Gillespie County, Texas

Gillespie County, Texas
250px The Gillespie County Courthouse in Fredericksburg
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1848
Named for	Robert Addison Gillespie
Seat	Fredericksburg
Largest city	Fredericksburg
Area
• Total	1,062 sq mi (2,751 km2)
• Land	1,058 sq mi (2,740 km2)
• Water	3.5 sq mi (9 km2), 0.3%
Population
• (2010)	24,837
• Density	23/sq mi (9/km²)
Congressional district	21st
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.gillespiecounty.org

Gillespie County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 24,837. The county seat is Fredericksburg. It is located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Gillespie is named for Robert Addison Gillespie, a soldier in the Mexican-American War.

On December 15, 1847, a petition was submitted to create Gillespie County. In 1848, the legislature formed Gillespie County from Bexar and Travis Counties. While the signers were overwhelmingly German immigrants, names also on the petition were Castillo, Pena, Munos, and a handful of nonGerman Anglo names.

Gillespie County comprises the Fredericksburg, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Early native inhabitants were the Tonkawa, Comanche, Kiowa, and Lipan Apache peoples. In 1842, the Adelsverein organized in Germany to promote emigration to Texas. The Fisher-Miller Land Grant set aside three million acres (12,000 km²) to settle 600 families and single men of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry in Texas. Henry Francis Fisher sold his interest in the land grant to the Adelsverein in 1844. 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 port of disembarkation, Indianola, on Matagorda Bay. With no food or shelters, living in holes dug into the ground, an estimated 50% die 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 of New Braunfels at the crossing of the San Antonio-Nacodoches Road on the Guadalupe River. John O. Meusebach arrived in Galveston. The first wagon train of 120 settlers arrived from New Braunfels. Surveyor Hermann Wilke laid out the town. Meusebach named it Fredericksburg, in honor of Prince Frederick of Prussia.

In 1847, the Meusebach–Comanche Treaty was made. About 150 settlers petitioned the Texas Legislature to establish a new county, suggested names "Pierdenales" or "Germania". The Vereins 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 leader Lyman Wight founded the community of Zodiac.

The Legislature formed Gillespie County from Bexar and Travis Counties in 1848. They named it after Tennessee transplant Capt. Robert Addison Gillespie, a hero of the 1846 Battle of Monterrey in the Mexican-American War. Fredericksburg became the county seat.

Fort Martin Scott was established in 1848 at Barons Creek, a Pedernales tributary. 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.

John O. Meusebach was elected to the Texas Senate in 1851 to represent Bexar, Comal, and Medina Counties, and in 1854, received a special appointment as commissioner from Governor 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.

In 1852, Bremen seaman Charles Henry Nimitz, grandfather of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, built the Nimitz Hotel in Frederickburg. In 1870, he added a steamboat-shaped façade.

Surveyor Jacob Kuechler was commissioned as a captain by Sam Houston to enroll state militia troops in Gillespie County. Texas seceded from the Union in 1861, and joined the Confederate States of America, and Houston was dismissed from office in March by the Confederacy. Gillespie County voted 400 -17 against secession from the Union. Unionists from Kerr, Gillespie, and Kendall Counties participated in the formation of the Union League, a secret organization to support President Abraham Lincoln’s policies. Kuechler signed up only German Unionists in his frontier company, and was dismissed by Governor Francis R. Lubbock.

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 among Tejanos and Germans. Confederate authorities imposed martial law on Central Texas. The Nueces massacre occurred in Kinney County. Jacob Kuechler served as a guide for 61 conscientious objectors attempting to flee to Mexico. Scottish-born Confederate irregular James Duff and his Duff’s Partisan Rangers pursued and overtook them at the Nueces 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.

The Treue 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. Spring Creek Cemetery near Harper 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.”

Kiowa raiders massacred residents of the McDonald farm in the Harper vicinity in 1864. During 1865, Gillespie County suffered a war-time crime wave, as 17 individuals were convicted of murder.

In 1870, Herman Lehmann and his brother Willie were captured by Apaches, but Willie escaped within days. Herman Lehmann, escorted by soldiers, was finally returned to his family in 1878.

In 1881, Gillespie County became the first county in Texas to hold a fair.

From 1874–75, Andreas Lindig built the county’s first lime kiln. The original Gillespie County Courthouse was constructed in 1882; it later became the Pioneer Memorial Library.

Chester W. Nimitz, future Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet, was born in 1885 in Fredericksburg. His father, Chester B. Nimitz, died before his birth, leaving his seaman grandfather as role model. John O. Meusebach died at his farm at Loyal Valley in Mason County on May 27, 1897, and was buried in the Marschall Meusebach Cemetery at Cherry Spring.

In 1908, future President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson was born in a small farmhouse on the Pedernales River. Johnson became the Vice President of the United States in 1961 and subsequently President of the United States. His ranch at Stonewall was known as the Texas Whitehouse. Tourism became an important industry. On January 22, 1973, President Johnson died at his Stonewall ranch. He, and later Lady Bird Johnson, were laid to rest at the family cemetery on the ranch.

The Gillespie County Historical Society was formed in 1934, and the Pedernales Electric Cooperative was formed to provide rural electrification four years later. In 1948, the County began its annual Easter Fire event to commemorate the Meusebach treaty signing.

Admiral Nimitz died February 20, 1966, and was laid to rest at the Golden Gate National Cemetery. The next February, the Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Memorial Naval Museum opened in the old Nimitz Hotel on Main Street in Fredericksburg.

The Japanese Garden of Peace, a gift from the people of Japan, was dedicated on the 130th anniversary of the founding of Fredericksburg at the Nimitz Museum on May 8, 1976. In 1981. The state legislature placed the Nimitz Museum under Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as the National Museum of the Pacific War.

The State of Texas opened Enchanted Rock State Natural Area after adding facilities in 1984. That same year, it is also added to the National Register of Historic Places,

The Texas White House officially opened to the public August 27, 2008. In 2009, the George H. W. Bush Gallery opened at the Nimitz museum.

Geography

According to the U.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.

Adjacent counties

• Mason County – northwest
• Llano County – northeast
• Blanco County – east
• Kendall County – south
• Kerr County – southwest
• Kimble County – west

Major highways

• Interstate 10
• U.S. Highway 87
• U.S. Highway 290
• State Highway 16
• Ranch to Market Road 783

National protected area

• Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	1,240		—
1860	2,736		120.6%
1870	3,566		30.3%
1880	5,228		46.6%
1890	7,056		35.0%
1900	8,229		16.6%
1910	9,447		14.8%
1920	10,015		6.0%
1930	11,020		10.0%
1940	10,670		−3.2%
1950	10,520		−1.4%
1960	10,048		−4.5%
1970	10,553		5.0%
1980	13,532		28.2%
1990	17,204		27.1%
2000	20,814		21.0%
2010	24,837		19.3%
Est. 2014	25,520		2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010–2014

As of the census of 2000, 20,814 people resided in the county, organized into 8,521 households, and 6,083 families. The population density was 20 people per square mile (8/km²). The 9,902 housing units averaged nine per square mile (four per km²). The racial makeup of the county is 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 is Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 1990, about 3,000 speakers of Texas German were in Gillespie and Kendall Counties, but this is believed to have declined since.

Of the 8,521 households, 25.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.10% were married 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 are 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 have a median income of $26,675 versus $20,918 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,423, and 10.20% of the population and 7.10% of families were below the poverty 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.

Politics

Gillespie County Presidential elections results

Year	Winner
2008	John McCain
2004	George W. Bush
2000	George W. Bush
1996	Bob Dole
1992	George Bush
1988	George Bush
1984	Ronald Reagan
1980	Ronald Reagan
1976	Gerald Ford
1972	Richard Nixon
1968	Richard Nixon
1964	Lyndon Johnson
1960	Richard Nixon
1956	Dwight Eisenhower
1952	Dwight Eisenhower
1948	Thomas E. Dewey
1944	Thomas E. Dewey
1940	Wendell Willkie
1936	Alf Landon
1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt
1928	Herbert Hoover

Gillespie County is somewhat of an aberration in that it is a historically Republican county in a state that was overwhelmingly Democratic up until recent decades. This is largely due to the heavily German American heritage of the county (German Americans tended to be historically Republican-leaning). Gillespie County has been won by Republicans in every election since 1896 with only a handful of exceptions. Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive 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 by Progressive candidate Robert M. LaFollette. Gillespie County only backed the Democratic nominee in 1932 and 1964, both of which were landslide victories for the party, and the latter being for county native Lyndon Johnson, and has yet to do so again. In the last five Presidential elections no Democratic candidate has received more than 21% of the county's vote.

As part of Texas's 21st congressional district it is currently represented by Republican Lamar Smith. On a local level it is part of Texas Senate, District 24 and is represented by Republican Troy Fraser. It is also part of the 73rd district of the Texas House of Representatives and is represented by Republican Doug Miller, who received the Taxpayer Advocate Award by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and the "Champion for Free Enterprise Award" from the Texas Association of Business. Miller is also a former mayor of New Braunfels.

Communities

City

• Fredericksburg (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Harper
• Stonewall

Unincorporated communities

• Albert
• Blumenthal
• Cain City
• Cave Creek
• Cherry Spring
• Crabapple
• Doss
• Eckert
• Grapetown
• Luckenbach
• Morris Ranch
• Pedernales
• Rheingold
• Tivydale
• Willow City
• Wrede
• Zodiac

Notable residents

• President Lyndon Baines Johnson was born in Stonewall, in the eastern part of the county. The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, which includes much of the former president's LBJ Ranch, is located just outside Stonewall.
• Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was born in a house that still stands on Main Street in Fredericksburg. Nimitz, who grew up in Fredericksburg and in nearby Kerrville, graduated from the United States Naval Academy, rose to the rank of Fleet Admiral and commanded the Pacific War during World War II.
• Betty Holekamp, German colonist and pioneer, lived on a 320-acre (1.3 km²) parcel near Fredericksburg.
• Susan Weddington, state chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 1997 to 2003, retired to Fredericksburg.

See also

• Adelsverein
• German Texan
• Der Stadt Friedhof
• Fredericksburg Memorial Library
• History of Fredericksburg, Texas
• Gillespie County Historical Society
• List of museums in Central Texas
• Lower South Grape Creek School
• National Register of Historic Places Listings in Gillespie County, Texas
• Zion Lutheran Church

External links

• Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey (Gillespie Co)
• Gillespie County at Handbook of Texas Online