Comal County, Texas
Comal County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2008, its population was 109,635. Its seat is New Braunfels[1].
Comal County is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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History Timeline
- Early native American inhabitants include Tonkawa, Waco, Karankawa and Lipan Apache.[2]
- 1519-1685 Hernando Cortez and Alonso Álvarez de Pineda claim Texas for Spain.
- 1691 Domingo Terán de los Ríos makes an inspection tour for Spain to East Texas.
- 1700-1758 The area becomes known as “Comal”, Spanish for “flat dish”. Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Mission at Comal Springs.
- 1821 Mexico claims its independence from Spain. Anglos from the north settle in Texas and claim Mexican citizenship.
- 1825 Coahuila y Tejas issues land grant for Comal Springs to Juan Martín de Veramendi.
- 1829, September 15 - Mexican President Vicente Ramon Guerrero, himself an ex-slave of Spanish, African and Native American descent, emancipates all slaves within the Republic of Mexico:[4][5]
1st - Slavery is abolished in the republic.
- 2nd - Consequently, those who have been until now considered slaves are free.
- 3rd - When the circumstances of the treasury may permit, the owners of the slaves will be indemnified in the mode that the laws may provide. And in order that every part of this decree may be fully complied with, let it be printed, published, and circulated.
- Given at the Federal Palace of Mexico, the 15th of September, 1829.
- Vicente Guerrero To José María Bocanegra
- 1836
- March 2 - Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico establishes the Republic of Texas.
- March 6 - The Alamo falls.
- April 21•22 - Battle of San Jacinto, Antonio López de Santa Anna captured.
- May 14 - Santa Anna signs the Treaties of Velasco.
- April 21•22 - Battle of San Jacinto, Antonio López de Santa Anna captured.
- March 6 - The Alamo falls.
- 1842
- April 20 - Adelsverein [6] organized in Germany to promote emigration to Texas.
- 1844, June 26 - Henry Francis Fisher sells interest in land grant to Adelsverein
- 1845
- Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels secures title to 1,265 acres of the Veramendi grant, including the Comal Springs and River, for the Adelsverein.
- February - Thousands of German immigrants are stranded at port of disembarkation Indianaola on Matagorda Bay. With no food or shelters, living in holes dug into the ground, an estimated 50% die from disease or starvation. The living begin to walk to their destinations hundreds of miles away.[8][9]
- Good Friday - 200 German colonists who walked from Indianola found the town of New Braunfels, at the crossing of the San Antonio-Nacogdches Road on the Guadalupe River.[10]
- May - John O. Meusebach arrives in Galveston. He and his small entourage ride horseback to New Braunfels, where he takes charge and oversees the development of the area.[11]
- December 20 - Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller sell their rights in the land grant to Adelsverein.
- December 29 - Texas Annexation by the United States
- December 20 - Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller sell their rights in the land grant to Adelsverein.
- May - John O. Meusebach arrives in Galveston. He and his small entourage ride horseback to New Braunfels, where he takes charge and oversees the development of the area.[11]
- Good Friday - 200 German colonists who walked from Indianola found the town of New Braunfels, at the crossing of the San Antonio-Nacogdches Road on the Guadalupe River.[10]
- February - Thousands of German immigrants are stranded at port of disembarkation Indianaola on Matagorda Bay. With no food or shelters, living in holes dug into the ground, an estimated 50% die from disease or starvation. The living begin to walk to their destinations hundreds of miles away.[8][9]
- 1846
- March - Texas legislature forms Comal County from the Eighth Precinct of Bexar County. New Braunfels is the county seat.
- May 13 - The United States Congress officially declares war on Mexico.
- 1848, February 2 - Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ends the Mexican-American War.
- 1850 Survey of 130 German farms in Comal reveals no slave laborers.
- 1851 John O. Meusebach is elected to the Texas Senate to represent Bexar, Comal, and Medina counties.
- 1852 Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung begins publication, initially only in German.[13]
- 1854
- County is divided into eight public school districts.
- John O. Meusebach receives an appointment as commissioner from Governor Elisha M. Pease [14] to issue land certificates to those immigrants of 1845 and 1846 who had been promised them by the Adelsverein.
- May 14•15, San Antonio - The Texas State Convention of Germans adopt a political, social and religious platform, including: 1) Equal pay for equal work; 2) Direct election of the President of the United States; 3) Abolition of capital punishment; 4)“Slavery is an evil, the abolition of which is a requirement of democratic principles..”; 5) Free schools • including universities - supported by the state, free of religious influence; and 6) Total separation of church and state.[15]
- John O. Meusebach receives an appointment as commissioner from Governor Elisha M. Pease [14] to issue land certificates to those immigrants of 1845 and 1846 who had been promised them by the Adelsverein.
- 1858
- Final county boundaries determination with the separation of part of western Comal County to Blanco and Kendall counties.
- New Braunfels votes in a school tax.
- 1861
- Comal County votes for secession from the Union. Contributes three all-German volunteer companies-to the Confederate cause.
- February 1 - Texas secedes from the Union.
- March 2 - Texas joins the Confederate States of America.
- February 1 - Texas secedes from the Union.
- 1863, January 1 • The Emancipation Proclamation.[16]
- 1865
- April 9 • Robert E. Lee formally surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House.
- April 15 • President Abraham Lincoln dies of a head wound inflicted by assassin John Wilkes Booth.
- June 19 • Major General Gordon Granger arrives in Galveston to enforce the emancipation of all slaves. It is the first time African Americans in Texas know of the Emancipation. The date becomes celebrated annually in Texas as Juneteenth, and later as an official state holiday known as Emancipation Day.[17]
- December 6 • The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits slavery.
- June 19 • Major General Gordon Granger arrives in Galveston to enforce the emancipation of all slaves. It is the first time African Americans in Texas know of the Emancipation. The date becomes celebrated annually in Texas as Juneteenth, and later as an official state holiday known as Emancipation Day.[17]
- April 15 • President Abraham Lincoln dies of a head wound inflicted by assassin John Wilkes Booth.
- 1870, March 30 - The United States Congress readmits Texas into the Union.
- 1887 Faust Street Bridge built over the Guadalupe River.[18]
- 1897, May 27 - John O. Meusebach dies at his farm at Loyal Valley in Mason County, is buried in the Marschall Meusebach Cemetery at Cherry Spring.[19]
- 1898 Comal County limestone courthouse erected. Romanesque Revival style. Architect James Riely Gordon.
- 1920s - County establishes itself as a manufacturing and shipping center for textiles, garments, flour, and construction materials.
- 1960 Four students at St. Mary’s University San Antonio discover Natural Bridge Caverns, the largest known commercial caverns in the state of Texas.[20][21]
- 1961 Comal’s first Wurstfest draws a crowd of 2,000.[22]
- 1964 Canyon Lake impoundment, boosting tourism and related industries.[23]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 575 square miles (1,488 km²), of which, 562 square miles (1,454 km²) of it is land and 13 square miles (34 km²) of it (2.29%) is water.
The Balcones Escarpment runs northeastward through the county, generally just west of Interstate 35. West of the escarpment are the rocky hills and canyons of the Texas Hill Country; to the east are the rolling grasslands of the coastal plains.
The Guadalupe River flows generally southeastward through the county, and is impounded by Canyon Lake. The Comal River rises from the Comal Springs in New Braunfels, and quickly joins the Guadalupe River.
Major highways
Adjacent counties
- Blanco County (north)
- Hays County (northeast)
- Guadalupe County (southeast)
- Bexar County (southwest)
- Kendall County (northwest)
Demographics
As of the census[24] of 2008, there were 109,635 people, 29,066 households, and 21,886 families residing in the county. The population density was 139 people per square mile (54/km²). There were 32,718 housing units at an average density of 58 per square mile (22/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.08% White, 0.95% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.98% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. 22.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 29,066 households out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.80% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 20.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $46,147, and the median income for a family was $52,455. Males had a median income of $36,048 versus $25,940 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,914. About 6.40% of families and 8.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.50% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.
In 2010 Comal County was ranked number 43 on The Daily Caller's list of America's 100 most conservative-friendly counties.[25]
Politics
The county is part of the 73rd District of the Texas House of Representatives and is represented by Republican Doug Miller who received the Taxpayer Advocate Award by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and the Champion for Free Enterprise Award from the Texas Association of Business.
Cities and towns
- Bracken (unincorporated)
- Bulverde
- Canyon City (unincorporated)
- Canyon Lake (unincorporated)
- Fair Oaks Ranch
- Fischer (unincorporated)
- Garden Ridge
- New Braunfels
- Schertz
- Spring Branch (unincorporated)
- Startzville (unincorporated)
- Sattler (unincorporated)
Popular culture
- The Jason Boland song "Comal County Blue" is about the county.
See also
References
- ^ . National Association of Counties. . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Handbook of Texas, Comal County
- ^ The Six National Flags of Texas
- ^ The Magnificent Life of Vicente Ramon Guerrero
- ^ TAMU Chieftans of Mexican Independence
- ^ Handbook of Texas, Adelsverein
- ^ Texas Almanac, The German Settlements in Central Texas
- ^ Texas Escapes, Indianaola
- ^ Texas Escapes, Death March to Comal County
- ^ Texas Historical Markers, River Crossing by First Settlers
- ^ Handbook of Texas, John O. Meusebach
- ^ Texas Historical Marker, Meusebach-Comanche Treaty
- ^ Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung
- ^ Find A Grave, Elisha M. Pease
- ^ TSHA online, Texas State Convention of Germans
- ^ Government documents, Emancipation Proclamation
- ^ Cinnamon Hearts Juneteenth
- ^ Texas Excapes, Faust Street Bridge
- ^ Find A Grave, John O. Meusebach
- ^ Texas Historical Markers, Natural Bridge Caverns
- ^ Natural Bridge Caverns
- ^ Wurstfest
- ^ TPWD, Canyon Lake
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Palko, Chris (March 19, 2010). "America’s top 20 conservative-friendly counties". The Daily Caller. http://dailycaller.com/2010/03/19/americas-top-20-conservative-friendly-counties/2/. Retrieved 19 March 2010
External links
- Comal County government’s website
- Comal County from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Historic materials from Comal County, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
| Kendall County | Blanco County | Hays County | ||
| Comal County, Texas | ||||
| Bexar County | Guadalupe County |
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Coordinates: 29°49′N 98°17′W / 29.81°N 98.28°W
Categories: Texas counties | Comal County, Texas | San Antonio metropolitan area | Guadalupe River (Texas) | German-American history
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