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Potter, Chaplain A.J. - Marker in/near Boerne
Photo Credit: Dietert Historical Archives - Patrick Heath Public Library (Boerne)	Potter, Chaplain A.J. 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.)

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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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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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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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Post Oak Spring Ranch - Marker in/near Post Oak

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

Marker #16064 - 1936   Post Oak Spring Ranch, the Home, From 1861 to 1867, of George Wilkins Kendall, Born August 22, 1809, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, Died Here October 21, 1867, Founder of the New Orleans Picayune, January 25, 1837, Chronicler of the Santa Fe Expedition, First Correspondent in the War Between the United States and Mexico, 1846-1848, to Send Personal Dispatches From the Battlefields, Printer, Journalist, Author, Farmer, Eminent in All

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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The Engel Store - Bergheim General Store - Marker in/near Bergheim

Photo Credit: Ted and Janis Maxymof

Marker #5329 - 1983   A native of Austria, Andreas Engel (b. 1864) migrated to Texas in 1885. In 1900 he purchased land here and built a cotton gin, around which an agricultural community developed. When the area post office was moved here in 1901 and Engel became postmaster, he named the town Bergheim, German for "home in the hills". He and his wife Eva opened a store at this site in 1903. Their son Alfred added later services, including a cedar yard, to meet community needs and aid local development. A symbol of Bergheim`s pioneers, the store has remained in the Engel family. (1983)

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Tunnel of the Fredericksburg & Northern Railway - Marker in/near Comfort

Marker #5568 - 1978   In 1913 area residents raised money to build a railroad linking Fredericksburg to San Antonio. The 920-foot tunnel beneath this hill increased the cost by $134,000 and required five months of hard labor. It opened a faster trade route for area merchants and farmers. Each time passenger trains entered the tunnel, small rocks, loosened by engine exhaust, were removed from the track and the windows closed to keep out coal smoke. The railroad operated until 1942 when the trackage was sold for scrap. Incise in base: Marker Sponsor: S. O. A. W. Enterprises, Inc. (1978) (at tunnel overlook, from Comfort take FM 473 east about 4 miles - turn N onto county road and continue about 9 miles to marker)

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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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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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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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August Faltin Building - Marker in/near Comfort

Marker #237 - 1982   Prussian native Friedrich August Faltin (1830-1905) moved to Comfort in 1856 and purchased the general merchandise business of Theodor Goldbeck, located at this site. Trained in his father's store, which had been established about 1818 in Danzig, Prussia, now Gdansk, Poland, Faltin became a leading merchant of the Texas Hill Country. In addition, his 1869 partnership with Capt. Charles Schreiner of Kerrville became the nucleus of the vast Schreiner enterprises. By the late 1870s Faltin's business, which included banking and post office services, had outgrown the structure at this site and he had architect Alfred Giles of San Antonio design a new building. Constructed by the noted builder J. H. Kampmann, the Victorian Italian edifice was completed in 1879. Later run by Faltin's sons Richard and August S., the business was sold in 1907 to their brother-in-law Dan Holekamp and his sons Otto and Edgar. That same year an addition to the building was completed. Also designed by Giles, it included second floor space for meetings and fraternal and civic groups. In 1968 the property was sold back to the Faltin family. The August Faltin Building remains as a symbol of the area's early commercial growth. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1982 (Main and Seventh, Comfort)

Original structure was two stories above a full basement. The main level served as a general store, the basement was the warehouse (with freight elevator), and the family lived on the second floor. A small 3 bay store designed by Alfred Giles in 1879. Tall segmented arched openings on first floor; two story gallery topped by pressed tin cornice & arched parapet. In 1907 Giles designed a long two story addition

 Prussian native, Frederick August Faltin, moved to Comfort in 1856 and purchased the general merchandise business from Theodore Goldbeck. By the late 1870s Faltin's business, which included banking and post office services, had outgrown the structure and he had architect Alfred Giles of San Antonio design a new building. Constructed by the noted builder J. H. Kampmann, the Victorian Italian edifice was completed in 1879.

Later run by Faltin's sons, Richard and August S., the business was sold in 1907 to their brother-in-law, Dan Holekamp, and his sons, Otto and Edgar. That same year an addition to the building was completed. Also designed by Giles, it included second floor space for meetings of fraternal and civic groups, school dances and receptions. In 1968 the property was sold back to the Faltin family.

In 1974, great grandson August restored the upstairs area into two aparments. Ray and Jan Weeks moved to Comfort in 1993 and live in one of the apartments and use the other apartment as a Bed and Breakfast.
The August Faltin building was designated Texas Historical Landmark in 1982.

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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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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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Staffel Family and the Staffel Store - Marker in/near Boerne

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

Marker #12546 - 2001   334 S. Main in Boerne
German immigrant August Staffel arrived in Texas in 1852 and in due course made his way to Boerne, where he purchased property at this site in 1854. When Boerne was granted a postal station in 1856, Staffel served as first postmaster and housed the post office on his property. Staffel's other businesses included the Staffel store, stagecoach office, saloon, livery stable and wagon yard. After August's death in 1870, his wife, Bertha, operated the post office out of the Staffel store until 1881 and sold the property in 1905. Reminders of early economic development in Boerne, the Staffel store and the Staffel family played a significant role in that heritage. (2001)

The Staffel Building stands on Lot #30 of the divisions of the original survey No. 180 in the town of Boerne. On 27 April 1854 Gustav Theisen sold 1/2 interest in Lot #30 to August Staffel. Also on that date John James sold his half interest in Lot #30 to August Staffel. The property was bequeathed to his wife, Kunigunda Bertha Staffel, daughter of Joseph Dienger.

This building served as an office for the Staffel livery stable and probably for the postoffice which August Staffel kept. He was appointed Boerne's first postmaster in June 18, 1856 and served for ten years. His wife, Bertha, was postmaster after his death from 1870 until 1881 and sold the property in 1905. This was Boerne's first telegraph office in 1875. In the rear with the stable there was a stagecoach office.

Mrs. Edna Miller, a widow, purchased the building in 1916. In 1936 its ownership went to Radcliff Spencer. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the building was occupied by Malner Shumard as a law office and title company. The property passed to the heirs of Mr. Radcliff Spencer. These two, Dorothy Spencer Traylor and George Spencer, obtained the Historical Marker in 2002 for the building known as the Staffel Building.

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Otto Brinkmann House - Marker in/near Comfort

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

Marker #3882 - 1976   The cottage was built in 1860 by German-born Otto Brinkmann (1832-1915), who lived here with his brothers until he married Marie Johanne Ochse in 1867. The half-timbered walls filled with native stone display the "fachwerk" technique introduced in Texas by German immigrants. The structure was enlarged in 1879, when the owner was Brinkmann's mother-in-law, Mrs. Julius Ochse. The house was purchased in 1973 and restored by Mr. and Mrs. William E. Parrish. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1976

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Comfort Community Church - Marker in/near Comfort

Photo Credit: Bryden Moon

Marker #998 - 1986   Dedicated in 1892, this Gothic revival building first served the Deutsche Evangelische Gemeinde (German Evangelical Congregation), founded the previous year by the Rev. Frederick Bauer. The bell tower was added about 1898. For over 50 years, the Lutherans shared their building with other denominations, and the structure became known as the Comfort Community Church. It continues to serve the Immanuel Lutheran Church, as the congregation was renamed in 1947. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1986 (High Street, between 2nd and 3rd, Comfort)

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Joseph Dienger Building - Marker in/near Boerne

Marker #2857 - 1981   This limestone commercial structure was built for Joseph Dienger (1859-1950) shortly after he purchased the site in 1884. The ground floor housed his grocery and the second floor provided living quarters for his family. A later addition was used for the dry goods store of Dienger`s sisters Lina and Louise. Owned by family members until 1967, the double galleried building features Victorian styling with German influences. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980

The plot of land north of the town plaza was purchased by Joe Dienger, oldest son of Karl Dienger, in 1882 for the purpose of building a general store to meet the needs of a growing community. He began by building the first floor, finishing it and stocking it completely before adding the second story. The second story, which was reached by an enclosed stairway on the west side of the building, was home for the Dienger family. Since it was much too spacious, Mr. Dienger turned half of the area into a meeting room. Most of the lodges and clubs held their meetings here and many times their annual feasts or celebrations or anniversary parties. 

The one story portion on the north side of the building was added later. That part was used to house a dry goods store that was operated by his sisters, Lina and Louise Dienger. These good ladies never married. They gave their entire life to the operation of the store and to taking care of their widowed mother who lived to be 93 years old. They resided at what is now the corner of Hosack and S. Main. See file: Dienger-Eckert House, 108 Hosack Street

In 1967 a group of Boerne business men purchased the building visualizing it as a restaurant/supper club. The Antler's Restaurant was born. They rented the north part of the building to a grocery store owned and operated by the Rodriguez family (the local family managers were Anna and Michael Schoch)

In 1982 the building was again sold, this time to Bill and Paige Ramsey-Palmer. They again renovated the building to suit their needs.

In 1991 the building became the home of the Boerne Public Library after extensive internal alterations. Alterations were done very carefully to maintain the outside the integrity of the building.

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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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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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Kendalia Community Church - Marker in/near Kendalia

Photo Credit: Col. Bettie Edmonds

Marker #2919 - 1979   In 1882 Boerne newspaper editor Carl Gustav Vogel and his wife Ettie began buying land in this area. After Kendalia Methodist Episcopal Church, South, organized in 1886, the Vogels deeded this site to the congregation. Community residents built this meetinghouse. The fellowship merged with First Methodist Church of Boerne in 1966. A new congregation, "Kendalia Community Church", acquired this building and continues to serve the area. (Jones and Arthurs Streets, Kendalia - two blocks N of SH 473)

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1907 Comfort State Bank Building - Marker in/near Comfort

Photo Credit: Jay Pennington click to their website

Marker #29 - 1988   Constructed in 1907 for Alex Brinkmann, this building housed the Comfort State Bank until 1960. Local stonemason Richard Doebbler is credited with the hand-cut stone craftsmanship of the structure. The Comfort Public Library was located here from 1961 to 1982. Features of the modified Richardsonian Romanesque building include polished red granite columns, a round-headed window, a corner entrance, and a blind arcade in the tower. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1988. (Corner 7th and High Streets, Comfort)

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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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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 1955 to Hill Country Telephone, ending a 32 year era of Comfort's History.

The simple frame home was typical of those built in Comfort at the Turn of the Century as indicated by the porch columns, brackets and exposed rafter. The back portion of the house was added to the original structure before 1936.
The house was given a Historic Marker in 1987.

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Dr. Ferdinand Ludwig Von Herff - Marker in/near Boerne

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

Marker #1268 - 1982   Dr. Ferdinand Ludwig Von Herff, Nov. 29, 1820-May 18, 1912), the son of a prominent German family and a veteran of the Prussian army, physician Ferdinand Ludwig von Herff first came to Texas in 1847. By the 1860s he had set up practice in San Antonio, where he was an active civic leader. His medical innovations made him a prominent physician in the southwest. Dr. Herff and his wife, Mathilde, 1823-1910, owned a ranch at this site and, through their interest in the area, led in the development of Boerne. Local residents honored their many contributions with a monument here on Malakopf Mountain, a site favored by the Herffs. "After seventy years of weather exposure and vandalism, the original rock obelisk had deteriorated to the extent that doctors John B. and Ferdinand Peter Herff, grandsons of Ferdinand Ludwig Von Herff, had it completely rebuilt with limestone blocks in 1952."- [quoted from Garland Perry, "Our Heritage" series] Texas Historical Commission honored Dr. Herff by designating this monument with a Texas Historical Marker in 1982. (on Malakopf Mountain, 1.5 mile NE of Boerne Via FM 474 and Kennon Ranch Road)The monument is on a hill overlooking Boerne across Hwy 474 from Spring Creek Road exit. The trees are too high to see the monument from FM 474 but If one turns right on Spring Creek Road, and then turns around at the first house, and then stops about 50 yards or so down road, now facing FM 474, you can see where it is with the naked eye. Binoculars are helpful. See picture below on the right.

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Ye Kendall Inn - Marker in/near Boerne

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

Marker #5925 - 1962   The center section of this vernacular Greek revival structure was built in 1859 as a home for Erastus and Sarah Reed, who had come to Boerne from Georgia. Under later occupants, the home often served as lodging for those traveling through the area. In 1878 owners C. J. Roundtree and W. L. Wadsworth expanded the building, which they named the Boerne Hotel, to accommodate visitors attracted to the area by its healthful climate. A later owner, Dr. H.J. Barnitz, adopted the name "Ye Kendall Inn" in 1909. The inn features a 2-story gallery and a wide symmetrical facade.
 Situated a block off main street in Boerne is the charming old Kendall Inn that has been visited through the years by stagecoach passengers and twentieth-century celebrities. Its history began April 23, 1859, when John James and Gus Theissen sold the land on which it stands to Erastus and Sarah Reed for the sum of only $200. The Reeds had come to Boerne from Georgia, and with them they brought the Southern Colonial style of architecture and built the center section of the inn.

As the town had been founded only ten years previously, there was no regular establishment for the shelter of the traveler. However,the hearts of the few home owners were large and it became the custom for any home owner with a spare room to care for the transient guest, sometimes for pay, sometimes not. Whether or not the Reeds offered their hospitality for pay is not known, but is is believed that they did. Eventually, the place was designated as the Reed House.

The Reeds later leased the property to Henry W. Chipman. On a paying basis, he accommodated horsemen and occasional stagecoach passengers. He then opened the grounds as a wagon yard for the convenience of the surrounding ranchers who penned their cattle in what is now the city park, awaiting other cattle for a big drive up the trail.

On May 4, 1869, Colonel Henry C. King and his wife Jean Adams King, purchased the inn from the Reeds. Colonel King was a jovial man who made a host of friends. Campaigning successfully for the office of State Senator, he covered his district on horseback. While on these campaign trips, which sometimes lasted for weeks, the operation of the King Place was left to his wife. After serving one term as senator, at which time the present state constitution was written and adopted, he ran for the office of Governor, but was defeated. Later, motivated by the urge to venture into newspaper work, Henry King returned to San Antonio.

By 1878, Boerne had become famous as a resort. In that year, C.J.Rountree and W. L. Wadsworth of Dallas purchased the "King Place" and renamed it the Boerne Hotel. As visitors began flocking to the town to take advantage of the hearlthful dry climate, the hotel expanded. So great was the demand for accommodations, two long wings were added on either side of the portion built by the Reeds. It is believed that at this time the present kitchen wing was also added.

Six years later, James T. Clarke became the proprietor of the inn. For a while he was the agent for the state line that came through Boerne. It was at this time that the Boerne Hotel was truly an authentic Stagecoach Inn.

In 1882, Mr. Edmund King and his wife, Selina L. King, and children came to Boerne from England and leased the Boerne Hotel. Mr. King was killed in a hunting accident in back of the hotel on September 26,1882.

In 1909, Dr. H. J. Barnitz, a prominent San Antonio physician, adopted the name "Ye Kendall Inn" [for the hotel]The name was a tribute to George W. Kendall, eminent journalist, who was ressponsible for bringing the first sheep to the Hill Country and for whom Kendall County was named.

From 1922 to 1943, Kendall Inn was owned by Robert L. and Maude M.Hickman. It was during their ownership that many steps toward modernization took placed athe famous old inn. One of the most important was the installation of privatebaths.

Hickman had learned the hotel business while working for his father at the popular old Southern Hotel in San Antonio. Along with the Prince Solms colonists, he was civic minded; for it was during his term as mayor that the city installed the swimming pool that is immediately adjacent to the dining porch of the inn.

Through the years Kendall Inn has served as a gathering place for frontier lawmen, army personnel, cattle drovers, and many celebrities.

Mrs. William T. Grinnan purchased Kendall Inn in 1960 and lived there with her three sons. The property was sold to Ed and Vicki Schleyer in April 1982. Two years of extensive restoration brought back the historic beauty of the hardwood floor, original fireplaces,molding mantels and the 200 foot front porch with railing and col

Potter, Chaplain A.J.