This mural depicts the German arrival
But not their struggle for Texas survival
Our land it is tough
Hopes aren't enough
But those who make it have spirit non rival.
The City of a Prince - Located at West San Antonio Street and 100 block of Castell Avenue on the wall of the Downtown Antique Building - one block from the Main Plaza.
Part of New Braunfel's Historic Outdoor Art Museum
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"Enhancing the downtown historic district of New Braunfels with large, outdoor murals. This non-profit organization has spearheaded four breathtaking murals and is working on a fifth. Tour all the murals easily and learn about the town’s heritage through public art."
This large mural by Clinton Baermann, Texas Senate honored muralist and historian from Llano, Texas, depicts the Prince and Company's landing in Galveston and details a bit about the German Immigration of the State, and particularly New Braunfels.
Texas Escapes is hardly complementary to the effort that gave us, not only New Braunfels, but also Fredericksburg and our rich Central Texas German Heritage (
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History in a Pecan Shell
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels and other semi-nobles from Germany had contracted to settle the "western lands" of the New Republic of Texas. The land grants were to be between the Upper Colorado and the Llano Rivers. New Braunfels and Fredericksburg were originally meant only to be way stations.
Carl only spent a short time in the town that continues to wear his name. He returned to Europe in 1845 to marry and never returned. Meanwhile, the society that was to aid the immigrants went broke. By the time the bulk of the immigrants arrived they were stranded (in the truest sense of the word) at Indianola.
Hundreds died on the beach and many attempted to walk across a land very different from Germany. Recent arrivals infected the settled Germans with Yellow Fever and hundreds more died. About the only benefit to come from the trek was the settlement of many towns in Victoria, DeWitt and Lavaca Counties.
Handbook of Texas Online SOLMS-BRAUNFELS, PRINCE CARL OF (1812–1875). (
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History in a Pecan Shell
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels and other semi-nobles from Germany had contracted to settle the "western lands" of the New Republic of Texas. The land grants were to be between the Upper Colorado and the Llano Rivers. New Braunfels and Fredericksburg were originally meant only to be way stations.
Carl only spent a short time in the town that continues to wear his name. He returned to Europe in 1845 to marry and never returned. Meanwhile, the society that was to aid the immigrants went broke. By the time the bulk of the immigrants arrived they were stranded (in the truest sense of the word) at Indianola.
Hundreds died on the beach and many attempted to walk across a land very different from Germany. Recent arrivals infected the settled Germans with Yellow Fever and hundreds more died. About the only benefit to come from the trek was the settlement of many towns in Victoria, DeWitt and Lavaca Counties.
Handbook of Texas Online ADELSVEREIN. The Adelsverein, also known as the Mainzer Verein, the Texas-Verein, and the German Emigration Company, was officially named the Verein zum Schutze deutscher Einwanderer in Texas (Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas). (
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The German Texans “Hin’ nach Texas!” “Off to Texas!” (
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More history "Death March to Comal" (
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Adelsverein (wikipedia) (
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About the Building:
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The granddaddy of obelisks in the Comal Cemetery is the one dedicated to Senator George Pfeuffer. This monument is 24 feet tall and towers over all the others. It was given in Pfeuffer’s honor by the Granite Association of Texas. Here’s the story:
In 1877 George Pfeuffer was appointed Comal County Judge, filling the unexpired term of Dr. Theodor Koester and was elected to that position in 1880. In 1882 he was elected to a seat in the Texas Senate. During his tenure, he led the fight within the Senate to have the State Capitol in Austin built of Texas granite instead of Georgian marble. The obelisk is made of that Texas granite and that’s the reason for the memorial.
Pfeuffer had other irons in the fire besides politics; he owned a dry goods store in NB on the south corner of San Antonio St. and Castell Ave. After he died in 1885, the business was carried on by the family until the 1920s. The building is the one with the mural of Prince Carl on the side. Pfeuffer also owned a lumber yard in NB and other lumber yards elsewhere.
Pfeuffer as a young man worked for Ferguson and Hessler Dry Goods store. He was sent to Corpus Christi by Ferguson to tend to businesses in that city. There he met and married Susan Gravis. In 1861 when the Civil War broke out, they returned to NB because he felt his family would be safer here.
When Pfeuffer became County Judge, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of A&M College in Bryan. He is given credit for putting the finances back in order, allowing A&M to build its first dormitory, Pfeuffer Hall. Sophienburg President David Pfeuffer is George Pfeuffer’s g-g-g-grandson.