Eiband House

Footprints in Time

Historic Downtown New Braunfels, Texas. Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, Germany, brought hundreds of immigrants to Texas in 1844. Land originally purchased in West Texas was found to be unsuitable for cultivation and inhabited by hostile indians. In hasty need of land to call home, and on the fortuitous advice of a stranger, Prince Solms purchased 1,265 acres in an area known as Las Fontanas, so called for the abundant natural springs bubbling to the surface. These springs formed a river ( the Comal) that flowed in the larger Guadalupe River. These rivers would provide ample water and fertile soil for agriculture and industry. The price named the settlement after his German home on Good Friday, March 21, 1845. By the 1850's, New Braunfels was a burgeoning center of commerce, and the fourth largest city in Texas after Houston, San Antonio, and Galveston. We invite you on this tour to get a taste of what life was like in historic downtown New Braunfels.