Boerne - A Frontier Town

The early German settlers were hardworking and well educated. They brought their German culture, language, music, and building and furniture skills with them. August Staffell bought a lot in the new town of Boerne and established a post office and store in 1856. William Dietert started a grist and saw mill on the Cibolo Creek. In 1859, there were only ten houses in Boerne. You can see some of these original structures still today; the middle part of Ye Kendall Inn, the Theis House, the middle part of the Phillip House, and the old Herff House. Soon Boerne grew to have a blacksmith shop, a livery stable, a butcher shop, a saloon, and a general store.

The settlers built their homes and businesses with available materials, cypress and cedar wood, and limestone. They built their homes out of logs and “chink and daubing”, with reeds, branches, and mud mixed together to make clay which was spread between the logs. Their homes had thatched roofs and dirt floors. Over time, most settlers added additional rooms to the original structures.

The population of Boerne continued to grow, mostly due to Boerne’s location on the ever expanding travel routes through the Hill Country. Boerne was a stop on the stage coach line from San Antonio to El Paso. Several hotels, The Phillip Manor and Ye Kendall Inn, were started in the late 1850s as stage coach stops. It was a seven hour trip from San Antonio to Boerne by stagecoach.

Boerne was also a stop on a cattle drive trail called the Matamoras Trail. The last known cattle drive that came through Boerne was in 1893.

Boerne was a wilderness and the land provided plenty of water, good hunting, and lush soil. By the late 1850s orchards and vineyards were thriving and area ranchers were doing very well with sheep and cattle production. Farmers raised cotton and tobacco. A good way of making a profit was to make and sell cyprus shingles for roofs. A wagon load of shingles sold for $5.00 in San Antonio, a 3-day round trip.

The settlers took time from their hard work for traditional German recreations. The Gesangverein, a German singing club, began in 1860 and continued until 1976. The Boerne Village Band, which also started in 1860, is the oldest continuously organized German band outside of Germany. It was started by school teacher Karl Dienger, who arrived in Boerne in 1855. The Boerne Village Band still plays summer evening concerts in the gazebo on Main Plaza. Boerne citizens gather in typical small town fashion to listen and dance to the old time polkas and waltzes.

Another German organization is the Turnverein, a German sports club. It has been located in several different places during Boerne’s history. The current Turnverein was built in 1949. Members enjoy socializing and bowling.

The first shooting club, or Schuetzenverein, was organized by Boerne citizens in 1864. The club still exists and The Boerne Shooting Club Dancehall is located on Shooting Club Road.