New Braunfels
New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded in Republic of Texas, 1845, by Prince Karl of Solms-Braunfels. Focal point of German immigration to central and western Texas. Sent men, goods to Confederacy, in Civil War. Historic, recreational, tourist center. Site of Landa Park and Sophienburg Museum. The Comal is known as shortest large-volume river in U.S.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1845 during the days of the Republic of Texas by Prince Karl of Solms-Braunfels, New Braunfels became the focal point of German immigration into central and western Texas. During the Civil War the town sent men and supplies to the Confederacy. Today it is a historic and recreational hub, home to Landa Park, the Sophienburg Museum, and the Comal, billed as the shortest large-volume river in the country.
Why it matters
New Braunfels stands as the hearth of German Texas, a settlement whose immigrant heritage remains woven into the state's identity.
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Related people
- · Prince Karl of Solms-Braunfels
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Texas Germans in the Civil War
New Braunfels, TX
When Texas voted on secession in 1861, ten heavily German counties opposed leaving the Union, an unusual dissent in a Confederate state—though Comal County broke the other way. Many German Texans had only recently taken naturalization oaths and found the doctrine of states' rights hard to parse; some avoided service out of concern for their families while others slipped away to join U.S. units. Still, the majority backed the Confederacy, and three companies from Comal County earned praise for their discipline and morale.
Carl Heinrich Guenther
New Braunfels, TX
Born in Prussia in 1821, Carl Heinrich Guenther immigrated to Texas in 1845 and became a pillar of New Braunfels — one of its first public school teachers and a leader of the German singing societies. In 1854 he presided over a statewide Saengerfest that adopted an anti-slavery platform, an unpopular stance in Texas; though he shared those leanings, he later joined the Confederacy as a captain. After his death his widow Margarethe carried on the family brewing business.
Comal County
New Braunfels, TX
Comal County was created and organized in 1846, carved from the Travis and Bexar land districts, and named for the river whose spring-fed islands suggested pancakes to early settlers. Its seat, New Braunfels, had been established a year earlier and honors Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, the German nobleman who led colonists here. The county's very names carry the imprint of its German founding.
Church Hill School Building
New Braunfels, TX
Built in 1870, this schoolhouse grew out of day classes once held inside St. Martin's Evangelical Lutheran Church, serving the farm families of the Hortontown and Neighborsville communities. For years lessons were taught in both German and English, a reflection of the region's strong German immigrant roots. After serving the public school system, the building was preserved in 1975 as a school museum.