Gruene ( ) is a German-Texan town in Comal County in the U.S. state of Texas. Once a significant cotton-producing community along the Guadalupe River, the town has now shifted its economy to one supported primarily by tourism. Gruene, a German surname, (pronounced "Green") is now a district within the city limits of New Braunfels, and much of it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 21, 1975. The city is known for its German-Texan heritage and architecture and many residents of Gruene and New Braunfels are descendants of the first German settlers.

History

Establishment and rise to prominence

German farmers arriving in the mid 1840s became the first European settlers of what is now known as Gruene, Texas. Ernst Gruene, one such German immigrant, arrived in New Braunfels in 1845, but acreage was scarce there. With his two sons he then purchased land along the Guadalupe River, and he built the first home in Gruene in early '' Fachwerk'', German timber framing house style. Ernst Gruene's second son, Heinrich (Henry) D. Gruene, built his own house (

Gruene Family Home The Henry Gruene Family Home is a Victorian-style house that was constructed in 1872. The Gruene Family Home, though not listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places, is a contributing property to Gruene Historic District, ...

) and planted cotton. As cotton was a top crop it lured up to 30 families to Henry D.'s lands. In addition to his Victorian-style home (now Gruene Mansion Inn), Henry D. was responsible for several buildings in various styles, many still standing: a Victorian cottage, a large brick home, and, for his farm foreman, a frame house (now Gruene Haus). In 1878, Gruene opened a mercantile store to serve the several dozen or so families sharecropping on his land. Originally known as "Goodwin", the town benefited by its location along the

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

route between

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and San Antonio, the store thrived for many years and stimulated local commercial growth. A cotton gin (now Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar) powered by the Guadalupe River was added soon after. Gruene Hall, which opened in 1878, is one of the oldest dance halls in Texas. The Thorn Hill School and three large cotton gins soon followed. By the time the International-Great Northern Railroad was built across Comal County in the 1880s, the small community was bustling with commercial and farming activity, and officially took the name "Gruene" after its founding father and most prominent citizen.

Decline and abandonment

By 1900, Gruene was a prominent banking, ginning, and shipping center for area cotton farming. Though it never had a post office of its own, the community did possess two freight rail stations by the 1910s. In 1922, the original cotton gin burned and was replaced by a modern electric model down the road (now Adobe Verde). Gruene was decimated, however, by the boll weevil blight of the 1920s, and further doomed by the effects of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. By 1930, the population had fallen to 75, and post- World War II highway construction bypassed the town. By 1950, Gruene had become a ghost town.

Revival and renaissance

In 1974, Chip Kaufman, a

UT Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

architecture student, began working to get Gruene on the National Register of Historic Places and sought new owners for properties in the historic district. Among the new owners was Pat Molak, who purchased Gruene Hall in 1975. Molak and his friend Mary Jane Nalley purchased and repaired several of the town's notable structures and transformed them into thriving businesses. Mary Jane Nalley was later given the Besserung Award by the New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce. As a result of the restoration of area structures, such as Gruene Hall and the old mercantile store, Gruene began a rebirth of sorts in the early 1970s. Redevelopment and restoration of the area continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s and today, and though no longer an autonomous community (it was annexed by New Braunfels in 1979), Gruene maintains a thriving tourist business. Many original structures from the town's heyday still exist, including the

, a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

-style edifice built in 1872 which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and today operates as the Gruene Mansion Inn. A historic water tower rises above Gruene Hall, and other buildings at the heart of the district have been renovated into shops and restaurants. There is also a wine-tasting room.

Significant buildings

* Gruene Hall, 6,000 square-foot, open-air dance hall which is one of the oldest in Texas *

*Gruene Cotton Gin

References

External links

*
Gruene Hall

Gruene Mansion Inn
* * {{authority control Neighborhoods in Texas Geography of Comal County, Texas New Braunfels, Texas Ghost towns in Central Texas Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas