International & Great Northern Railroad in New Braunfels
New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas
Marker Inscription
As early as 1875, New Braunfels residents began petitioning rail companies to bring lines into the community. The town's first major proposal, to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad, failed to achieve the goal. By the end of the decade, however, the International & Great Northern Railroad (I&GN), which had reached Austin in 1876, agreed to bring rail through New Braunfels. By 1880, the town had a depot and the first trains rolled through. In 1885, the rail company built a new depot, which was replaced by a more modern passenger station in 1907. The railroad dramatically affected the economy of New Braunfels. With the rail outlet, the town could send goods to market and receive products from other cities more effectively. In addition, the railroad sparked tourism in the area, particularly beginning in the late 1890s. It was during this time that Helen Gould, daughter of railroad financier Jay Gould, visited the town. She proposed that the I&GN build a spur track into a beautiful piece of land owned by Harry Landa, which would become known as Landa Park. I&GN built the spur, and soon the park became a popular tourist destination in central Texas, drawing visitors by rail. Today, the park remains the city's primary public recreational site. In 1926, a subsidiary of the Missouri Pacific Railroad bought out the I&GN and by the middle of the 20th century, the railroad's importance decreased. After merging into the Union Pacific Railroad system in 1986, the Missouri Pacific Railroad donated the 1907 I&GN station to the City of New Braunfels. Today, the former station is home to the New Braunfels Railroad Museum. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
New Braunfels residents lobbied for years to draw a railroad, and by 1880 the International & Great Northern rolled its first trains through a new depot. The line transformed the local economy, opening markets for goods and sparking tourism—Helen Gould, daughter of financier Jay Gould, prompted a spur into what became Landa Park. Successive depots culminated in the 1907 station that now houses the New Braunfels Railroad Museum.
Why it matters
The railroad shows how a single rail connection could remake a 19th-century town's fortunes, wiring rural Texas into national markets and the emerging tourism economy.
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Related people
- · Helen Gould
- · Jay Gould
- · Harry Landa
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Landa Park
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Joseph Landa bought this land around the Comal Springs—the largest springs in the American Southwest—in 1859 and harnessed the Comal River to power gristmills, textile factories, an ice plant, and a brewery, even a Civil War saltpeter works. His son Harry opened Landa's Park as a tourist resort in 1898, and excursion trains soon brought crowds for picnics, dancing, and steamboat rides. After financial troubles closed it, New Braunfels citizens voted overwhelmingly to buy the park in 1936, and WPA crews added lasting improvements.
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