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Ludwig von Herrf, Dr. Ferdinand - Marker in/near Boerne
Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives - Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)	Ludwig von Herrf, Dr. Ferdinand Marker #14328 - 1982

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Freidenker (Nineteenth Century Freethinkers) - Marker in/near Comfort

Photo Credit: Bryden Moon

Marker #11673 - 2000   From 1845 to 1861, a number of German Freidenker ("Freethinkers") immigrated to the Texas hill country. Freethinkers were German intellectuals who advocated reason and democracy over religious and political authoritarianism. Many had participated in the 1848 German revolution and sought freedom in America. The Freidenker helped establish Bettina, Castell, Cypress Mill, Luckenbach, Sisterdale ,Tusculum (Boerne) and Comfort. Laid out in 1854, Comfort soon was home to about half the population of hill country Freethinkers. Freethinkers valued their newfound freedoms of speech, assembly and religion. Their settlements, where a knowledge of Latin was considered essential for a cultured intellectual society, became known as "Latin Colonies." They strongly supported secular education and generally did not adhere to any formal religious doctrines. They applied themselves to the crafts of physical labor and divided their time between farming and intellectual pursuits. Freethinkers advocated universal equal rights, and their moral values were dominated by their respect for life. They actively supported such social issues as the abolition of slavery and the rejection of secession. Their loyalty to the Union during the Civil War cost many their freedoms and their lives. Following the war, many Freethinkers relocated to nearby urban areas, while others returned to Germany. (2000) (301 SH 27, Comfort)

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Comfort Community Theatre - Marker in/near Comfort

Photo Credit: Bryden Moon

Marker #999 - 1983   The need for a permanent civic center led Comfort business leaders to form a corporation to raise funds for its construction. Designed by Fredericksburg architect Hans Christiansen, the Comfort Community Theatre opened in 1930, providing the town with facilities for basketball, dances, civic meetings, stage plays, and private parties. It was later used as a movie theatre and enjoyed much success under the ownership of Hank Zimmerman from 1947 until 1964. The Comfort Community Theatre continues today as a performing arts center as well as a civic meeting hall. Incise on base: Purchased and restored by Richard and Dorothy Britt. (1983)

Business leaders formed a corporation to build a civic center to provide facilities for basketball, dances, plays; then a movie house. Marker was spearheaded by Dorothy and Richart Britt. Designated Texas Historical Landmark in 1984.

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Hygieostatic Bat Roost - Marker in/near Comfort

Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives -
Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)

Marker #2608 - 1981   This shingle style structure was built in 1918 to attract and house bats in an effort to eradicate mosquitoes and thereby reduce the spread of malaria. It was designed for Albert Steves, Sr., a former mayor of San Antonio, by Dr. Charles A. R. Campbell, an authority on bats who had served as the health officer in the same city. Named "Hygeiostatic" by Steves, the bat roost is one of 16 constructed in the United States and Italy between 1907 and 1929. (from Comfort take FM 473 about 1.5 miles E - bat roost is about 400 feet S of the highway)

This is a pyramidal 30 foot tower raised on concrete piers; clad with shingles; elongated louvred dormer. This bat tower was built in 1918 for Albert Steves, a San Antonio businessman and mayor. It was designed by Charles A. R. Campbell. The purpose was to control mosquito-borne malaria with bats. Campbell was a physician and health officer in San Antonio.

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Kendall County Courthouse - Marker in/near Boerne

Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives -
Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)

Marker #2921 - 1970   First and only courthouse in county. Erected 1869-1870, seven years after county organization. Many locally prominent men were associated with the structure. The first county judge, Joseph Graham, was appointed U.S. Consul to Argentina. The first sheriff, Capt. John Sansom, was a member of the U.S. Army, a Texas Ranger and Indian fighter. S. B. Patton, former Alabama legislator, was elected second county judge. Early records reveal cases for horse theft, cattle rustling, illegal sale of liquor, assault. An addition was built in 1909, and structure was remodeled, 1954. (San Antonio and Watts Streets, east of Main Street, Boerne)

Kendall County was created in 1862 by the State of Texas in response to a petition by its area residents. The courthouse was built in Boerne, the county seat, in 1870. An entirely new front half was added in 1909 at a cost of $5,750. Alfred Giles was the architect. Mr. Alfred Giles was born May 23, 1853 in Middlesex County, England. He died August 13, 1920 at his ranch, "Hillingdon" near Comfort, Kendall County, Texas. He came to Texas in 1873. By 1876 he had established his own architectural firm in San Antonio. Giles became an architect of international fame doing many buildings in Mexico as well as in Texas. The back half of the courthouse was the original 1870 two- story structure that was rectangular in shape and was made of limestone blocks. In 1909 the courthouse was expanded on the South side which essentially doubled the size of the building. Alfred Giles was the architect for this project. Then the entire courthouse was remodeled in 1984. The block of land where the courthouse is located was given to Kendall County by John James, the public surveyor who surveyed the city of Boerne for Gus Theissen. Records show that Joseph Graham was the first County Judge of Kendall County. Captain John Sansom, an early Texas Ranger, was the first County Sheriff.

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Nicolaus Zink - Marker in/near Boerne

Photo Credit: Janis and Ted Maxymof

Marker #3595 - 1984   In 1844, Bavarian-born civil engineer Nicolaus Zink (1812-1887) was selected to lead a group of German immigrants overseas to establish settlements on a Texas land grant. This colonization effort was headed by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels and financed by a German corporation known as the Mainzer Adelsverein. Upon arrival in Texas in late 1844, Zink realized that the grant to be settled by the colonists was in the heart of Comanche Indian territory. He persuaded Prince Solms to settle at an alternate site, which became the town of New Braunfels. Zink's leadership in the face of unrest, disease, starvation, and monetary problems was vital to the survival of the colony. He eventually was responsible for the supervision of about one-half of the German immigrants bound for New Braunfels. After 1847, Zink built homes in a variety of places, including Sisterdale, Comfort, and an area south of Fredericksburg. In 1868, he acquired this property and built the central portion of the limestone house southeast of this site. He later gave land for and helped engineer the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad bed to Kerrville. Zink lived here until his death and is buried in an unmarked grave near this site. (at gate of Don Strange Ranch - from Boerne take IH-10 5 miles N to Welfare Road -  continue on Welfare Road N about 3 miles to ranch)

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Homesite of Albert Paul Kutzer - Marker in/near Boerne

Photo Credit: Bryden Moon

Marker #2544 - 1986   A native of Kendall County, Albert Paul Kutzer (1871-1925) was the eldest son of German immigrants Reinhold and Pauline (Holzinger) Kutzer. A merchant and gin operator, he became one of Boerne's leading businessman. He also served as mayor from 1915 to 1920, school board president, and organizer of the Old Boerne Commercial Club. Through his public service, he was instrumental in Boerne's early growth. Kutzer and his wife, Lucie Henrietta (Schwethelm) (d. 1965), had their family home here from 1895 to 1923 in a house built for his parents in 1890.

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Boerne Cemetery - Marker in/near Boerne

Marker #445 - 1986   When Adam Vogt (1822-1882) deeded land for this cemetery to the city in 1867, there were already some graves present. The earliest documented burial, that of Anton Peter Loth, dates to 1862. In the older sections of the cemetery are graves of area pioneers and German immigrants, including Vogt and George Wilkins Kendall (1809-1867), for whom the county was named. A row of paupers' graves may also be seen. Land acquisitions over the years have increased the size of the graveyard. Boerne Cemetery serves as a reflection of the area's rich history.

Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Boerne Cemetery
Established 1867
Historic Texas Cemetery - 2000at main gate of Boerne Cemetery, north side of Boerne on School Street, just of North Main (US 87)

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Vogt-Clegg Log House - Marker in/near Boerne

Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives -
Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)

Marker #5660 - 1993   German immigrants Wilhelm (1826-1912) and Ernestine (1830-1907) Vogt built this house about 1860 as a one-room log structure. As their family of nine children grew they built two additional log pens connected by dog trot passages. In the 1870s they moved into a larger home next to the log house. San Antonio residents Luther and Laura Clegg purchased the property from the Vogt heirs in 1919 and it remained in their family until 1984. This cabin and the adjacent historic smokehouse serve as reminders of pioneer German architecture in Kendall County. (  **On Private Property**)

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Ferdinand Hohenberger Farmstead - Marker in/near Comfort

Marker #1589 - 1986   Ferdinand Hohenberger (ca. 1813-1895), with his wife Katherine Schultze and their family, left Bremen, Germany in 1855. Arriving in Galveston on November 20 after a 73-day ocean voyage, they first settled in Luckenbach (approx. 10 mi. NE). The family relocated to this area and purchased this property in 1871. Hohenberger and his family engaged in farming, and he also became a freight driver, traveling between San Antonio and Indianola on the Texas coast. In 1882, Ferdinand deeded 160 acres of land to each of his sons, William and Theodor. This property was part of the land deeded to William Hohenberger. He and his family lived here until 1914, and William operated a store and post office from one of the buildings on the homestead. He died in 1932 at age 82. The property remained in the Hohenberger family until 1915. Four undated gravestones on the farmstead mark the burials of family members. In addition to the graves of Ferdinand and Katherine Schultze Hohenberger are the interments of Mrs. Reichenthin and Mrs. Hagelman, believed to be sisters of Katherine Hohenberger. (from Comfort take FM 473 E about 4 miles - turn N on Old No. 9 Highway and continue about 9 miles to house, 1010 Old No. 9 Highway)

The homestead is comprised of four rock buildings built between 1871 and 1882 with one addition. Rock was from property; Kiln in rear of property.

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Waring Schoolhouse - Marker in/near Waring

Photo Credit: Janis and Ted Maxymof

Marker #5719 - 1986   Anglo pioneers in a predominantly German-settled area built the west wing of this building in 1891. Land for this first public school was given by Robert Percival Maxwell Waring, a native of Ireland for whom the town had been named in 1888. Citizens volunteered labor, funds, and materials for the building, and paid their children's tuition of $1 to $1.50 per month. The east wing was added in 1903, and exterior braces were applied in the 1930s. The school closed in 1954. (108 Avenue, Waring - from Comfort take IH-10 2 miles S, then FM 1621 5 miles E to Waring)

Some years there was a shortage of money to pay the teachers, so a tuition fee was paid for each pupil. some years it was one dollar a month, or some $1.50, and that was hard on large families at times. Teachers' pay varied, too, from maybe $50.00 to $100.00 a month or more. Some years there were two teachers, depending on the number of pupils.<BR.
New settlers were coming to Waring, and that brought more children. The railroad had its section hands headquartered in Waring so there were always some Mexican children in school. At times there were as many as 60 or 70 pupils attending school.<BR.
Some of the early families were: Zoeller, Treiber, Waring, Nowlin, Manning, Stribling, Haufler, Geisler, Willie, Offer, Nichol, Bierschwale, Insall, Quigley, Safford, Cravey, Stanfield, Uecker, Fischer, Edwards, Rust, Meckel, Wray, Domeier, Marshall, McAlpine, McNutt, Dart, Brown, Jess, Hennings, Leidl, Voight, Wollschlaeger, Strube, Tomlinson, Grullimund, Blaschke, Poehnert and others.<BR.
Listed below are some of the teachers that taught in the Waring School through the years 1891 to 1955 when the school was consolidated with the Comfort Independent School District.

TEACHERS:Miss Agnes Robinson, later Mrs. R.P.M.
Waring,
was the first teacher
and taught for several years.
      Mr. and Mrs. William Lee, 1903.  He passed away later that year and is buried in the
Bend Cemetery.
      L.A. Koenig and Mary Norris, 1903.
      M.C.F. Schmidt and Ethel Weld, 1907.
      Prof. Wertheim and daughter, Rosie, 1908, 1909.
      Emil Hopf and Miss Tiner, 1912.
      Henry Hopf and Frankie Flack, 1915.
      Rose Thompson and Frankie Flack, 1916.
      Miss dilly Rumsey and Ruth Newton, 1915.
      Augusta Gaines and Ella Zoeller, 1916.
      Marguerite McFarland and Ella Esser, 1917.
      Mr. and Mrs. Ashmore Cowles had a private school at this time, but he taught in the
Waring school at another time also.  They had 29 pupils in their private school in 1918.
      Danny Ramft (Vogt) and Mrs. Welch, 1921
      Miss Willhelm and Mrs. Jake Insall, 1922.
      J.H. Armstrong and Danny Ramft Vogt, 1923.
      J.H. Armstrong and Mrs. Baughman, 1924.
      J.H. Armstrong and Sophie Wenzel, 1925.
      Morris Goforth and Norma George, 1926.
      R.E. Cottingham and Helen Kutz, 1927.
      H.K. Clump and Mrs. Paul Wendler, 1928.
      Noel Browning and Eva Rechenthin, 1929.
      James Seay and Eva Rechenthin, 1930.
      Anita Elsik and Mrs. Paul Wendler, 1932.
      Mrs. Mina Adams and Mrs. Paul Wendler, 1933.
      Mrs. Mina Adams and Mrs. Truitt, 1934-1935.
      Harold Ranzau and Nanny Maud Sommerville, 1936.
      Mrs. Buena Lea Sutton, 1939-1944.
      Beulah White, 1946.
      Lucille Dills, 1947.
      Mrs. Walker, 1948.
      Odis Strube Hohmann, 1949-1954, the last teacher.
      The building is still used as a community center.

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Henry J. Graham Building - Marker in/near Boerne

Marker #2449 - 1986   Constructed on Main Street in the late nineteenth century, this building first served as an office for the real estate, insurance, and private banking interests of Henry J. Graham (1854-1936). Born in Brazil, Graham came to Boerne in the 1870s. He was an active community leader and served as both tax assessor and deputy sheriff for Kendall County. His original office building later housed a variety of business establishments and was moved once before being relocated here in 1984. (on W side of city hall)

The Henry J. Graham Building was first built and located on part of original Lot #27, as shown on the Boerne plat map done by John James in 1852. The lot is in Kendall County and is part of Survey #180 in the name of M.I. Leal which encompasses most of Boerne, Texas. There have been various conjectures as to when the building was built, but the official tax rolls from the Kendall County Tax Office indicate the building was built in 1891. This date also corresponds to the growth of South Main Street at that time.

Mr. Graham (1854-1936) was born in Brazil, South America and came to Texas as a small boy with his parents. He came to Boerne during the 1870s. He was active in settling Kendall Cunty and served as County tax assessor from 1878 to 1904. Mr. Graham was also a deputy sheriff.

In the early days, he acquired and sold much of the land in the county. He was known for his business activities because he held many of the notes for real estate, insujrance and banking and had a large safe, the only one in Boerne. He did some banking for paople who dealt in gold money. Henry Fabra, a long time resident born in Boerne at the turn of the century, well remembers finding a gold coin on the floor as a small boy visiting the office.

Although not much information is available on Henry J. Graham, he is remembered by those who knew him as a shrewd businessman who profited from his dealings in real estate and banking. He is also remembered for erecting a monument as a memorial to those who died in war as members of the Armed Services. The monument was placed near the center of Military Plaza on South Main Street and was dedicated on February 15, 1923.

Mr. Graham died in 1936 and is buried in the Boerne Cemetery. In 1938, the land, with the building , was sold to his grandson, also named Henry J. Graham. The building remained vacant during most of the 1930s but there are reports that there was a telephone exchange there at some time.

Rose Kemp had her "Rose Marie Beauty Parlor" there from 1941 to 1945. A Mr. Volbrecht sold peanuts and popcorn from the building during 1946. In December of 1946, Mr. Graham sold the land and building to Adolph and Cresentia Pechacek and opened "Curley's Barber Shop" in the Graham Building. It is said that there were many good poker games there in the back room.

The Graham Building was located at the edge of the sidewalk to the front of Lot #27. In 1949, during Boerne's Centennial Celebration, there was a drive to spruce up Main Street and Curley (Adolph Pechacek) moved the Graham Building to the back of Lot #27 in order to construct a new barber shop on the old location.
After the building was moved to the back of the lot, it was used as an office for Alex Bremer and in the 1960s it was rented by Epperson Motors, next door, as a storage building. In 1978, Curley (Adolph Pechacek) sold the Graham Building to the Boerne State Bank as they were buying all portions of Lot#27 for the bank expansion.

Mr. Pechacek retired in 1977, died in 1981 and is buried in the Boerne Cemetery.

In 1980, the Graham Building was sold to Gloria Musto who moved it out of Boerne, about 3 miles on the Sisterdale Road, where it was used as an antique shop named "The Hand & Heart".

In 1983, the Henry J. Graham Building was purchased from Mrs. Musto by Mr. and Mrs. Tom Frost when they bought her land located on the Sisterdale Road.

On June 15, 1984 the Graham Building was donated as a charitable gift to the Boerne Area Historical Preservation Society. On October 16, 1984 the building was moved back to Boerne to Lot #9 at 402 E. Blanco Street. The building now sits high on a hill, next to the Kuhlmann-King House, where it is used to house the Society's office and Archives.

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Hanisch House - Marker in/near Comfort
	Marker #2361 - 1965 Using trees growing on nearby Cypress Creek, log portion of this house was built 1856 by Emil Serger and Paul Hanisch. Housed first pharmacy in Comfort. West wing and "Sunday house" were built in 1870, 1885. Restoration by Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Rice, 1947. (SH 27 and Cypress Creek, Comfort) More info and Map Link

Ludwig von Herrf, Dr. Ferdinand - Marker in/near Boerne
Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives - Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)	Marker #14328 - 1982 More info and Map Link

Hermann and Antoine Ingenhuett Homestead - Marker in/near Comfort
Photo Credit: Bryden Moon	Marker #12752 - 2002 Hermann and Antoine Ingenhuett Homestead (436 8th St.) More info and Map Link

Treue Der Union (Loyalty to the Union) - Marker in/near Comfort

Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives -
Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)

Marker #15 - 1968   This German language monument, erected 1866, honors the memory of 68 men (mostly Germans) from this region who were loyal to the Union during the Civil War. Trying desperately to reach U.S. Federal troops by way of Mexico, about 40 of the men were killed by vengeful Confederates bent on annihilating them, in the Battle of the Nueces (on Aug. 10, 1862) and a later fight (Oct. 18). The bodies of the slain and those who drowned swimming the Rio Grande were left unburied. A group of Germans gathered the bones of their friends and buried them at this site in 1865.(between 2nd and 3rd Streets, High Street, between 2nd and 3rd, Comfort)

This monument in Comfort, Texas honors the memory of the sixty-eight men from this region who were loyal to the Union during the Civil War. They tried to escape into Mexico so that they could join the Union Army. They were ambushed and killed near the Nueces River. Their bones were recovered, except for those who drowned in the Rio Grande River, and buried at this site in 1865.

KILLED 18 October 1862 at the RIO GRANDE RIVER:
Joseph Elstner
Edward Felsing
H Herrmann
V. Hohmann
Moritz Weiss
Peter Bonnet, Comfort
Frank Weiss
Fritz Lange, Comfort


KILLED 10 August 1862 at the NUECES RIVER:
Ludwig Bauer
F. Behrens
Ernst Beseler
Louis Boerner, Comfort
Albert Bruns
Hugo Degener
Hilmar Degener
Pablo Diaz
F. Vater
Emil Schreiner, Kerrville
J.H.Kallenberg, Fredericksburg
H. Markwardt, Sisterdale
C. Schaefer
Louis Schierholz
Heinrich Steves, Comfort
Wilhelm Telgmann
M Weyrich
H. Weyershausen
A. Vater
CAPTURED AND MURDERED
H. Flick
C. Bock
F. Tays
Theo. Bruckisch
Wilhelm Boerner, Comfort
A. Luckenbach, Fredericksburg
A. Ruebsamen
L. Ruebsamen
Heinrich Stieler, Comfort

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Julius A. and Anna Phillip House - Marker in/near Boerne

Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives -
Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)

Marker #2888 - 1993   Built about 1900, this was the home of Kendall County Justice of the Peace and County Judge Julius A. Philip (1867-1935), his wife Anna (Meckel) (1867-1961), and their eight children. Originally built as a 4-room house, it was enlarged in the 1920s to accommodate the growing family, and the front porch was added in the 1930s. Prominent features of the house include board-and-batten siding, a gable roof, jigsawn porch brackets and turned wood frieze.

The one story house is typical "turn of the century," rural, framed board and batten; original L shaped with a gable at each end of the roof. The roof is composition shingle to the original fron section. The foundation is on cedar post, pier and beam construction. The windows are wood, single hung, 6 x 6 sash.

The house began as a four room house with a separate room in rear. Later two rooms and porch were added. 
The front porch is three sections wide with sawn wood brackets supporting spindles, with a unique gingerbread design of wooden stars framed in wooden hoops. The floor remains wooden.

At the time of purchase of the property, many postoak trees were on the land; however, little time was wasted putting in a field and garden. Hackerry trees were planted and still stand, giving lovely shade in the summer. A complete orchard of pear, plum, figs, apricots and grapes was planted and some still bear fruit.

This house was the home of Julius Phillip, pioneer and county judge of Kendall County and his wife, Anna (Meckel) Phillip also from a pioneer family. The house has been the residence of family members since it was built in 1900. Ella (Phillip) Massey lived here rearing her four children and until her death, then her grand- daughter, Cary Crea became the owner.

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Kendall County - Marker in/near Boerne
Photo Credit: Bryden Moon	Marker #2920 - 1936 Kendall County; created January 10, 1862; organized February 18, 1862. Named in honor of George Wilkins Kendall, 1809-1867; poet, journalist, author and farmer. One of the founders of the New Orleans Picayune; member of the Santa Fe Expedition; most successful sheep raiser in the Southwest, (San Antonio and Watts, E of Main Street) More info and Map Link

Comfort Post Office - Marker in/near Comfort

Photo Credit: Bryden Moon

Marker #1000 -    From 1856, when Comfort's postal station was established, until this building was constructed in 1910, the town's post office was housed in various mercantile stores. In 1910, while Hermann Ingenhuett was serving as postmaster, this building was completed. Designed by noted San Antonio architect Alfred Giles, the renaissance revival style structure exhibits Giles' talent for blending red brick and limestone. It remained in use as a post office until 1952. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1985

This one story brick designed by Alfred Giles for Paul Ingenhuett to be used as a post office.. It remained the Comfort Post Office until 1952. Since then it has been an apartment, and other businesses such as antiques and restaurants. Designated with Texas Historical Landmark in 1985.
One story brick and limestone; keystone arch above entrance. 
Double doors flanked by two windows, crowned by parapet.

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George Wilkins Kendall - Marker in/near Boerne
Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives - Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)	Marker #2169 - George Wilkins Kendall (1809–1867) was a journalist, war correspondent, and pioneer Texas sheepman, known as the father of the Texas sheep business. Kendall County, Texas is named for him. Kendall was given a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1989, Marker number 2169. (Northwest corner of cemetery at stone wall, school Street and Main, Boerne) More info and Map Link

Karger Building - Marker in/near Comfort

Photo Credit: Bryden Moon

Marker #15936 - 2009   Ernst Karger (1861-1922), who owned and operated a saloon on the adjoining property, had this building constructed in 1913. Fritz Anderwald’s pool hall was first to occupy the building, and several other businesses have been located here over the years. Fred Koerlin operated a cabinetry business here after 1951, removing the original storefront and installing garage doors; the façade was later restored. The frame building features a recessed storefront with large pane windows. George L. Mesker & Co. of Evansville, Indiana manufactured the building’s decorative pressed metal façade, pediment and siding. (725 High Street)

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Theis House - Marker in/near Boerne

Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives -
Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)

Marker #5460 - 1984   This pioneer home was built in 1858 by German immigrant Phillip Jacob Theis (1809-1876), an early Kendall County blacksmith and wheelwright. The original part of the Theis house is a dogtrot plan of palisade construction. Willow branches were woven around cedar support posts to form the walls, which were then packed with clay and rock and finally stuccoed for protection. The Theis house is a rare surviving example of this construction type. (on Newton Alley behind 242 Main Street, Boerne)

One story, four room. The structure is supported by hand hewn beams and poles that are held together with wooden pegs.

Built in 1858 by Phillip Jacob Theis, a blacksmith and wheelwright who immigrated from Germany in 1855, the Theis House was one of the ten residential structures existing in Boerne in 1958. Newton Street, adjoining the south boundary of the Theis property, was initially surveyed in 1852 as a public access alley to the Cibolo Creek. It was left open for the use of bucket brigades and later fire hoses when there was a fire in town. 

The Theis property line ran from Main Street to the creek and Mr. Theis operated his blacksmith shop under a mulberry tree in his front yard where the Adler Bakery Building later stood. Jacob Theis and his wife, Margaretha, raised seven children at the old Theis homesite. One son, August Theis, later took over his father's blacksmith shop and he and his wife, Agnes, continued living in the same house where they also raised seven children. Mrs. Edgar (Ruby) Bergmann refurbished the house and filled it with appropriate furniture of the early period. She opened it to the public on special occasions to showcase the life style of the early settlers.

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Potter, Chaplain A.J. - Marker in/near Boerne
Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives - Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)	Marker #14825 - 1962 (1830 - 1895) Born in Missouri. Orphaned at age 10, was a jockey, gambler, ruffian. Fought in Mexican War, 1846-47. Was a Texas Ranger later. Converted in a camp meeting, he learned to write and became a Methodist minister. Served 4 years in the Confederacy. THC Marker is no longer available (removed prior to 1992 and never replaced.) More info and Map Link

German Music in Boerne - Marker in/near Boerne

Marker #2175 - 1994   German music professor Karl Dienger, who immigrated to Boerne in 1855, organized a singing club (gesang verein) and band in Boerne in 1860. Dienger's music group consisted of musicians from throughout the area and was commonly known as the Boerne Village Band. The band reflected traditional German music, heritage, and culture and performed at various area festivals, functions, and events. Since the 1860s a number of musical groups similar to the village band have flourished in Boerne and other area communities. Boerne's German-style bands have gained statewide recognition. (on N side of Bandstand, Main Street at Main Plaza, Boerne)

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1860 Temporary Headquarters of Gen. Robert E. Lee - Marker in/near Boerne

Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives -
Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)

Marker #23 - 1963    John G. O'Grady came from Westport,Ireland and settled on the south bank of the Cibolo Creek on the fringe of the settlement of Boerne, Texas. The land was bought on May 10, 1859. The old government trail between San Antonio and the Forts of McKavitt, Concho and Mason passed by his front door. This building is all that is left of the original buildings. Robert E. Lee is said to have stayed here when on trips between Camp Verde and Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. Merrill Bishop and Joseph Roemer writing in "The Gentleman Commander" quote him at dinner here in the 1860s.
O'Grady was a government contractor,supplying feed for the government teams which plied the old trail. He was an Indian fighter and participated in the last Indian fights in the neighborhood of Boerne and Sisterdale. During the years of 1866 to 1869 he was Postmaster of Boerne.
The O'Grady's opened a stage station here where travelers could dine or stay overnight. (Main and Evergreen Street, Boerne)

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Cascade Cavern - Marker in/near Boerne

Photo Credit: Cascade Caverns click to their website

Marker #749 - 1984   Probably formed during the Pleistocene epoch by the underground passage of the Cibolo River, Cascade Cavern presents an interesting mix of geological, archeological, and historical features. It exhibits a combination of the joint and the dip and strike types of caverns, and is the home of a number of unusual animals, including cliff and leopard frogs, Mexican brown bats, and Cascade Cavern salamanders. Archeological evidence uncovered near the cave indicates the presence of two Indian sites. It is probable that the Indians used the cave for shelter, and soot found on the sides of a natural chimney suggests that they had fires. Commercial development of the cave, known earlier as Hester's Cave, began in the 1930s. The current name, taken from the seven waterfalls at the entrance to the cathedral room, officially was adopted in a 1932 ceremony led by State Attorney General, and later Governor of Texas, James V. Allred. Over the years, Cascade Cavern has provided visitors and Boerne area residents with many opportunities for recreation and exploration, and it remains one of the state's important geological sites. (1984) (at main building at Cavern on Cascade Cavern Road, off I-10 exit 543, south of Boerne)

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Lex Sanitarium - Marker in/near Boerne

Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives -
Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)

Marker #14702 - 1991   Shortly after coming to Boerne from Bulverde in 1919, Mrs. Adolph (Emilie) Lex saw that the community needed a place to care for recovering patients. She opened her home on Johns Road as such a place. It became known as the Lex Sanitarium. The family dining room, with its table seating twelve, became the dining place for the family, for the patients, and sometimes, for those visiting the patients. Adolph's mother lived with the family after her husband, Peter Lex, died in 1921. She helped with the chores on the Lex farm and with the cooking and cleaning for the Sanitarium. Being a mile from the town of Boerne, the Lex Farm was convenient to the doctor's visits. Eventually, two rooms of the Lex home were converted into operating rooms in which Dr. John Francis Nooe performed surgery.

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Ludwig Hein Home - Marker in/near Comfort

Photo Credit: Bryden Moon

Marker #3145 - 1987   Ludwig Hein (1855-1933) came to Texas from Germany in 1877. He married Rosa Treiber of Waring and built this home for his family before 1900. Hein operated a blacksmith shop next door until the family moved to San Antonio in 1914. The home was known as the "nerve center" of Comfort when the local telephone switchboard was housed here from 1923 to 1955. Features of the Victorian house include its front bay window and bracketed porch supports.

Ludwig Hein was born in Steinhoefel Kreise Friedeberg, Berlin on October 9, 1955. In 1877, at age 22 he immigrated to the United States via the Port of New Orleans, and crossed country until he reached Waring, Texas.
Ludwig, from a family of 11 children, was joined in this country five years later by the passage of his parents, Henry and Ottilie Hein to Waring, Texas. In Waring, Ludwig met and married Rosa Treiber. Rosa was born August 19, 1867 in Burgenland, Austria. She, too, had immigrated to this country. On January 8, 1890, Ludwig Hein purchased Lot 93 in the township of Comfort from Achese Auguste for the sum of $150.
The Hein house, built before 1900, served as the home for the Hein's when Ludwig had a blacksmith shop next door. Six children were born to Ludwig and Rosa.
Son, Frederick, remembers how hard his father, Ludwig, worked in the tin blacksmith shop which adjoined their home directly on the southside. There were many horses to shoe as well as difficult wheel rims to mend.
In 1914, Ludwig moved his family to San Antonio so that his younger children might attend school there.
On April 19, 1923, Southwestern Bell moved the local switchboard from the Koblin Building to 727 High Street. Miss Augusta Allerkamp was in charge with 340 local and rural lines coming into the Comfort switchboard.
In 1925 Mrs. Grace Martin assumed management of the switchboard. The main switchboard was located in the front room while the remainder of the home served as Mrs. Martin's living quarters. The dining room of the home also served as one of the first lending libraries of the town, when in January, 1941, Mrs. Martin begin keeping the library books.

In 1947 Zahn Green purchased the Comfort and Center Point Exchanges which operated as Hill Country Telephone Company. With the advent of the dial system, Green sold out in

Ludwig von Herrf, Dr. Ferdinand