New Braunfels Academy

The first German settlers here in the 1840s were assured by their sponsor--The Society for the Protection of German Immigrants to Texas--that schools would be provided in their colony. The society hired its first teacher in 1845, and classes began that August. State legislation in 1845 authorized the creation of county school districts, and the city of New Braunfels became Comal County School District One. But in 1856 the legislature retracted school laws supporting local districts and special school taxes. In response, the city persuaded the legislature to create the New Braunfels Academy in 1858 and to grant authority for a city property tax and tuition to fund the school, thus making the academy one of the first tax-funded schools in Texas. Public school property and equipment were transferred to the academy, including the 1856 schoolhouse on this site and textbooks in German and English. The academy provided education and examined students and teachers alike through 1871. That year the state finally established an education system, and a public school occupied the building here. The academy trustees fulfilled their debts by renting the school building to the state before their charter expired in 1879.

New Braunfels Academy is a historical marker in New Braunfels, Comal County, dedicated in 1986. It is one of 103 historical markers documented in Comal County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 248 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.7025, -98.1285 near New Braunfels. The nearest cataloged historic site is Site of New Braunfels Academy (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Old Schmidt Home, The Grotto, and The Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5091005386. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.