The Fisher–Miller Land Grant was part of an early colonization effort of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

. Its 3,878,000 acres covered between the

Llano River The Llano River ( ) is a tributary of the Colorado River (Texas), Colorado River, about long, in Texas in the United States. It drains part of the Edwards Plateau in Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin, Texas, Austin. Two spring-fed tributa ...

and

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

. Originally granted to

Henry Francis Fisher Henry Francis Fisher (in German ''Heinrich Franz Fischer'', 1805–1867) was a notable German Texan. Born in Kassel, Hesse in 1805, Fisher left the mainland in late 1833 spending a year each, in London and New York, and two in New Orleans. He cross ...

and

Burchard Miller Burchard Miller, was one of the many persons interested in the 1840s in securing land grants from the Republic of Texas for colonization enterprises. Miller was also known at Burkart Mueller of Houston. On February 8, 1842, he joined Henry Franci ...

, the grant was sold to the German colonization company of

Adelsverein The ''Mainzer Adelsverein at Biebrich am Rhein'' (''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas'', "Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas"), better known as the ''Mainzer Adelsverein'' (, "Nobility Society of Mainz"), orga ...

. Very few colonizations resulted from the land grant, as most settlers preferred Fredericksburg and

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...

, which lay outside the land grant boundaries. A granite monument located near Lookout Mountain in Burnet County summarizes the history and importance of the Fisher-Miller Land Grant and was designated as a

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the st ...

in 1964, Marker number 9438.

Counties within Fisher–Miller Land Grant

Ten counties were formed from the Fisher–Miller Land Grant: *

Concho Concha and Concho means "shell" in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. The word can also refer to: Places * Concho, Arizona, a frontier town now functioning as a retirement community in Apache County * Concho, Oklahoma * Concho County, Texas ...

* Kimble * Llano * Mason *

McCulloch McCulloch is a Scottish surname. It's a variation of the Northern Irish surname McCullough. It's commonly found in Galloway. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan McCulloch (politician), New Zealand politician *Alan McLeod McCulloch ( ...

Menard Menard may refer to: Places Canada *Menard River, a tributary of the Wawagosic River in Quebec, Canada United States * Menard County, Illinois ** Menard, Illinois * Menard County, Texas ** Menard, Texas * Menard–Hodges site, archaeological s ...

* Schleicher * San Saba *

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * ...

Tom Green Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted ''The Tom Green Show'', which a ...

Republic of Texas land grants

The

issued colonization land grants with individuals and conditional upon said individuals establishing settlements in a stated geographical area of Texas. They were limited to a given time period in which the colonization had to take place.

Fisher and Miller

On February 8, 1842,

, Joseph Baker and

, representing the San Saba Colonization Company, petitioned for a land grant from the Republic of Texas. On June 7, 1842, Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller received a colonization land grant to settle 1,000 immigrant families of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry. The grant was issued as the Fisher–Miller Land Grant. The contract was renewed on September 1, 1843 by the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. The Fisher–Miller Land Grant consisted of 3,878,000 acres over 5,000 square miles between the

and

, in the heart of the

Comancheria The Comancheria or Comanchería (Comanche: Nʉmʉnʉʉ Sookobitʉ, 'Comanche land') was a region of New Mexico, west Texas and nearby areas occupied by the Comanche before the 1860s. Historian Pekka Hämäläinen has argued that the Comancheria ...

. These lands constituted part of the hunting grounds of the Penateka Comanche Indians. Fisher and Miller had no success of colonization within the allotted time, but were able to get the timeline extended.

Adelsverein

When Fisher and

sold the grant to the

on June 26, 1844, they were aware of the dangers of settling in Comancheria, but did not inform the Verein. Likewise, the Verein accepted the sale on face value and did not question it. The Verein was also obligated to take over expenses of the San Saba Colonization Company, and to make Henry Fisher part of the Verein colonial committee. The first Adelsverein Commissioner-General

Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels Prince Carl (Karl) of Solms-Braunfels (27 July 1812 – 13 November 1875), was a German prince and military officer in both the Austrian army and in the cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. As Commissioner General of the Adelsverein, he spearhe ...

had no success in colonization of the land grant. The responsibility then fell to John O. Meusebach as his successor. Meusebach successfully negotiated a non-government peace treaty with the Penateka Comanche in 1847.

Darmstadt Society of Forty

Darmstadt Society of Forty founders

Hermann Spiess Hermann Spiess (c. 1818–1873) was co-founder of the Bettina, Texas commune in 1847. He became Commissioner-General of the Adelsverein after the resignation of John O. Meusebach. Early life Hermann was born around 1818 in Offenbach am Main, Gr ...

and

Ferdinand Ludwig Herff Ferdinand Ludwig Herff (1820–1912) was a 19th-century German-born physician who emigrated to Texas and became a medical pioneer in San Antonio. He was one of the co-founders of the Bettina commune. In 1982, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 1268 ...

were approached in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

Vice President and Executive Secretary-Business Director Count Carl Frederick Christian of Castell-Castell, who made a deal with them to colonize two hundred families on the Fisher–Miller Land Grant territory in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. In return, they were to receive $12,000 in money, livestock, equipment and provisions for a year. After the first year, the colonies were expected to support themselves.

Emil Kriewitz Emil Kriewitz (January 18, 1822 – May 21, 1902) was a German immigrant and veteran of the Mexican–American War, who came to this country with the Adelsverein colonists. After John O. Meusebach successfully negotiated the Meusebach–Comanch ...

was detailed to guide the settlers through the land grant territory. The colonies attempted were Castell, Leiningen,

Bettina Bettina is a female name predominantly found in the Italian and German languages. This name has various interpreted meanings and origins. In Italian, Bettina originated as a diminutive of the names Elisabetta and Benedetta. Benedetta is the Ita ...

, Schoenburg and Meerholz in

Llano County Llano County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,243. Its county seat is Llano, and the county is named for the Llano River. During the American Civil War, the c ...

; Darmstädler Farm in

Comal County Comal County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and European history. Its county seat is New Braunfels. ...

; and

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable distance from Rome ( ...

in Kendall County. Of these, only Castell and Tusculum (later Boerne) survives.

Notes

References

External links

Texas General Land Office
{{Texas History Navbox Pre-statehood history of Texas German-American history German-American culture in Texas Republic of Texas Texas Hill Country Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Concho County, Texas Kimble County, Texas Llano County, Texas McCulloch County, Texas Mason County, Texas Menard County, Texas San Saba County, Texas Schleicher County, Texas Sutton County, Texas Tom Green County, Texas Land grants