Window to the Past

                                                                                                                                                  As we explore this circa 1847 homestead on the lease, I marvel at the chisel marks that scour each stone.  How long must it have taken to carve out shelter?  Who in the family built the stone fences?    

The first settlers that came over (1844/45) wrote letters home, telling those that followed, what tools were essential to establishing the basics of life in their new reality. The subsequent settlers were a little better prepared than those tough first founders, but not by much.  Even though it was tough going; these persistent settlers took the best of a 1500 year old culture and married them with the pioneer spirit of a young Texas to create most of the Texas Hill Country.  The roads we travel were once part Native American trails, Spanish Expedition routes, Pony Express Routes, and Stage Coach Routes.  They trudged their way through the wilderness to find the paths of least resistance and from there grew a network of transportation, communication, and trade.

I am frequently asked,  "Where is the history of New Braunfels?"
"Why isn't it obvious?"

My answer is simple - you may not see the footprints of our founders, because we are still walking in them.  Open your eyes, the rings are still in the sidewalks where they tied the horses, the streets downtown are still exactly the same width and location as originally platted, the fachwerk is still for all to see, you can still buy a handmade saddle while munching a fresh struedel, we still make our own sausage, and  manners/hospitality still flourish - soak it up, don't walk right by it.

We still pride ourselves in our work ethic, take centuries old traditions as everyday life, traverse the same paths, swim in the same rivers, and thrive as extremely independent individuals that somehow continue to work collectively to make and keep New Braunfels great!