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Marker Title: Cross Mountain
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1976
Marker Location: from intersection of US 290 and Milam St. (RR 965),
take Milam St. north 1 mi., then west on Cross Mountain Trail approx.
100 yards.
Marker Text: This marl and limestone hill, elevation 1,915 feet, was
an Indian signal point, advancing news of the intrusions of white settlers.
The hill was first recorded and described by the German geologist, Dr.
Ferdinand Roemer in 1847. A timber cross found on the hilltop the same
year suggests that Spanish missionaries recognized it as a landmark
on the path from San Antonio to Mission San Saba. John Christian Durst
(1825-1898), arriving with his family in 1847 from Germany, received
a town lot and 10 acres of land, including this hill. On finding the
cross, he named it "Kreuzberg," or Cross Mountain. The Easter
fires on Cross Mountain and the surrounding hills recall a German tradition
of burning the old growth to make way for the new, and also commemorate
the 1847 treaty made by John O. Meusebach and the settlers to establish
peace with the Comanche nation. In 1849, a Bohemian priest, Father George
Menzel, erected a more substantial cross as a symbol of redemption and
civilization. Easter Sunrise Services were held on the mountain for
many years prior to 1941. In 1946 the Very Rev. F.X. Wolf threw the
switch to illuminate the permanent cross of metal and concrete built
by St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Within the town of present-day Fredericksburg, Colonel Karnes Comanche fight occurred on November 1, 1839.
Marker Title: The Easter Fires
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: take US 290 E 3.6 miles to rest area ROW.
Marker Text: Blazing on the hills around Fredericksburg each Easter
Eve, combined with a local pageant, these fires recall an old tale.
In March 1847, when Comanches and whites signed a major peace treaty,
the Indians lighted huge signal fires on these hills. To calm her children's
fears, one mother-- recalling Easter fires in her native Germany-- told
them the smoke came from pots in which the Easter Bunny was dying eggs
with flowers. As the tale spread and pioneers kindled the fires in each
year of peace with the Indians, the local yearly celebration arose.
Marker Title: Enchanted Rock
City: Fredricksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1965
Marker Location: FM 965, 18 mi. N. of Fredricksburg
Marker Text: From its summit, in the fall of 1841, Captain John C. Hays, while surrounded by Comanche Indians who cut him off from his Ranging Company, repulsed the whole band and inflicted upon them such heavy losses that they fled.
Marker Title: Engel Family
Address: Main St.
City: Luckenbach
Year Marker Erected: 1996
Marker Text: The Rev. August Engel (1818-1904), a circuit riding Methodist
preacher and teacher, immigrated to Texas in 1846 from Germany. In 1859
he married Katharina Ernst (1837-1920). They had six children. August
Engel served as postmaster for five years in Blanco County, and for
32 years at Cranes Mill in Comal County. He was succeeded as postmaster
by his son August Engel, Jr., in 1904, who purchased six acres in 1885
in Gillespie County from Carl A. Luckenbach. A post office was established
in Engel's home in 1886 with August Engel, Jr., serving as postmaster.
His sister Minna was asked to name the new post office. Married to C.A. Luckenbach, Minna chose the name of Luckenbach. A general merchandise
store with a post office area, blacksmith shop, cotton gin, saloon and
warehouses were added to the property. A dance hall (tanz halle) also
located there was a center for local gatherings. William Engel replaced
his brother August Engel, Jr., as postmaster of Luckenbach in 1890.
William's son, Benno W. Engel, Sr., was appointed postmaster in 1935,
and served in that capacity for 36 years. The Luckenbach Post Office
was discontinued in 1971 after 85 years of continuous service to Gillespie
County and to the community.
Marker Title: Site of Fort Martin Scott
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: take US 290 E approx. 2 miles to ROW.
Marker Text: Established by the United States Army, December 5, 1848,
as a protection to travelers and settlers against Indian attack. Named
in honor of Major Martin Scott, brevet lieutenant colonel, 5th United
States Infantry, killed at Molino Del Ray, September 8, 1847. Its garrison
participated in many Indian skirmishes. Occupied intermittently after
1852. Held by the confederates, 1861-65. Permanently abandoned in December,
1866.
Marker Title: Gillespie County
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: take SH 16 S approx. 5.5 miles to roadside park.
Marker Text: The trails of roving Indians crossed these hills settled
by German pioneers in 1846. A group of Mormons settled at Zodiac in
1847. Created February 23, 1848; organized June 5, 1848. Named for Richard
Addison Gillespie, a Texan from 1837, a defender of the Texas frontier,
and captain in the Mexican War who fell at Monterrey, September 22,
1846. Fredericksburg, the county seat.
Marker Title: Gun Cap Factory
Address: 306 W. Main
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Text: In the Civil War, at this site, E. Krauskoff, gunsmith,
and Adolph Lungkwitz, silversmith, made gun caps. Inventing machinery,
they rolled copper thin and cut it to cap-size pieces. Saltpetre and
quicksilver went into the caps, to detonate rifle and pistol ammunition.
Saltpetre came from nearby bat caves. Quicksilver and copper had to
be brought through neutral Mexico or the coastal blockade. Rifles, cannon,
gunpowder and pistols were made at Austin, Houston, Bastrop, Waxahachie,
san Antonio, corpus Christi, Burnet, Lancaster, Rusk and Tyler.
Marker Title: Homestead of Karl Itz
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1987
Marker Location: take SH 16 N approx. 1.2 miles to Lower Crabapple Rd.;
then north on Lower Crabapple Rd. approx. 3.6 miles.
Marker Text: Karl Itz (ca. 1838-1908), a native of Westerburg, Germany,
arrived in Texas in 1852 and settled in Gillespie County. He married
Henrietta Evers (1839-1923) in 1856. At the outbreak of the Civil War
Itz joined a group of German immigrants in support of the Union. Marching
toward Mexico in August 1862, the men encountered Confederate forces
at the Battle of the Nueces. Though many of the Germans were killed,
Itz was not injured and lived in hiding until the war ended. He moved
his family to this site and built a stone home in 1875. A log house
was later added. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1987
Marker Title: Lyndon Baines Johnson
Address: Loring and Peach (at school entrance)
City: Stonewall
Year Marker Erected: 1971
Marker Text: The 36th President of the United States of America As a
12-year-old student attended classes of the 8th grade here at the old
Stonewall school from October 1920 to June 1921.
Marker Title: Lyndon Baines Johnson
City: Stonewall
Marker Location: LBJ National Park (near entrance on PR 49).
Marker Text: The 36th President of the United States was born here on
August 27, 1908; son of a state legislator (1905-1917), Sam Ealy Johnson,
Jr., and Rebekah Baines Johnson, a teacher. The house was built in 1906
with the help of neighbors. The Johnsons and Bainesses-- early settlers--
were ministers, Indian fighters, newspapermen, college professors, ranchers.
Original house burned, and was rebuilt by the President. Recorded Texas
Historic Landmark - 1967
Marker Title: Old Kammlah House
Address: 309 - 315 W. Main St.
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1966
Marker Text: Four front rooms with outside stair to attic, built 1849
by German settler Henry Kammlah I. Smokehouse and rooms at rear added
1875. Old world technique of wall plaster over woven twig supports used
in interior. Henry Kammlah II and wife Amalia, opened a general store
in front room in 1870. This was continued by Henry III until 1924. House
purchased 1956 and restored as museum by Gillespie County Historical
Society. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
Marker Title: H.C. Keese Home
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1981
Marker Location: from Crabapple take RR 965 N approx. .75 mi. to Welgehausen
Rd.; then west on Welgehausen Rd. 3.4 miles to site on right.
Marker Text: German native Henry C. Keese (b. 1834) built this farmhouse
soon after he purchased the land in the 1870s. Constructed of wood and
hand-hewn native rock, it included a large downstairs living area, a
kitchen, and second floor bedrooms. Keese and his wife Caroline survived
the hardships of frontier life, including attacks by hostile Indians,
and members of their family owned the homesite for almost a century.
Traces of the early farm are still evident. Recorded Texas Historic
Landmark - 1981
Marker Title: Heinrich and Johanna Borchers Kensing
City: Cherry Spring
Year Marker Erected: 1972
Marker Text: (November 11, 1822 - July 26, 1865) (August 4, 1823 - July
29, 1865) German immigrants, arriving in Texas in 1845, and migrating
to Gillespie County by 1850. In 1862 the Kensings moved into Mason County
(about 7 miles NW) On July 26, 1865, the couple were attacked by Indians
near Platt Kopf (1.5 miles N). Kensing died instantly; his wife died
on the 29th, at the conrad Welge house (1/3 mile NE), leaving 7 children
Marker Title: Lange's Mill
City: Doss
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: from Doss, take FM 648 approx. .5 mi. to Lange's Mill
Rd., then northwest on Lange's Mill Rd. 3.3 miles.
Marker Text: Established in 1849 by Doss brothers. Operated 1859-1878
by William F. Lange, 1878-1888 by Julius Lange. Its products were famed
throughout the region. One of the last of the old burr mills in Texas,
one of few in as perfect a state of preservation. Near by on a cliff
are Indian pictographs.
Marker Title: Luckenbach
Address: near Post Office
City: Luckenbach
Year Marker Erected: 1986
Marker Text: Members of the Luckenbach family and other German immigrants
moved here from Fredericksburg (11 mi. NW) in the 1850s. They settled
along Grape Creek and soon established a school for their children.
the Grape Creek Post Office was in operation briefly after 1858 with
William Luckenbach as first postmaster. Later settlers included August
Engel, who served as first postmaster when the post office was reestablished
here in 1886 under the name of Luckenbach. John Russell "Hondo"
Crouch and others bought the town center in 1970 and promoted its rustic
atmosphere. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
Marker Title: Market Square (Mark Platz)
Address: 100 block of West Main St.
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1992
Marker Text: This Square, originally a two-block area which included
what is now called the Courthouse Square, has been at the center of
Fredericksburg since the city's founding in 1846. The area was still
heavily forested when the town's Vereins Kirche was built in the center
of Main street in 1847. The octagonal building served as a community
church, meeting place, school, and refuge from possible Indian attacks.
A county jail was built on the Square in 1852. In 1856 a public schoolhouse
was constructed and the school classes moved out of the Vereins Kirche.
In 1911 the schoolhouse was converted to serve as headquarters for the
volunteer fire department. The Vereins Kirche, demolished in 1897, was
reconstructed in 1934-35 as a pioneer memorial, serving as the county's
first museum (1936) and library (1939). As part of its centennial celebration,
the State of texas erected a monument on Market Square in honor of Baron
Ottfried Hans Freiherr Von Meusebach, whose colonization efforts led
to the founding of Fredericksburg. In 1987 the city purchased the property
from the school district. The Market Square has served as a gathering
place for special community activities and has remained a focal point
of the city.
Marker Title: The Marschall-Meusebach Cemetery
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1976
Marker Location: take US 87 NW approx. 17 miles to Cherry Spring Rd.;
then east on Cherry Spring approx .5 miles to Marshall Cemetery Rd.;
then north on cemetery road .2 miles.
Marker Text: Members of the families of two former German noblemen,
related by marriage, are buried in this cemetery. John O. Meusebach
(1812-97), who came to the Republic of Texas in 1845 as leader of the
German Emigration Company, established (1846) the town of fredericksburg
and signed (1847) an historic peace treaty with the Comanche Indians.
Wilhelm Marschall Von Bierberstein (1822-1902) settled in this community
in 1848. First burial here was that of Marschall's sister-in-law, Mathilda
Weiss (1824-91).
Marker Title: Site of the McDonald Massacre
City: Harper
Year Marker Erected: 1976
Marker Location: from US 290 in Harper take RR 783 S approx. .1 mile
to ROW.
Marker Text: Pioneer preacher Matthew Taylor and the families of his
daughter and two sons moved here in 1863 from their homestead on the
Llano River. They built a cabin on this site near the source of the
Pedernales River. In August 1864, Matthew and his son Jim returned to
the Llano for a load of hay, leaving in charge Eli McDonald, husband
of Matthew's daughter Caroline. On August 8, 1864, at a nearby spring,
Jim Taylor's wife Gill was surprised by a band of Kiowas and wounded
by an arrow. Before she died, she warned the others, who took refuge
in the cabin. After a brief fight, the Indians killed Eli McDonald.
They captured his wife Caroline and daughters Mahala and becky Jane;
and Alice, James, and Dorcas, children of Matthew's son Zed. Matthew's
wife "Aunt Hannah" escaped and hid in a cave in what is now
Harper Community Park. Matthew and Jim Taylor discovered the tragedy
the next day and sought help from Eli McDonald's nephew Monroe. The
two victims of the massacre were buried near Spring Creek, twelve miles
east of Harper. "Aunt Hannah" was found and reunited with
her husband. the captives wandered as far north as Oklahoma with the
Kiowa tribe before they were located and ransomed by the U.S. Government.
Marker Title: John O. Meusebach
City: Cherry Spring
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: from Cherry Spring take US 87 S approx. 2.5 miles to
roadside park.
Marker Text: (1812-1897) To be a Texan, Meusebach gave up title of baron
in 1845. As commissioner-general, German Emigration Company, he founded
Fredericksburg in 1846 as gateway to Fisher-Miller land grant, hunting
ground of the Comanche. By emptying his firearms, he won trust of Indians
and made treaty to provide for unmolested settlement. Indians called
him "El Sol Colorado" (The Red Sun). State senator, 1851.
In 1854 issued colonists' headrights. To his family motto, he added
"Texas forever." Lived in Loyal Valley. Buried near Cherry
Spring.
Marker Title: Pinta Trail
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1986
Marker Location: from Fredericksburg take US 290 E approx. 5.2 miles
to rest area.
Marker Text: Origin of the Pinta Trail is attributed to nomadic Plains
Indian tribes. Early Spanish and Mexican expeditions followed the general
route of the trail, which extended from San Antonio de Bexar to the
San Saba River near present Menard. A survey by German immigrants in
1845 provided a wagon road over part of the trail, and, after the discovery
of gold in California in 1849, the trail was utilized by U.S. Military
companies seeking to open new routes to the western states. Use of the
trail declined with the advent of railroads in the late 1800s and early
1900s. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
Marker Title: Texas Ranger General E. Kirby Smith, C.S.A.
City: Fredericksburg
Year Marker Erected: 1965
Marker Location: from Fredericksburg, take US 290 E approx. 10 miles
to ROW.
Marker Text: (1824-1893) Born in Florida. Graduated from West Point.
Fought in Mexican War. On the Texas frontier in the 1850s, commanded
Camps Belknap, Cooper and Colorado. In 1860 and many years afterwards
was a partner of J. M. Hunter of Fredericksburg in a Texas ranch. Resigned
from U. S. Army, 1861, to serve Confederacy. Was appointed 1863, to
command all the area west of the Mississippi. At that time Federals
held the river, all of Missouri, much of Arkansas, Louisiana and Indian
Territory, and were trying to take Texas and her supplies of food, cotton
and horses. The Trans-Mississippi Dept. had many problems. The French
under Maximilian were approaching from Mexico. Indians and bandits constantly
raided frontiers. Freighters and blockade runners had to be employed
for exporting cotton-- the only product the South had for trading to
get guns, ammunition and goods. Texas was chief source of the cotton
Gen. Smith used for financing his army. It was place of safety to which
he sent his wife and children. It gave him ovations as he went to Mexico
after the war ended. Young Texans studied, 1875-1893, in his mathematics
classes at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.
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