Home of Ferdinand Lindheimer
New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1801-1879) Soldier in Texas Revolution. Father of Texas botany. Editor of the Neu Braunfels Zeitung. (1852-1872) (Comal Ave., New Braunfels)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ferdinand Lindheimer arrived among the German immigrants who founded New Braunfels, having already taken up arms in the Texas Revolution. He spent decades cataloging the plants of his adopted state so thoroughly that he became known as the father of Texas botany, with numerous species bearing his name. For two decades he also edited the Neu-Braunfels Zeitung, one of the influential German-language newspapers that gave the community its voice.
Why it matters
He embodies the scientific and cultural contributions of German immigrants to Texas, bridging pioneering natural science and the German-language press that shaped the Hill Country.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- Β· Ferdinand Lindheimer
Related events
- Β· Texas Revolution
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Ferdinand J. Lindheimer
New Braunfels, TX
Born in Germany in 1801, Ferdinand Lindheimer fled to Texas and served in the Texas Army in 1836, then turned to the work that made his name β cataloging the plants of his adopted state. Often called the "Father of Texas Botany," he collected specimens that introduced dozens of native species to science. He and his wife Eleonora made their life in New Braunfels, the German immigrant town he helped chronicle.
Henry Troell
Seguin, TX
A young immigrant from Wichmannshausen, Germany, Henry Troell settled near Seguin before 1860 and, after service in the Confederate Army, parlayed a freighting business into a web of local enterprises. His dam and grist mill on this site grew into something remarkable for a small Texas town β he added hydroelectric generation and, in the 1890s, gave the city its first municipal water and electric systems.
Old Scholl House
New Braunfels, TX
The oldest part of this New Braunfels house was built about 1847 by Heinrich Scholl, Jr., using the German "Fachwerk" technique of a hewn-cedar timber frame filled with adobe brick. A later Victorian addition reflects how the growing town's tastes changed over the decades while the original immigrant-era core survived.
New Braunfels Woolen Mill
New Braunfels, TX
German immigrants August Tolle and Dr. Theodor Koester built a large two-story cedar-timber building in 1864, and in 1868 it became the New Braunfels Woolen Mill, drawing on Comal River water for steam power. The successful mill eventually closed for lack of a protected trademark, and in 1901 the Popp family converted it into the town's first steam laundry, which ran until a 1934 fire. Only the old bell, rock foundation, and part of the chimney remain.