On December 15, 1847, a petition was submitted to create Gillespie County. In 1848, the legislature formed Gillespie County fromBexar andTravis Counties. While the signers were overwhelminglyGerman immigrants, names also on the petition were Castillo, Pena, Munos, and a handful of non-German Anglo names.
President of the United States of AmericaLyndon B. Johnson was born in the county's unincorporated community ofStonewall, and where he later maintained his ranch.
Early native inhabitants were theTonkawa,Comanche,Kiowa, andLipan Apache peoples.[3] In 1842, theAdelsverein organized in Germany to promote emigration to Texas.[4] TheFisher–Miller Land Grant set aside three million acres (12,000 km2) to settle 600 families and single men ofGerman,Dutch,Swiss,Danish,Swedish, andNorwegian ancestry in Texas.[5]Henry Francis Fisher sold his interest in the land grant to the Adelsverein in 1844.[3]Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels secured the title to 1,265 acres (5.12 km2) of the Veramendi grant the next year, including the Comal Springs and River, for the Adelsverein. Thousands of German immigrants were stranded at their port of disembarkation,Indianola, onMatagorda Bay. With no food or shelters, living in holes dug into the ground, an estimated 50% died from disease or starvation. The living began to walk to their destinations hundreds of miles away. About 200 German colonists, who walked from Indianola, founded the town ofNew Braunfels at the crossing of the San Antonio-Nacodoches Road on theGuadalupe River.John O. Meusebach arrived inGalveston. The first wagon train of 120 settlers arrived from New Braunfels. Surveyor Hermann Wilke laid out the town. Meusebach named itFredericksburg, in honor ofPrince Frederick of Prussia.[3][6][7][8][9][10]
In 1847, theMeusebach–Comanche Treaty was made. About 150 settlers petitioned the Texas Legislature to establish a new county, suggested names "Pierdenales" or "Germania". TheVereins Kirche became the first public building in Fredericksburg. It served as a nondenominational church, school, town hall, and fort. Locals referred to it as “the Coffee Mill Church” for its shape.Wilhelm Victor Keidel was the county's first doctor. Mormon leaderLyman Wight founded the community of Zodiac.[11][12][13]
Fort Martin Scott was established in 1848 at Barons Creek, a Pedernales tributary.[15][16]An angry mob of soldiers burned down the store-courthouse in 1850, destroying all county records. The melee apparently started when County Clerk John M. Hunter, who also owned the store, refused to sell whiskey to a soldier. Words were exchanged, and Hunter stabbed the soldier; about 50 soldiers stormed and burned the store, destroying all contents. Soldiers prevented townspeople from saving the county records.[17][18]
John O. Meusebach was elected to the Texas Senate in 1851 to represent Bexar, Comal, and Medina Counties,[9] and in 1854, received a special appointment as commissioner fromGovernor Elisha M. Pease to issue land certificates to those immigrants of 1845 and 1846 who had been promised them by the Adelsverein. The Texas State Convention of Germans met in San Antonio and adopted a political, social, and religious platform, including: Equal pay for equal work, direct election of the President of the United States, abolition of capital punishment, "Slavery is an evil, the abolition of which is a requirement of democratic principles", free schools – including universities – supported by the state, without religious influence, and total separation of church and state.[9][19][20]
In 1852,Bremen seamanCharles Henry Nimitz, grandfather of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, built the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg. In 1870, he added a steamboat-shaped façade.[21][22]
SurveyorJacob Kuechler was commissioned as a captain bySam Houston to enroll state militia troops in Gillespie County. Texasseceded from the Union in 1861, and joined theConfederate States of America, and Houston was dismissed from office in March by the Confederacy. Gillespie County voted 400 -17 againstsecession from the Union. Unionists from Kerr, Gillespie, and Kendall Counties participated in the formation of theUnion League, a secret organization to supportPresident Abraham Lincoln's policies. Kuechler signed up only German Unionists in his frontier company, and was dismissed byGovernor Francis R. Lubbock.[23][24]
In 1862, 54 Gillespie County men joined the Confederate Army. Eventually, 300 enlisted with the CSA to avoid conscription. The Union League formed companies to protect the frontier against Indians and their families against local Confederate forces.Conscientious objectors to the military draft were primarily amongTejanos and Germans. Confederate authorities imposed martial law on Central Texas. TheNueces massacre occurred inKinney County. Jacob Kuechler served as a guide for 61 conscientious objectors attempting to flee to Mexico.Scottish-born Confederate irregular James Duff and hisDuff's Partisan Rangers pursued and overtook them at theNueces River; 34 were killed, some executed after being taken prisoner. Jacob Kuechler survived the battle. The cruelty shocked the people of Gillespie County. About 2,000 took to the hills to escape Duff's reign of terror.
TheTreue der Union Monument ("Loyalty to the Union") in Comfort was dedicated in 1866 to the Texans slain at the Nueces massacre. It is the only monument to the Union other than the National Cemeteries on Confederate territory. It is one of only six such sites allowed to fly the United States flag at half-mast in perpetuity.[25][26] Spring Creek Cemetery nearHarper in Gillespie County has a singular grave with the names Sebird Henderson, Hiram Nelson, Gus Tegener, and Frank Scott. The inscription reads “Hanged and thrown in Spring Creek by Col. James Duff’s Confederate Regiment.”[27][28]
Kiowa raiders massacred residents of the McDonald farm in the Harper vicinity in 1864.[29] During 1865, Gillespie County suffered a war-time crime wave, as 17 individuals were convicted of murder.[30]
In 1870,Herman Lehmann and his brother Willie were captured by Apaches, but Willie escaped within days.[31][32] Herman Lehmann, escorted by soldiers, was finally returned to his family in 1878.[31]
in 1872, the last Indian raid in the county happened, resulting in the death of a man named Peter Hazlewood.[33]
In 1881, Gillespie County became the first county in Texas to hold a fair.[34]
From 1874 to 1875, Andreas Lindig built the county's first lime kiln.[35]The original Gillespie County Courthouse was constructed in 1882; it later became the Pioneer Memorial Library.[36]
The Gillespie County Historical Society was formed in 1934,[39] and thePedernales Electric Cooperative was formed to provide rural electrification four years later.[40]In 1948, the county began its annual Easter Fire event to commemorate the Meusebach treaty signing.[41]
Admiral Nimitz died February 20, 1966. The next February, the Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Memorial Naval Museum opened in the old Nimitz Hotel on Main Street in Fredericksburg.[42]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,062 square miles (2,750 km2), of which 1,058 square miles (2,740 km2) is land and 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2) (0.3%) is water.[45]
Gillespie County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 26,725, a median age of 53.2 years, 18.0% of residents under the age of 18, 32.4% of residents 65 years of age or older, 93.6 males for every 100 females, and 91.6 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.[52]
43.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 56.4% lived in rural areas.[54]
There were 11,486 households in the county, of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.8% were married-couple households, 16.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[52]
There were 14,128 housing units, of which 18.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.5% were owner-occupied and 25.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.3%.[52]
As of the2000 census, 20,814 people resided in the county, organized into 8,521 households, and 6,083 families. Thepopulation density was 20 people per square mile (7.7 people/km2). The 9,902 housing units averaged nine per square mile (3.5/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 92.82% White, 0.33% Native American, 0.21% Black or African American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.27% from other races and 1.18% from two or more races. About 15.90% of the population wasHispanic or Latino of any race. In terms of ancestry, 40.8% were ofGerman, 10.3% were ofEnglish, 10.0% were ofIrish, 6.0% were ofAmerican, 3.1% were ofScotch-Irish, 2.5% were ofScottish,2.5% were ofFrench. In 1990, about 3,000 speakers ofTexas German were in Gillespie and Kendall Counties, but this is believed to have declined since.[55][56]
Of the 8,521 households, 25.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.10% weremarried couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were not families. About 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the county, the population was distributed as 21.60% under the age of 18, 5.50% from 18 to 24, 21.20% from 25 to 44, 26.20% from 45 to 64, and 25.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,109, and for a family was $45,315. Males had a median income of $26,675 versus $20,918 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $20,423, and 10.20% of the population and 7.10% of families were below thepoverty line. Of the total population, 13.40% of those under the age of 18 and 9.90% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Historically, the county was a massive outlier in Texas. While Texas was overwhelmingly Democratic up until recent decades, Gillespie County has long been a Republican stronghold. This is largely due to the heavilyGerman American heritage of the county and that Gillespie was the fountainhead of Texas’ smallUnionist movement duringthe Civil War. MostTexas Germans acquiesced to secession, but Fredericksburg was still self-sufficient and sold surplus food to the army.[57]
Gillespie County has been won by Republicans in every election since1896 with only four exceptions. Theodore Roosevelt'sProgressive Party won the county in 1912 (but carried no other counties in the state). In 1924, it was one of only two Texas counties won byProgressive candidateRobert M. La Follette.[58] Gillespie County has backed a Democratic nominee only twice since the 19th century: in 1932 and 1964,[59] both of which were landslide victories for the party, and the latter being for county nativeLyndon Johnson. No Democrat sinceJimmy Carter in 1976[60] has received so much as 22 percent of the county's vote.[61]
Franklin D. Roosevelt won the county by almost 60 percentage points in 1932, despite the county's massive Republican lean. At his fourth and final election in 1944, he received less than one-tenth of its vote – a decline of more than 70 percentage points from his first election in the county.
United States presidential election results for Gillespie County, Texas[62]
^abcdSmith, Cornelia Marshall; Tetzlaff, Otto W."Meusebach, John O".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. RetrievedNovember 13, 2010.
^Kohout, Martin Donnell."Fredericksburg, Texas".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. RetrievedNovember 13, 2010.
^Hudspeth, Brewster."The Savage Life Of Herman Lehmann". Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC. RetrievedApril 30, 2010. Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC.
^Bünger, Walter L.; ‘Secession and the Texas German Community: Editor Lindheimer vs. Editor Flake’;The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 82, No. 4 (Apr. 1979), pp. 379-402
