Gillespie County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 24,837. The county seat is Fredericksburg. It is located in the heart of the rural Texas Hill Country in Central Texas. Gillespie is named for Robert Addison Gillespie, a soldier in the Mexican–American War.
Fredericksburg is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 10,530.
New Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers 44.9 square miles (116 km2) and has a 2019 census-estimated population of 90,209. 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 2010-2020.
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.
The Mainzer Adelsverein at Biebrich am Rhein, better known as the Mainzer Adelsverein, organized on April 20, 1842, was a colonial attempt to establish a new German settlement within the borders of Texas.
Cherry Spring is an unincorporated farming and ranching community established in 1852 in Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located on Cherry Spring Creek, which runs from north of Fredericksburg to Llano. The creek was also sometimes known as Cherry Springs Creek by residents. The community is located on the old Pinta Trail. The Cherry Spring School was added to the National Register of Historic Places Listings in Gillespie County, Texas on May 6, 2005. The school was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1985.
Crabapple, Texas is an unincorporated farming and ranching community 10.5 miles (16.9 km) north of Fredericksburg in Gillespie County, Texas located on Crabapple Creek, about halfway between Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock State Park at an elevation of 1,775 feet. The school was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 10022 in 1994. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas on May 6, 2005, NRHP Reference #:05000390.
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.
Pedernales, Texas was an early settlement of German immigrants in Gillespie County, and was part of the Adelsverein colonization of Texas. No trace of the settlement remains today. It was located 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Fredericksburg near what is now Texas State Highway 16. The Pedernales school received a Texas Historical Commission Subject Marker in 1993, Marker number 10095.
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.
Ludwig "Louis" Martin was with the first settlers to Fredericksburg, Texas. He was the first sheriff of Gillespie County, and also served as District Clerk of the county. Martin was a co-founder of the Mason County community of Hedwigs Hill.
Rheingold School is located at 334 Rheingold School Road, in Gillespie County, Texas. In 1949, the school was consolidated with Fredericksburg Independent School District. The building is now used as a community center. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas on May 6, 2005.
Der Stadt Friedhof is a pioneer cemetery established in 1846 along Barons Creek on the corner of East Schubert Street and Lee Street, in Fredericksburg, Texas. It is the oldest known cemetery within Fredericksburg and is the final resting place for many of the original German colonists who arrived when John O. Meusebach opened up the area to settlement.
The Homesite of John O. Meusebach is located at Loyal Valley in Mason County, Texas, 21 miles (34 km) north of Fredericksburg and 18 miles (29 km) southeast of the city of Mason, on U.S. Highway 87 to right-of-way at the intersection of US 87 and RM 2242. Meusebach moved to the property in 1869, after a tornado destroyed his family home in Comal County.
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.
Charles Henry Nimitz was born in Bremen, Germany, the son of a merchant seaman. He also went to sea before the Nimitz family immigrated to South Carolina in the early 1840s, and later became part of the Adelsverein colonization experiment in the newly annexed state of Texas. He was the grandfather of, and role model for, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. In 1852, he built the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg, Texas in the United States. The hotel he built now houses the National Museum of the Pacific War. The Nimitz Hotel was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1989, Marker number 10089. Nimitz was elected to the Twenty-second Texas Legislature in 1890, representing Gillespie, Comal and Blanco counties, which constituted District 89.
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.
Pecan Creek School is located at 3410 Pecan Creek Road in Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was consolidated with Fredericksburg Independent School District in 1955. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Gillespie County, Texas on May 10, 2005. The Bernhard Friedrich house served as the first school in 1899. Land, materials and labor were donated in 1916 to relocate the structure. Originally a one-room schoolhouse, additional rooms and storage were added as needed. Included in the later additions were a stage and dance floor. The local historical club Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools has restored the building, including original desks and other furnishings. The building is now used as a community center.
Meusebach Creek School is located at 515 Kuhlmann Road in Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was consolidated with Fredericksburg Independent School District in 1954. The school is currently being used as a community center and was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Gillespie County, Texas on May 10, 2005.
