Texas Land Commissioner, Johann Jacob Groos
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(March 6, 1822 - June 15, 1878) A professional surveyor before and after coming to Texas in 1845 fom his native Germany, J. J. Groos helped open New Braunfels area to settlement. He served 1849-65 as a Comal County official, and was in Confederate militia during Civil War (1861-65). In 1874, Groos was elected Commissioner of the General Land Office of Texas and served four years, until his death. Married to Katharine Blieder, he was father of seven children. Recorded 1974
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Johann Jacob Groos left Germany for Texas in 1845, part of the great wave of German immigration that reshaped the Hill Country, and put his surveyor's training to work opening the New Braunfels area to settlement. He held Comal County office for over a decade, served in the Confederate militia during the Civil War, and in 1874 was elected Commissioner of the General Land Office — the state agency at the very center of Texas's land-grant story.
Why it matters
Groos links two defining Texas themes: the German immigrant communities that gave the Hill Country its enduring character, and the land office that governed who could claim the state's vast public domain.
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