Lindheimer Plaza - New Braunfels, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 29° 41.958 W 098° 07.001
14R E 585451 N 3285792
A historic small park in New Braunfels, TX dedicated to German immigrant Ferdinand Lindheimer, the "Father of Texas Botany". A historical marker denoting Texas Germans in the Civil War is located in this tiny park as well.
Waymark Code: WMMP8K
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/18/2014
Views: 6
Lindheimer Plaza is very small (0.28 acres) park in the heavily German-influenced city of New Braunfels, Texas. The park was erected in 1928 and is located within the grounds of a former garden known as "Lindheimer’s Botanical Garden", a piece of land given by the Republic of Texas to Ferdinand J. Lindheimer in 1845. Mr. Lindheimer was posthumously given the title of "Father of Texas Botany" because of his work as the first permanent-resident plant collector in Texas.
Ferdinand Lindheimer was an avid German botanist who immigrated to the United States as a political refugee in 1834 and ultimately settled in New Braunfels ten years later, after having fought in the Texas Revolution as part of the Kentucky Volunteers.
Once in New Braunfels, Lindheimer joined the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas (officially known as "Verein zum Schutze deutscher Einwanderer in Texas", but also called by many other names including "Adelsverein", "Mainzer Verein", "Texas-Verein", and "German Emigration Company"). He was granted land on the banks of a nearby river (the Comal River) which runs through the town, and restarted his plant collection activities in the hopes of establishing a botanical garden within the region. He was hired as editor of the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung (a local newspaper) in 1852 and eventually became publisher of the Zeitung, ultimately using the paper as a forum to express his anticlerical views. In addition to his work with the paper he ran a private school for gifted children and served as the first justice of the peace of Comal County. During the Civil War, as an advocate of states' rights, he went against the apparent majority of German Americans and publicly supported the Confederacy on the basis that one should maintain regional loyalties.
A Texas historical marker is located within the grounds of this small park, denoting why -- unlike the majority of German Americans -- those living in this part of Texas primarily sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War. The plaque reads:
"Texas Germans in the Civil War
In 1861, ten heavily German counties in Texas voted against secession, though Comal County was as exception. States' rights puzzled some voters. Many had lately taken naturalization oaths. After secession, some avoided military duty from concern about their families. Others left to join U.S. units.
Majority sentiment supported the Confederacy. Three companies from Comal, with other German troops, were praised for their discipline, high morale and skill, and the pride with which they defended Texas."
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