Thursday, February 20, 2014

The History Of Fredericksburg & Texas Hill Country

By Pammy McGrath


If you love history, especially Texas history, there are few better places in this vast state to live than in Fredericksburg. This picturesque town in Texas Hill Country was founded prior to the Civil War and offers plenty of historic charm.

One unique attribute of Fredericksburg is that it actually once had its own unique language, known as Texas German. This was a hybrid of English and German that developed over time. The first settlers to this area were German and even named the town after Prince Frederick of Prussia. For many years, German was the only language spoken here, even in the public school system. Eventually, the state required that all instructions be completed in English, and the hybrid of the two languages began to develop. Currently, only a handful of residents can still speak Texas German.

The entire downtown is listed in our nation's National Register of Historic Places. There are hundreds of local structures, homes and buildings of historic significance, and about 30 of these historic gems can be enjoy via a local historic walking tour. These buildings include an assortment of residential homes, as well as saloons, the old jail and the old country courthouse, which is now used as a library. The first stop on the tour is the beautifully preserved Nimitz Hotel, which opened its doors in 1860.

If the name Nimitz sounds familiar, that is hardly surprising. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who commanded the entire Pacific Fleet during World War II, was born in Fredericksburg, and his grandfather built the hotel. Today, the hotel is actually part of the National Museum of the Pacific War, and this museum includes a huge portion dedicated to this important native son of Fredericksburg.

Lyndon Baines Johnson, our 36th U.S. President, was born a few miles from Fredericksburg in the tiny town of Stonewall. The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park celebrates the life and times of this president. This is an unusual park in that it is split in two, with each section several miles apart. In one section, you can visit the home where he spent his boyhood as well as the log cabin settlement where his grandparents lived. The second section features the Texas White House, as well as his birthplace and even the first school that he attended.

If Fredericksburg sounds like the perfect spot for you to reside, give the real estate experts at Nixon Real Estate a call. For nearly 40 years, they have been matching clients to the perfect home, commercial property, ranch or farm. They can find the perfect piece of Fredericksburg real estate, Kerrville real estate or homes for sale anywhere in the scenic Texas Hill Country.




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