Cibolo
Cibolo, Guadalupe County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A town began to grow here after the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad built a line through western Guadalupe County in 1875. A general store, operated by George Schlather and Ernst Jenull, was opened the following year to serve the predominantly German population. A post office was established in 1876, and the town was named Cibolo from an Indian word for buffalo. The community was also known as Fromme's Store after Charles Fromme purchased the general store in 1882. Cibolo was officially incorporated in 1965. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Cibolo took root in 1875 when the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad pushed a line across western Guadalupe County. A general store opened the next year to serve the largely German settlers, and a post office followed in 1876, giving the town a name drawn from an Indian word for buffalo. For a time it was also called Fromme's Store after Charles Fromme bought the business in 1882; the community finally incorporated in 1965.
Why it matters
Cibolo is a textbook example of the railroad town — a settlement that existed because the tracks did — and of the German immigrant communities that shaped the culture of the Texas Hill Country.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Attractions
- Morgan's Wonderland9.5 mi away · 5223 David Edwards Drive, San Antonio, TX
- Off-Road Adventure Ride9.5 mi away
- Morgan's Inspiration Island9.6 mi away · 5223 David Edwards Drive, San Antonio, TX
- Amazing Air10.4 mi away · 7702 North Interstate Highway 35, San Antonio, TX
- Green Acres Golf and Games13.4 mi away
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related people
- · George Schlather
- · Ernst Jenull
- · Charles Fromme
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Schertz
Schertz, TX
Schertz began in the 1840s when German immigrants from the New Braunfels area spread out in search of good farmland along Cibolo Creek. The community lived by agriculture until the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad arrived about 1877, linking it to San Antonio and wider markets. Once known as Cibolo Pit and Cutoff, the town took the name Schertz — for early settler Sebastian Schertz — when its post office opened in 1882.
Old Chihuahua Road
La Vernia, TX
The Old Chihuahua Road ran from central Mexico to the Texas coast at Indianola, a cart route worn by traders, raiders, and newcomers alike. Alsatian, German, Polish, and Irish immigrants followed it inland seeking a fresh start, even as it doubled as a path for Indian raiding parties. After 1835 it carried gold and silver bound for export, and by the 1850s it served as a route for army travel.
Site of Geier and Schmid Farm
Universal City, TX
German immigrants Wilhelm Geier and his family arrived at Galveston in 1849 from Wolfenbüttel, and after settling in New Braunfels their daughter Johanna married fellow immigrant Martin Schmid. In 1855 the families moved to the community then called Cibolo (later Selma), buying 127 acres they eventually split between them. Martin, a Confederate cavalry veteran, was buried here in 1880, founding a family cemetery; the neighboring Kincaid graves hold a Kentucky-born blacksmith and his kin. Fences and headstones have long since vanished from both burial grounds.
Founding of Town of Marion, 1877
Marion, TX
Marion owes its existence to the railroad. When the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway pushed west of the Guadalupe to link inland Texas with Gulf ports, investor Col. Thomas W. Peirce bought land near a country store and platted a town, naming it for his daughter and securing a post office in 1877. Within a year its three-acre railyard was shipping in volume, and by 1900 schools and churches had made it a settled community.