tribe founded the Comanche Nation College, a two-year tribal college in Lawton. Each July Comanches from across the United States gather to celebrate their heritage and culture in Walters, the Comanche Nation Fair is held every September. The Comanche Little Ponies host two annual dances—one over New Years and one in May, the Comanche emerged as a distinct group shortly before 1700, when they broke off from the Shoshone people living along the upper Platte River in Wyoming. In 1680, the Comanche acquired horses from the Pueblo Indians after the Pueblo Revolt and they separated from the Shoshone after this, as the horses allowed them greater mobility in their search for better hunting grounds. The horse was a key element in the emergence of a distinctive Comanche culture and they only just fall short of possessing all of the conveniences of the earth, and have no need to covet the trade pursued by the rest of the Indians. Their original migration took them to the southern Great Plains, into a sweep of territory extending from the Arkansas River to central Texas. They reached present-day New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle by 1700, forcing the Lipan Apache people ever southward, by 1777, the Lipan Apache had retreated to the Rio Grande and the Mescalero Apache to Coahuila. The Comanche never formed a single cohesive unit, but were divided into almost a dozen autonomous groups. These groups shared the language and culture, and rarely fought each other
Comanche
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For other uses, see
Comanche (disambiguation).
Comanche
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Flag of the Comanche
Comanche
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1718
Guillaume de L'Isle map showing the range and villages of Padoucas, believed to be the Comanche, at the heads of the Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas rivers.
Comanche
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Note the location of Rio Fierro in the top center.
25.
Llano County, Texas
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Llano County /ˈlænoʊ/ is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,301 and its county seat is Llano, and the county is named for the Llano River. In 1869, pioneer rancher John Wesley Snyder led a drive from Llano County along the Chisholm Trail to Abilene. In the 1870s, a community known as Baby Head existed in Llano County. According to local legend, a child was killed by Native Americans. Hence Jodie May McKneely originated the Baby Head Cemetery,1844, June 26 - Henry Francis Fisher sells interest in land grant to Adelsverein 1845 December 20 - Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller sell their rights in the land grant to Adelsverein. The community fails within a year due to lack of any governing structure, the Texas State Convention of Germans in 1854. Denton, TX, Texas State Historical Association,1860 Population 1,101 -21 slaveholders,54 slaves 1862 One hundred Llano County volunteers join Major John George Walker Division of the Confederate States Army. 1873, August 4 - Packsaddle Mountain becomes the site of the region’s last battle with the Indians, the county’s farming economy begins to grow after threats of Indian attacks cease. Count Castell of the Adelsverein negotiated with the separate Darmstadt Society of Forty to colonize 200 families on the Fisher-Miller Land Grant in Texas, in return, they were to receive $12,000 in money, livestock, equipment and provisions for a year. After the first year, the colonies were expected to support themselves, the colonies attempted were Castell, Leiningen, Bettina, Schoenburg and Meerholz in Llano County, Darmstädler Farm in Comal County, and Tusculum in Kendall County. The colonies failed after the Adelsverein funding expired, and also due to conflict of structure, some members moved to other Adelsverein settlements in Texas. Others moved elsewhere, or returned to Germany, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 966 square miles, of which 934 square miles is land and 32 square miles is water. Enchanted Rock, a state natural area and popular tourist destination, is located in southern Llano county. Two significant rivers, the Llano and the Colorado, flow through Llano County and these rivers contribute to Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, and Lake Lyndon B. Johnson, which are all located partially within the county, the population density was 18 people per square mile. There were 11,829 housing units at a density of 13 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 96. 27% White,0. 30% Black or African American,0. 42% Native American,0. 38% Asian,0. 03% Pacific Islander,1. 77% from other races, and 0. 84% from two or more races
Llano County, Texas
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The Llano County Courthouse in Llano
Llano County, Texas
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Llano County, Texas
Llano County, Texas
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Cactus in spring bloom in rural Llano County
26.
Comal County, Texas
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Comal County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 108,472 and its county seat is New Braunfels. Comal County is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, along with Hays and Kendall counties, Comal was listed in 2017 of the nations ten fastest-growing large counties with a population of at least ten thousand. From 2015 to 2016, Comal County, sixth on the list, grew by 5,675 newcomers, Kendall County, the second-fastest-growing county in the nation, grew by 5.16 percent. Hays County, third on the national list, had ten thousand new residents during the year. As a result of growth, the counties have experienced new home construction, traffic congestion. Which includes San Antonio, grew by 1.75 percent during the year, early native American inhabitants include Tonkawa, Waco, Karankawa and Lipan Apache. 1700-1758 The area becomes known as “Comal”, Spanish for “flat dish”, nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Mission at Comal Springs. 1825 Coahuila y Tejas issues land grant for Comal Springs to Juan Martín de Veramendi,1842 Adelsverein organized in Germany to promote emigration to Texas. Fisher-Miller Land Grant sets aside three acres to settle 600 families and single men of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish. Thousands of German immigrants are stranded at port of disembarkation Indianaola on Matagorda Bay, with no food or shelters, living in holes dug into the ground, an estimated 50% die from disease or starvation. The living begin to walk to their destinations hundreds of miles away,200 German colonists who walked from Indianola found the town of New Braunfels at the crossing of the San Antonio-Nacogdches Road on the Guadalupe River. John O. Meusebach arrives in Galveston,1846 March - Texas legislature forms Comal County from the Eighth Precinct of Bexar County. New Braunfels is the county seat,1850 Survey of 130 German farms in Comal reveals no slave laborers. 1852 Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung begins publication, initially only in German, deriving its name 16th Century Germanys prototype of a newspaper titled Zeitung,1858 Final county boundaries determination with the separation of part of western Comal County to Blanco and Kendall counties. New Braunfels votes in a school tax,1861 Comal County votes for secession from the Union. Contributes three all-German volunteer companies-to the Confederate cause,1887 Faust Street Bridge built over the Guadalupe River. 1898 Comal County limestone courthouse erected, 1920s - County establishes itself as a manufacturing and shipping center for textiles, garments, flour, and construction materials
Comal County, Texas
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The 3.5 story
Romanesque Revival style
Comal County Courthouse in New Braunfels was built in 1898.
27.
Kendall County, Texas
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Kendall County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. In 2010 census, its population was 33,410, the county is named for George Wilkins Kendall, a journalist and Mexican-American War correspondent. Kendall County is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, progressive Farmer rated Kendall County fifth in its list of the Best Places to Live in Rural America in 2006. Kendall, along with Hays and Comal counties, was listed in 2017 of the nations ten fastest-growing large counties with a population of at least ten thousand. From 2015 to 2016, Kendall County, the county in the nation, grew by 5.16 percent. Early Native American inhabitants include Kiowa, Comanche and Lipan Apache, 1700s Lipan Apaches discover Cascade Caverns. 1842 April 20 - Adelsverein organized in Germany to promote emigration to Texas, June 7 - Fisher-Miller Land Grant sets aside 3,000,000 acres to settle 600 families and single men of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry in Texas. 1844, June 26 - Henry Francis Fisher sells interest in land grant to Adelsverein,1845 Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels secures title to 1,265 acres of the Veramendi grant, including the Comal Springs and River, for the Adelsverein. February - Thousands of German immigrants are stranded at port of disembarkation Indianaola on Matagorda Bay, with no food or shelters, living in holes dug into the ground, an estimated 50% die from disease or starvation. The living begin to walk to their destinations hundreds of miles away, may - John O. Meusebach arrives in Galveston. December 20 - Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller sell their rights in the grant to Adelsverein. 1849 Freethinkers Bettina colonists from Llano County settle Tusculum, named after Cicero’s home in ancient Rome, the initial community bans any churches from being erected. The town is later re-named Boerne, for German-Jewish political writer Ludwig Börne, 1850s George W. Kendall introduces sheep ranching to the County. Comfort is founded by German immigrant Freethinkers and abolitionists,1860 Boerne Village Band is formed by Karl Dienger. 1861 Unionists from Kerr, Gillespie, and Kendall counties participate in the formation of the Union League,1862 Kendall County is established from Kerr and Blanco counties, named for journalist George Wilkins Kendall. The Union League forms companies to protect the frontier against Indians, conscientious objectors to the military draft are primarily among Tejanos and Germans. May 30 – Confederate authorities impose martial law on Central Texas, august 10 - Nueces massacre in Kinney County. Jacob Kuechler serves as a guide for 61 conscientious objectors attempting to flee to Mexico, the cruelty shocks the people of Gillespie County
Kendall County, Texas
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The Kendall County Courthouse in Boerne
28.
Gillespie County, Texas
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Gillespie County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 24,837 and it is located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Gillespie is named for Robert Addison Gillespie, a soldier in the Mexican-American War, on December 15,1847, a petition was submitted to create Gillespie County. In 1848, the legislature formed Gillespie County from Bexar and Travis Counties, while the signers were overwhelmingly German immigrants, names also on the petition were Castillo, Pena, Munos, and a handful of nonGerman Anglo names. Gillespie County comprises the Fredericksburg, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, early native inhabitants were the Tonkawa, Comanche, Kiowa, and Lipan Apache peoples. In 1842, the Adelsverein organized in Germany to promote emigration to Texas, the Fisher-Miller Land Grant set aside three million acres to settle 600 families and single men of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry in Texas. Henry Francis Fisher sold his interest in the grant to the Adelsverein in 1844. Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels secured the title to 1,265 acres of the Veramendi grant the next year, including the Comal Springs and River, thousands of German immigrants were stranded at port of disembarkation, Indianola, on Matagorda Bay. With no food or shelters, living in holes dug into the ground, the living began to walk to their destinations hundreds of miles away. About 200 German colonists, who walked from Indianola, founded the town of New Braunfels at the crossing of the San Antonio-Nacodoches Road on the Guadalupe River, John O. Meusebach arrived in Galveston. The first wagon train of 120 settlers arrived from New Braunfels, surveyor Hermann Wilke laid out the town. Meusebach named it Fredericksburg, in honor of Prince Frederick of Prussia, in 1847, the Meusebach–Comanche Treaty was made. About 150 settlers petitioned the Texas Legislature to establish a new county, the Vereins Kirche became the first public building in Fredericksburg. It served as a church, school, town hall. Locals referred to it as “the Coffee Mill Church” for its shape, wilhelm Victor Keidel was the countys first doctor. Mormon leader Lyman Wight founded the community of Zodiac, the Legislature formed Gillespie County from Bexar and Travis Counties in 1848. They named it after Tennessee transplant Capt. Robert Addison Gillespie, fort Martin Scott was established in 1848 at Barons Creek, a Pedernales tributary. An angry mob of soldiers burned down the store-courthouse in 1850, the melee apparently started when County Clerk John M. Hunter, who also owned the store, refused to sell whiskey to a soldier
Gillespie County, Texas
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The Gillespie County Courthouse in Fredericksburg
29.
Sisterdale, Texas
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Sisterdale, Texas, is an unincorporated farming and ranching community, established in 1847 and located 13 miles north of Boerne in Kendall County, in the U. S. state of Texas. The community is located in the valley of Sister Creek, the current 2010 population is 25 and the elevation is 1,280 feet. Sisterdale was settled in 1847 by German surveyor and free thinker Nicolaus Zink, originally part of Comal, Sisterdale became part of Kendall County when the latter was formed in 1862. The first child born in Sisterdale was Julius Holekamp on June 10,1849 to Fritz, one notable early colonist was Edward Degener, future Republican U. S. Degeners sons Hugo and Hilmar died during the Nueces massacre, also among the settlers was a member of the German Chambers of Deputies Julius Dresel, who was the first to plant a Sisterdale vineyard. His brother Emil Dresel and partner Jacob Gundlach later established the Rhein Farm Vineyard in Sonoma, Julius later moved to San Antonio. Upon the death of brother Emil, who bequeathed Julius his share of the Sonoma vineyard, the community received a post office in 1851, and Ottomar W. Behr was the first postmaster. Sisterdale eventually had a house, a gas station-garage, a general store, a cotton gin. The old 1885 cotton gin in Sisterdale has been restored and is home to the Sister Creek Vineyards. Sisterdale was one of the Latin Settlements, resulting from the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states and those who came were Forty-Eighters, intellectual liberal abolitionists who enjoyed conversing in Latin and believed in utopian ideals that guaranteed basic human rights to all. They reveled in passionate conversations about literature, music and philosophy, the free thinkers petitioned the Texas Congress in 1853 for a charter to operate a German-English college to be built at Sisterdale, but the petition did not come to fruition. Irene Marschall King, granddaughter of John O. 5) Free schools – including universities – supported by the state, without religious influence, one of the most tragic episodes in the history of Kendall County happened in 1862 after Texas joined the Confederacy. The Confederacy considered the free thinkers of Sisterdale and like communities to be a threat, a number of Kendall County Germans became conscientious objectors to the military draft. Confederate authorities reacted by imposing martial law on Central Texas, sixty-one conscientious objectors attempted to flee to Mexico. Confederate irregular James Duff and his Duff’s Partisan Rangers pursued them, at the Nueces River, thirty-four were killed, and some executed after being taken prisoner. In 1866, Kendall County erected the Treue der Union Monument monument dedicated to the German Texans slain at the Nueces massacre, some of the early settlers in Sisterdale migrated from the collapsed Fisher-Miller Land Grant experimental colonies of the Darmstadt Society of Forty. The Sisterdale Valley District is a 2, 893-acre historic district in Sisterdale and it included 15 contributing buildings and six other contributing structures. The historic buildings include an 1890s dance hall, fredericksburg, Texas German Texan Grapetown, Texas Crabapple, Texas Texas Hill Country Syers, Ed
Sisterdale, Texas
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Sisterdale, Texas
30.
Tusculum, Texas
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Boerne is a city in and the county seat of Kendall County, Texas, United States, within the Texas Hill Country. Boerne was named in honor of a Jewish-German author and publicist, the population of Boerne was 10,471 at the 2010 census. The city is noted for the landmark U. S. Supreme Court case City of Boerne v. Flores, founded in 1849 as Tusculum, the name was changed to Boerne when the town was platted in 1852. Boerne is part of the San Antonio–New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area, Boerne is the home of the Guadalupe Valley Poetry Celebration, a regional poetry festival that benefits the Boerne Public Library. Boerne came into being as an offshoot of the Texas Hill Country Free Thinker Latin Settlements and those who came were Forty-Eighters, intellectual liberal abolitionists who enjoyed conversing in Latin and who believed in utopian ideals that guaranteed basic human rights to all. They reveled in passionate conversations about science, philosophy, literature, and music The Free Thinkers first settled Castell, Bettina, Leningen and these experimental communities were supported by the Adelsverein for one year. The communities eventually failed due to lack of finances after the Adelsverein funding expired, many of the pioneers from these communities moved to Sisterdale, Boerne and Comfort. In 1849, a group of Free Thinker German colonists from Bettina camped on the side of Cibolo Creek. They named their new community after Ciceros Tusculum home in ancient Rome, in 1852, John James and Gustav Theissen, who helped settle Sisterdale, platted the townsite, renamed it in honor of German author Karl Ludwig Börne, with the Anglicized spelling of Boerne. The town was not incorporated until 1909, August Staffell was the original postmaster in 1856. In March 1887, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway came to town, the coming of the railroad was an economic boost of some magnitude, and it created better conditions for the area. In the late 1870s, retired British army officers, including Glynn Turquand and Captain Egremont Shearburn, the polo ground is still visible on Balcones Ranch, bought by Captain Turquand in 1878. Boernes robust environment encouraged the health resort industry, Karl Degener organized the Boerne Gesang Verein and the Boerne Village Band in 1860. The family and descendants of Sisterdale resident Baron Ottomar von Behr have included three generations of directors of the Boerne Village Band, and four generations of musicians, some of the early settlers in Boerne migrated from the collapsed Fisher-Miller Land Grant experimental colonies of the Darmstadt Society of Forty. Boerne is located at 29°47′40″N 98°43′53″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 square miles, of which 5.8 square miles is land and 0.3 square miles is water. The town is 30 miles northwest of Downtown San Antonio, two of Texas seven show caves are located in Boerne, Cave Without a Name and Cascade Caverns. They are both actively growing limestone solution caves, Boerne has a typical central Texas humid subtropical climate with hot, frequently humid summers and winters that average mild, but vary from hot to cold. Although 46.1 mornings per year fall below freezing, snowfall is extremely rare, between 1971 and 2000 the median was zero and the mean 0.5 inches or 0.013 metres
Tusculum, Texas
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Main Street in Boerne, Texas ca 1890-1900
Tusculum, Texas
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Boerne Stage Airport
Tusculum, Texas
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The Marsh Loop Trail Boardwalk at the Cibolo Nature Center.
