The Mainzer Adelsverein at Biebrich am Rhein (Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas, "Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas"), better known as the Mainzer Adelsverein (German pronunciation: [ˈmaɪ̯nt͡sɐˈaːdəlsfɐˌʔaɪn] , "Nobility Society of Mainz"), organized on April 20, 1842, was a colonial attempt to establish a new German settlement [1] within the borders of Texas. [2]
The Adelsverein was organized on April 20, 1842, by 21 German noblemen at Biebrich on the Rhine. They gathered at the castle of the German Duke of Nassau, the future Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, who was named Protector of the Society. [3] In Germany, the society was referred to as Mainzer Adelsverein after the city of Mainz, where it was officially registered. The society represented a significant effort to establish a new Germany on Texas soil through organized mass emigration. [2] The land for the emigrants was to be purchased by the Adelsverein or secured through land grants from the Republic of Texas. [4]
On January 9, 1843, Count Ludwig Joseph von Boos-Waldeck bought the 4,428-acre Nassau Plantation in Fayette County, Texas, for $0.75 an acre and named it for the Duke of Nassau. Twenty-five slaves were bought to work the property, [5] which initially was considered as the primary base for arriving German immigrants. [3] [6] When Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels inspected the plantation in 1844, he recommended the Verein divest itself of the property, rather than be associated with slavery. [5] Gustav Dresel, Special Business Agent for the Adelsverein, sold Nassau Plantation on July 28, 1848, to Otto von Roeder. [7] Von Roeder had been the first settler in Shelby, Texas, in 1841, a year before the Adelsverein was founded in Germany, and three years before the Adelsverein sent its first colonists to Texas. Von Roeder had emigrated to Texas from Westphalia in the 1830s and was not affiliated with the Adelsverein's colonization efforts. [8] The community of Shelby had been named for David Shelby, one of the Old Three Hundred under Stephen F. Austin. [9] Shelby became the home of many Adelsverein colonists in 1845, but it was not founded by the organization. Shelby was one of the Latin Settlement communities populated by German intellectuals who had settled in Texas after 1848. [10]
Prince Carl was appointed commissioner general by the Adelsverein in May 1844 to lead its colony in Texas. Each head of household was required to deposit 600 gulden (300 gulden for a single person) with the Adelsverein to cover transportation and housing at the colony and as credit to draw upon until they made their first harvest. [4] The first Adelsverein-sponsored immigrants arrived in Galveston in July 1844. They traveled from Galveston to Indianola in December 1844, then moved inland to land grants acquired by the Adelsverein near Comal Springs. Prince Solms named the first colony New Braunfels in honor of his homeland.
Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller sold their 1842 land grant to the Adelsverein on June 22, 1844. This grant was intended to provide for more settlements in Texas. [2]
After Prince Solms returned to Germany, John O. Meusebach was appointed the second commissioner general of the Adelsverein in April 1845. He founded the first settlement on the outskirts of the land grant, and named it Fredericksburg, in honor of Adelsverein member Prince Frederick of Prussia. The land grant was located in Comanche territory, and to colonize, Meusebach first negotiated a treaty between the German Immigration Company (Adelsverein) and the Penateka Comanche. A separate agreement was made with the Darmstadt Forty, to settle socialist colonies within the land grant.
In 1853, due to a large amount of debt, Adelsverein ended its colonization campaign in Texas. [11]
Count Castell [12] negotiated with the separate Darmstadt Society of Forty to colonize 200 families on the Fisher–Miller Land Grant territory in Texas. In return, they were to receive $12,000 in money, livestock, equipment, and provisions for a year. After the first year, the colonies were expected to support themselves. [13] The colonies attempted were Castell, [14] Leiningen, Bettina, [15] Schoenburg and Meerholz in Llano County; Darmstädler Farm in Comal County; and Tusculum in Kendall County. [16] Of these, only Castell survives. The colonies failed after the Adelsverein funding expired, and also due to conflict of structure and authorities. Some members moved to other Adelsverein settlements in Texas. Others moved elsewhere, or returned to Germany.
Source: [17]
Llano County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,243. Its county seat is Llano, and the county is named for the Llano River.
Kendall County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2020 census, its population was 44,279. Its county seat is Boerne. The county is named for George Wilkins Kendall, a journalist and Mexican–American War correspondent.
Comal County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and European history. Its county seat is New Braunfels.
New Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers 44.9 square miles (116 km2) and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north of San Antonio, and part of the Greater San Antonio metropolitan area, it was the third-fastest-growing city in the United States from 2010 to 2020. As of 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates its population at 104,707.
Indianola is a ghost town located on Matagorda Bay in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. The community, once the county seat of Calhoun County, is a part of the Victoria, Texas, Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1875, the city had a population of 5,000, but on September 15 of that year, a powerful hurricane struck, killing between 150 and 300 and almost entirely destroying the town. Indianola was rebuilt, only to be wiped out on August 19, 1886, by another intense hurricane, which was followed by a fire. Indianola was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1963, marker number 2642.
Prince Carl (Karl) of Solms-Braunfels was a German prince and military officer in both the Austrian army and the cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. As commissioner general of the Adelsverein, he spearheaded the establishment of colonies of German immigrants in Texas. Prince Solms named New Braunfels, Texas, in honor of his homeland.
John O. Meusebach, born Otfried Hans Freiherr von Meusebach, was at first a Prussian bureaucrat, later an American farmer and politician who served in the Texas Senate, District 22.
Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer was a German Texan botanist who spent his working life on the American frontier. In 1936, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 1590 was placed on Lindheimer's grave.
Castell is a small unincorporated, rural town in Llano County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Texas German belt region, and most residents are still ethnic German-Texan. Its population was 104 at the 2010 census. Located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, its northern border is formed by the Llano River. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1964, marker number 9440.
The Meusebach–Comanche Treaty was a treaty made on May 9, 1847 between the private citizens of the Fisher–Miller Land Grant in Texas, who were predominantly German in nationality, and the Penateka Comanche Tribe. The treaty was officially recognized by the United States government. In 1936, a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, Marker number 991, was placed in San Saba County to commemorate the signing of the treaty.
Nassau Plantation was a 4,428 acres endeavor purchased by the Adelsverein on January 9, 1843, in Fayette County, Texas, near what is now Round Top. A Texas State Historical Marker was installed in 1968, Marker 3550.
Ferdinand Ludwig Herff (1820–1912) was a 19th-century German-born physician who emigrated to Texas and became a medical pioneer in San Antonio. He was one of the co-founders of the Bettina commune. In 1982, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 1268 was placed on Malakopf Mountain in Boerne, to honor Herff. His homesite in San Antonio was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in the year 2000, Marker number 12345.
Hermann Spiess was co-founder of the Bettina, Texas commune in 1847. He became Commissioner-General of the Adelsverein after the resignation of John O. Meusebach.
Wrede School is located at 3929 S. State Highway 16, Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas. It was first built in 1896. The school district was consolidated with Fredericksburg Independent School District in 1960. The schoolhouse now serves as a community center. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas on June 1, 2005.
The Fisher–Miller Land Grant was part of an early colonization effort of the Republic of Texas. Its 3,878,000 acres covered 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2) between the Llano River and Colorado River. Originally granted to Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller, the grant was sold to the German colonization company of Adelsverein. Very few colonizations resulted from the land grant, as most settlers preferred Fredericksburg and New Braunfels, which lay outside the land grant boundaries. A granite monument located near Lookout Mountain in Burnet County summarizes the history and importance of the Fisher-Miller Land Grant and was designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1964, Marker number 9438.
Emil Kriewitz was a German immigrant and veteran of the Mexican–American War, who came to this country with the Adelsverein colonists. After John O. Meusebach successfully negotiated the Meusebach–Comanche Treaty, Kriewitz lived among the Penateka Comanche as an intermediary between the whites and Penateka. In 1993, his home in Castell, Texas, was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, Marker number 9444.
The History of Fredericksburg, Texas dates back to its founding in 1846. It was named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. Fredericksburg is also notable as the home of Texas German, a dialect spoken by the first generations of German settlers who initially refused to learn English. Fredericksburg shares many cultural characteristics with New Braunfels, which had been established by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels the previous year.
Bettina is a vanished community founded in 1847 by German immigrants as part of the Adelsverein colonization of the Fisher–Miller Land Grant in the U.S. state of Texas. It was located on the banks of the Llano River in Llano County, and no trace of the settlement remains today. The community was named after German artist and social activist Bettina von Arnim and was one of five attempted by the Darmstadt Forty. It was also known as the Darmstaedter Kolonie. The community was sponsored by the Adelsverein, and founded on idealistic philosophies of European freethinkers of the day. It is notable for the community's camaraderie and mutually respectful relations with local indigenous tribes. Lack of a formal community framework caused Bettina to fail within a year of its founding.
Evandberg Orphanage was established as a guardianship orphanage located in Comal County, Texas approximately 3.5 mi (5.63 km) north of New Braunfels, Texas. The indigent children home was created by a charter enacted into state law by the 2nd Texas legislature on March 16, 1848. The Texas charter appointed Louis Cachand Ervendberg, Ludwig Bene, and Hermann Spiess being of German descent as founding directors of the displaced shelter for exiled children in the Central Texas region.
