ANSWERS: 1
  • New Braunfels was established in 1845 by the German nobleman Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, Commissioner General of the "Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas", also known as the "Noblemen's Society" (in German: Mainzer Adelsverein). Prince Carl named the city for Braunfels, his hometown in Germany. The Adelsverein organized hundreds of people in Germany to settle in Texas. Immigrants from Germany began arriving at the Texas coast in December 1844, planning to travel inland to land grants purchased by Prince Carl. In March, 1845, as the German settlers were traveling inland along the Guadalupe River, Prince Carl bought a parcel of land from the Veramendi land grant, northeast of San Antonio. This tract had strong freshwater springs. Settlers began arriving at the site of the future city on March 21, 1845. As Spring 1845 progressed, the settlers built a fort, divided land, and began building homes and planting crops. Soon after founding the city, Prince Carl returned to Germany, never to return, leaving John O. Meusebach to capably manage the settlement. In December 1845, Texas became a state in the United States of America, possibly dashing any hopes the German aristocracy may have had of establishing a German principality within the politically and militarily weak Republic of Texas. A second wave of German immigrants began arriving in 1846, even as the sponsoring Adelsverein teetered on bankruptcy. As hundreds of German immigrants continued arriving at the Texas coast in 1846, three disasters hit the German immigrants. The Mexican-American War broke out between the United States and Mexico, and oxcart teamsters who were contracted to carry the Germans and their belongings inland were diverted to the war effort along the south Texas coast. Additionally, extraordinarily wet weather was making creeks and rivers overflow their banks so that passage inland was extremely difficult. Finally, cholera broke out among the immigrants, and several hundred people died in the outbreak. Meusebach stabilized the community's finances, and encouraged the settlers to establish additional neighboring communities. The largest of these secondary settlements was to be Fredericksburg, Texas, 80 miles to the northwest of New Braunfels. New Braunfels thrived, and by 1850, it was the fourth largest city in Texas, with 1,723 people, following only Galveston, San Antonio, and Houston in population. In 1852, the Zeitung newspaper was established, edited by German-Texan botanist Ferdinand Lindheimer. The newspaper continues to publish under its current name, the Herald-Zeitung. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Braunfels%2C_Texas

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