HISTORY
BY ERIC WEILBACHER
The Reich Saloon was built in 1865 and moved to Conservation Plaza in 1972. It served not only as a bar but also New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung newspaper o ce and barbershop.
The rst church organ from First Protestant Church is in the 1881 Freiheit School.
An 1873 smokehouse originally located north of Canyon Lake is also on the property.
PHOTOS ERIC WEILBACHER COMMUNITY IMPACT
Conservation Plaza Cluster of restored historic buildings moved from elsewhere in Comal County showcase the architecture, lifestyle of years past N estled in a quiet bend in the road o Chur- chill Drive in New Braunfels is a grouping of restored homes and business buildings nonpro t was even formed at that time that was set up for that. So that was why we were created, to save Lindheimer’s house.”
Old-world construction Inside some of the buildings are exposed panels displaying the Fachwerk style of construction used by 19th century German immigrants. Diagonal wooden framing would be lled with either limestone, sun-dried bricks, rammed earth, or daub and wattle— interwoven sticks overlaid with mud.
moved from downtown New Braunfels and the greater Comal County area that make up Conser- vation Plaza, maintained by the New Braunfels Conservation Society and founded in 1964. The 1960s brought a wave of changes and growth to the New Braunfels area. I-35 cut down along New Braunfels, which led to more modern building downtown, and Canyon Lake reservoir was dug beginning in 1958 and impounded with water in 1964, according to the Texas State Historical Association. That lake creation led to the removal of the rural communities of Cranes Mill and Hancock. These events inspired the society to preserve and restore the old structures. New Braunfels was founded in 1845, and some of the buildings at Conservation Plaza date back to the 1850s. “One by one [these buildings were] moved o , torn down to make way for commercial enter- prise,” said Luke Speckman, president of the New Braunfels Conservation Society. Speckman said the formative project of the group, prior to creating the plaza, was to restore the Ferdinand Lindheimer Haus on Comal Avenue above the banks of the Comal River where it still stands today. “His great-granddaughter, I think, inherited the house, and she didn’t want it to be torn down, because it is on the river, and it would have been used for another McMansion,” he said. “No
In 1972, Bill and Nan Dillen donated the 3.5 acres that Conservation Plaza stands on today. Relocation and reassembly of historic homes and businesses began to roll in over the years through volunteer e orts and monetary donations, according to the Conservation Society’s records. In 1975, the Church Hill School—which was erected in 1870 and a former campus of Comal ISD— was acquired by the society but was not moved as it is just across Churchill Drive from the plaza. Several buildings along the main row in Con- servation Plaza are nearly a mirror image of what South Seguin Avenue looked like, removed for Becker Motors—now Bluebonnet Chrysler Dodge— and the former Pizza Hut, said Martha Rehler, executive director of the Conservation Society. Inside each building are historical artifacts with accompanying information on who resided in each building, when they or their family immigrated to Texas and from where, and what they did for a living. Examples of custom-made carpentry, sewing and masonry tools are on display. Conservation Plaza is also home to one of the rst cars purchased by New Braunfels residents—a 1907 REO—which was fully restored over a decade and is driven for special events. Tours of Conservation Plaza are free with a suggested donation, and tours of the Lindheimer Haus are upon request as it is o -site. Wedding and event rental is also available.
Conservation Plaza 1300 Churchill Drive, New Braunfels 830-629-2943 www.newbraunfelsconservation.org Hours: Tue.-Sat. 9:30 a.m.-noon, 1-3 p.m.; closed Sun.-Mon.
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NEW BRAUNFELS EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023
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