German Pioneers Monument - New Braunfels, TX
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Raven
N 29° 42.705 W 098° 08.177
14R E 583544 N 3287157
The "German Pioneers" Monument in Landa Park of New Braunfels, Texas commemorates and recalls the many contributions of German immigrants to the early days of the fledgling state of Texas.
Waymark Code: WMN3V4
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 12/21/2014
Views: 14
With the promise of new free land, thousands of new immigrants from Germany flocked to Texas in the early 19th century and settled throughout the state's Hill Country area forming such Texas towns as Fredericksburg and New Braunfels. Today, their original culture survives with regional German food and German festivals; there is even a small, aging group of people who primarily speak a Texas dialect of German.
The centerpiece of downtown New Braunfels' Landa Park is the "German Pioneers" Monument commemorating the contributions of German immigrants to Texas. Its main statue was created by Italian immigrant Hugo Villa in the early 20th century and funded by German-Americans all over Texas. It depicts a family of 3 figures dressed in pioneer 1800's clothing and placed atop a boulder: there's a man standing with his hand outstretched towards the land, a woman seated holding a book on her lap, and a young boy standing next to her. The entire sculpture rests on a Texas Star and tells the immigration story around the base.
The momument's dedication ceremony in 1938 created quite a stir: representatives from Germany were invited to attend, but the actual group that showed up included members of the Nazi Party who demanded that the Nazi swastika be flown in place of the German flag: the New Braunfels planners sent them packing before the dedication...
The five plaques around the sculpture's base provide a detailed account of the German immigrants' historical influence on Texas. They read:
PLAQUE #1:
"This monument is dedicated to the memory of the German pioneers who helped convert a wilderness into the great State of Texas."
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"VOLL SEHNSUCHT NACH DEM VIELGELOBTEN LANDE DER DEUTSCHE SCHIFFTE HIM ZUM FERNEN STRAND ZERRISS MIT STARKEM SINN DIE TEUREN BANDE, DIE FEST IHN KNUEPFTEN AN SEIN HEIMATLAND. ALS FREIER MANN BETRAT EN DIESEN BODEN, ZU WEIHEM IHM DIE UNGETEILTE KRAFT, ZU IHM BEGEISTERUNGVOLL DIE GLUTEN LOHTEN. DURCH DIE ALLEIN DER MENSCH DAS GROSSE SCHAFFT. ZUM GARTEN SCHUF DER DEUTSCHE JENE WILDNIS. ZU ALLEM GUTEN LEGTE ER DEN KEIM, ER OFFENBARTE SEINER SEELE BILDNIS IM SCHOENEN, SELBST GESCHAFFENEN, TRAUTEN HEIM."
- FERD. LOHMANN
PLAQUE #2:
"The first German settlements in Texas were industry in Austin County, founded by Friedrich Ernst in 1831, Biegel in Fayette County, founded by Joseph Biegel in 1832, Cat Spring in Austin County, founded by the Von Roeder, Kleberg, and Amsler families in 1834, and Frelsburg in Colorado County founded by Wlliam Frels about 1837.
From 1840 to 1860, settlements were made at Blumenthal and San Bernard in Colorado County, at Millheim, Shelby, New Ulm, and Welcome in Austin County at Nassau Farm, Ross Prairie, O’Quinn, High Hill, and Round Top in Fayette County, at Latium and Berlin in Washington County, at Coletoville in Victoria County, at Yorktown, Meyersville, and Hochheim in DeWitt County, and at Indianola in Calhoun County. Some of the immigrants settled in Galveston and Harris County. Most of the German settlers in these counties came from Holstein, Oldenburg, and Westphalia."
PLAQUE #3:
"On the western frontier of Texas the “Verein Zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas” founded seven settlements from 1845 to 1847 – New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Castell, Leiningen, Schoenburg, Meerholz, and Bettina, under the direction of Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, Baron John O. Meusebach, Jean J. Von Coll, Hermann Spiess, Louis Bene, and Gustav Schleicher.
Other settlements were made in pioneer days at Comaltown, Hortontown, Neighborsville, Comal Creek, Cibolo, Mission Hill, Smithsons Valley, Waco Springs, Buffalo Springs, and Upper Blanco in Comal County. Yorks Creek, Schumannsville, Santa Clara, and Marion in Guadalupe County. Live Oak, Pedernales, Grape Creek, Caldwellshill, and Cherry Spring in Gillespie County. Sisterdale and Boerne in Kendall County. Comfort in Kerr County, and Cypress Mill in Blanco County. Many of the early immigrants settled in the cities of Sand Antonio and Austin, as also other places. The settlers came mostly from Nassau, Hess-Darmstadt, Hesse-Cassel, and Hanover."
PLAQUE #4:
"The German pioneers aided the economic life of Texas. They improved the methods of agriculture and animal husbandry and organized agricultural and horticultural societies. They worked at many crafts in their shops, and their products were widely known along the frontier. They harnessed the water power of the streams for sawmills and grist mills.
They favored education and organized schools in many of the settlements. Hermann Seele under the elm trees below the Sophienburg taught the first school in New Braunfels. In 1856, New Braunfels levied the first special school tax in the state. They founded Hermann’s University in Fayette County in 1844 and the West Texas University at Neu Wied near New Braunfels in 1850. They supported religion and founded Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist congregations in the communities.
They appreciated music and the drama and promoted them with their dramatic, literary, and singing societies. In 1854 they organized the “Deutsch-Texanischer Staats-Saengerbund” and later the “Texas Gebirgs Saengerbund”. They saw painting develop under Rohrdorf, Lungkwitz, Petri, and Iwonski, and sculpture under Elisabet Ney. They learned through the work of Lindheimer, Ervendberg, Roemer, and Meusebach. They enjoyed and fostered social life in many ways."
PLAQUE #5:
"Among the political interests and achievements of the German Pioneers the following deserve mention. The sought political freedom in Texas and supported democratic and American principles. The accepted mainly the leadership of Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer, the editor of the "Nue Braunfelser Zeitung", in their political training, and they became useful and respected citizens.
They secure a large portion of the Western frontier by observing a treaty which John O. Meusebach negotiated with the Comanches on March 2, 1847. They proved their loyalty to their adopted country by fighting for the independence of Texas at the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto, by participating in the was between the United States and Mexico, and by raising twenty-one companies of nearly two thousand men for the defense of the Confederacy."
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