Texas Germans ( German : Texas-Deutsche ) are descendants of Germans who settled in Texas since the 1830s. The arriving Germans tended to cluster in ethnic enclaves ; the majority settled in a broad, fragmented belt across the south-central part of the state, where many became farmers. As of 1990, about three million Texans considered themselves German in ancestry.
31-735: The Capt. Charles Schreiner Mansion is located in Kerrville in the U.S. state of Texas . It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Kerr County, Texas in 1975. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1962. The mansion is currently the home of the Hill Country Museum. In 1984, Mrs. E. C. Parker was awarded a Jefferson Davis Certificate of Meritorious Service for Preservation and Restoration, in honor of her work in converting
62-533: A Romanesque stone structure at 226 Earl Garrett Street, is the site of the Hill Country Museum in downtown Kerrville. The Civil War slowed Kerrville's development, but with the start of the Reconstruction era , Kerrville's economic boom and ethnic diversification continued anew as demand grew in San Antonio for lumber, produce, and craftsmen. Kerrville's boom was also catalyzed by the combination of
93-558: A bluff just north of the Guadalupe River in the eastern half of today's county. The settlement was referred to as "Brownsborough", but after the area was formally platted in 1856 by James Kerr , a major in the Texas Revolution, the settlement was formally known as "Kerrville" and maintained a county seat with Texas. Starting in 1857, a German master-miller named Christian Dietert and millwright Balthasar Lich started
124-440: A household in the city was $ 32,085, and for a family was $ 38,979. Males had a median income of $ 27,555 versus $ 19,923 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 20,193. About 11.7% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over. The Kerrville Folk Festival is an annual summer festival which features folk musicians from around
155-707: A large grist and saw mill on the bluff. This mill established a permanent source of power and protection from floods, and became the most extensive operation of its kind in the Hill Country area west of New Braunfels and San Antonio . Soon afterwards, Charles A. Schreiner rode Kerrville's newly found popularity by serving Kerrville's mercantile needs. Schreiner established a family-run empire that helped build Kerrville's early prosperity by owning almost all of Kerrville's business sectors, including freighting enterprises, retail, wholesale, banking, ranching, marketing, and brokering operations. Schreiner's elegant downtown home,
186-622: Is home to the annual Texas State Arts and Crafts Fair , which features artisans and entertainers from around the state. The Texas Lions Camp and Echo Hill Ranch Summer Camp are also located in Kerrville. Kerrville hosted the Olympic trials for shooting sports for the 2012 Summer Olympics at the Hill Country Shooting Center. On Saturday, October 15, 2023, Kerrville experienced the moon's rare annular eclipse of
217-603: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Kerrville has a humid subtropical climate , abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 24,278 people, 9,627 households, and 6,059 families residing in the city. As of the census of 2000, 20,425 people, 8,563 households, and 5,411 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,222.5 inhabitants per square mile (472.0/km ). The 9,477 housing units averaged 567.2 per square mile (219.0/km ). The racial makeup of
248-518: The United States Census Bureau , Kerrville has a total area of 20.7 square miles (53.7 km ), of which 20.3 square miles (52.6 km ) are land and 0.42 square miles (1.1 km ) (2.00%) are covered by water. The Guadalupe River runs through the city, with the downtown area sitting on the northeastern side. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to
279-685: The 1800s. Black Texans interacted much easier with Texas Germans than with Anglo-Texans; Black Freedom colonies shared economic ties with Texas German communities, and maintained cordial relationships. After the Civil War, reports indicate Black Texas German communities in every county of the German belt, also known as the Texas German Country , running from Houston to the Hills Region . For Black Texans, speaking Texas German
310-583: The Hills Catholic High School and Notre Dame Catholic School and Grace Academy of Kerrville are also located in Kerrville, serving as the primary alternative to the public school system. Kerrville is home to Schreiner University , a private four-year university which was established in 1923 by an ex-Texas Ranger, Captain Charles Schreiner. The school is consistently listed as one of the top regional liberal arts colleges in
341-665: The Kerrville Triathlon (since 2011), and the Kerrville Renaissance Festival (since 2017), as well as Mooney Aviation Company , James Avery Jewelry , and Schreiner University . The Museum of Western Art (founded 1983) features the work of living artists specializing in the themes of the American West . Archeological evidence (including burned rock middens, lithic artifacts , and Caddoan pottery pieces) suggests that humans lived in
SECTION 10
#1732782821895372-503: The Western U.S. by U.S. News & World Report ' s America's Best Colleges Guide. Until 2020, Schreiner University was also home to Greystone Preparatory School . Greystone offered a one-year preparatory course to help individuals prepare for an appointment to one of the five federal service academies. Since the departure of Greystone, Schreiner Institute was created to fill this role. Directed by veteran Marine Shannon Deville,
403-504: The area known as Kerrville as early as 10,000 years ago. The early modern residents were successful shinglemakers whose mercantile business became a hub that served the middle and upper Hill Country area in the late 1840s. One of the earliest shinglemakers was Joshua D. Brown. With his family, Joshua Brown had led several other families on an exploration of the Guadalupe Valley. These early pioneers organized their settlements near
434-538: The area to start a shingle-making camp. Being nestled in the hills of Texas Hill Country , Kerrville is best known for its beautiful parks that line the Guadalupe River , which runs directly through the city; other features include its nearby youth summer camps, hunting ranches, and RV parks. It is also the home of Texas' Official State Arts & Crafts Fair, the Kerrville Folk Festival ,
465-598: The area. Kerrville is located in eastern Kerr County. Via Interstate 10 , it is 65 miles (105 km) northwest of San Antonio and 52 miles (84 km) southeast of Junction . Texas State Highway 16 (Sidney Baker Street) is the main road through the center of Kerrville. Highway 16 leads northeast 24 miles (39 km) to Fredericksburg and southwest the same distance to Medina . Texas State Highway 173 leads south 25 miles (40 km) to Bandera , while State Highway 27 leads west 6 miles (10 km) to Ingram and east 18 miles (29 km) to Comfort . According to
496-674: The arts, and tourism. By the mid-1990s the Wall Street Journal described Kerrville as one of the wealthiest small towns in America. By 1995, the city's official population was still under 18,000, with another 20,000 people in relatively affluent residential areas south of the river and in the rest of the county. In 2000, the population reached 20,425. Much of the growth in population included retirees and young professionals and semiprofessionals; for many years Kerrville also experienced significant out-migration of young adults raised in
527-492: The cessation of Indian raids and the expansion into the business of cattle, sheep, and goat ranching. Cattle drives punctuated the boom-years of the late 1880s and the 1890s. In 1887, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway reached Kerrville, and in 1889 the town incorporated, with an aldermanic form of city government. The Kerrville Water Works Company began to provide water for town dwellers in 1894. Telephone service
558-542: The city was 85.89% White, 2.99% African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 8.20% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 22.73% of the population. Of the 8,563 households, 8.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were not families. About 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who
589-528: The country and Canada. The TaxExemptWorld.com website, which compiles Internal Revenue Service data, reported that in 2013, 465 distinct, active, tax exempt/nonprofit organizations in Kerrville, excluding credit unions, had a total income of $ 414.4 million and assets of $ 958.8 million. One example of a performing arts nonprofit organization in Kerrville would be Art 2 Heart . There are seventy-three (73) churches in or near Kerrville, Texas. Adventure Cycling Association Southern Tier Bicycle Route Kerrville
620-469: The early settlers following statehood were Forty-Eighters , emigres from the Revolutions of 1848 , who dispersed into areas of Central Texas . After generations, German Texans spoke what became known as Texas German ( German : Texasdeutsch ), a German language dialect that was tied to the historic period of highest immigration. In Germany, the language developed differently from how it did among
651-522: The mansion in 1879. The original six-bedroom, two-story house was the first limestone building in Kerr County . In 1895, Schreiner had Giles add a more elaborate porch. The combined styles of Romanesque Revival and Chateauesque were a result in part of the labor force being brought from Germany , and pink granite columns imported from Italy . In 1927, the Schreiner heirs transferred ownership of
SECTION 20
#1732782821895682-626: The mansion into a museum. The mansion is now home to the Hill Country Museum , which is operated by Schreiner University . Texas Ranger and Confederate States Army veteran Charles Schreiner, Sr. , was descended from French nobility . His father Gustav had been born in a castle in Alsace . The Schreiner family moved to San Antonio in 1852. Schreiner became a wealthy rancher, merchant and philanthropist in Kerrville. Schreiner commissioned San Antonio architect Alfred Giles to design
713-606: The mansion to the Kerrville Masonic Lodge , which sold it in 1972 to a private owner. Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in Texas, and the county seat of Kerr County , Texas , United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census . Kerrville is named after James Kerr , a major in the Texas Revolution , and friend of settler-founder Joshua Brown , who settled in
744-730: The program has since been designated as one of six West Point approved Associate of Graduates Scholarship Programs. German Texan Emigration in force began during the period of the Republic of Texas (1836–1846) following the establishment in 1842 of the Adelsverein ( Verein zum Schutze deutscher Einwanderer, Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas) by a group of Germans dedicated to colonizing Texas. The Adelsverein helped establish German colonies throughout
775-742: The relatively isolated ethnic colonies in the US. The dialect has largely died out since the First and Second World Wars , as have many other US German dialects . Texas Germans were strong abolitionists during the 1850s. In the American Civil War , they opposed martial law and military conscription, and were made victims at the Nueces massacre . After Reconstruction , Texas Germans lived in relative obscurity as teachers, doctors, civil servants, politicians, musicians, farmers, and ranchers. They founded
806-660: The state, including purchasing the Fisher–Miller Land Grant , some 5,000 square miles between the Colorado and Llano Rivers . In 1847, John O. Meusebach , acting as commissioner of the Adelsverein , negotiated the Meusebach–Comanche Treaty to settle German colonists on the land grant. It remains the only unbroken treaty between European-American colonists and Native Americans . A large portion of
837-607: The sun. Six months later, on Monday, April 8, 2024, the Kerrville Eclipse Festival celebrated the moon's rare total eclipse of the sun. Kerrville is served by the Kerrville Independent School District , which maintains four elementary schools (Tally, Nimitz, Starkey, and Daniels), two middle schools (BT Wilson 6th Grade and Peterson), and two high schools (Hill Country High School and Kerrville (TX) Tivy ). Our Lady of
868-1117: The towns of Bulverde , New Braunfels , Fredericksburg , Boerne , and Comfort in the Texas Hill Country , and Schulenburg , Walburg , and Weimar to the east. German-American cultural institutions in Texas include the Sophienburg Museum in New Braunfels, the Pioneer Museum in Fredericksburg, the Witte-Schmid Haus Museum in Austin County , the German-Texan Heritage Society, and the Texas German Society. Texas Germans engaged with Black people economically and socially in
899-446: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.79. In the city, the population was distributed as 21.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 29.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 87 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males. The median income for
930-529: Was a means of social mimicry and protection. Doris Williams, an African American in Bastrop County , recalls: "We lived near Smithville Texas with my grandparents, and they always referred to people as Dutch ... the thing that fascinated me most about them was that they never said anything negative about German people... you know, they would say 'Oh, he's German, you know that German family.' But they never said anything bad about them, and I felt that
961-603: Was introduced in 1896, and the city began to pave streets in 1912. Kerrville adopted a "commission" form of city government in 1917, then changed to the "city-manager" form in 1928. In 1942, the town adopted a home-rule charter, while continuing with a city manager. Kerrville has displayed steady population growth throughout the 20th century, increasing from 1,423 residents in 1900 to 2,353 in 1920, 5,572 in 1940, 8,901 in 1960, and 15,276 in 1980. Its economic base has diversified and broadened through business, agriculture, light manufacturing, health care, transportation, services, education,