Palo Alto College San Antonio, TX

History 1302 Robert Hines, Instructor Fall 2001

Geronimo, Texas Small Town History by Monica Mueck Dedication of this Webpage & Special Credit extended to Carolyn Heinemeyer Bading Click here to View

"Oh, Yeah!  I've been through there on the way to the coast!"                                              Friends & Aquaintances from Elsewhere Location   Geronimo, Texas is a small, unincorporated town located in the northwestern part of Guadalupe County on Texas State Highway 123 about five miles north of Seguin, 15 miles south of San Marcos, and 10 miles southeast of New Braunfels.   Click on Pictures for enlarged views

Geronimo Creek ~ Beautiful and inviting, peaceful and serene.

The creek warns of its power to become devastatingly treacherous.

Name

Origin

Early Settlers

The Geronimo Creek area fed by a series of springs, one of which is known as the Tio Geronimo Springs, has been "coveted by settlers since the earliest days."  The pastures have always been well watered; the water in the creek runs clear; the soil is deep, black and rich, providing the perfect combination for farming, ranching and homesteading.  Trees grow tall and full providing shade for homes and pastures.  Scattered oaks grace the land while much is wide open and flat to gently sloping, providing land for crop farmers that did not have to be cleared.  Crops produce an abundant harvest and grass grows thick and tall on the widespread prairie land.  Weinert, p. 51 The German Immigration began in New Braunfels about 1845 and spread south toward what was to become Clear Springs and east toward the attractive farm and pasture land that was to become the Geronimo settlement. In 1877, Rudolph Tschoepe purchased the land on which Navarro's ranch house stood from Alexander Ewing who was originally from Madison County, Alabama.Weinert, p. 51 Tschoepe's descendants still live on the property today..

In approximately the late 1850's, C. B. Schramm from Germany opened the first gin, horse driven, in Geronimo.  E. Schramm found farmers and contracted with them through a written guarantee that they would bring their cotton to his gin.  The first recorded account of this was in 1871.

Von Boeckmann, who owned a verein (a German clubhouse), owned land on both sides of Geronimo.  He, Timmerman, and another investor bought the Schram Gin, tore it down, then built the Geronimo Gin probably during the 1890's, (top right) and was known as von Boeckmann Gin at the time._{minutes of gin company}    The gin was steam driven and used wood purchased from the farmers to fuel the fire to make steam.  By 1900 E. von Boeckmann sold the gin to his sons, Edgar and Charles von Boeckmann._{Guadalupe County Courthouse Deed book 15, pages 405-407.}

These same investors ventured into other businesses.  They ginned their own cotton first which angered the other farmers.  _{C. Bading}

[After the gin closed, the building was converted into a gymnasium for Navarro School.  It served as the Evan's Honey Shack for a few years in the 1960's and 1970's.  It is currently Geronimo Antiques. (bottom right)]

The Farmers' Union Gin bought out the von Boeckmann Gin in 1917 and both gins were used both at the same time.  In 1920, The board of directors officially adopted the name "The Geronimo Gin Company" and a seal was made.  The simultaneous operation of the two gins continued for several years until the directors closed the original gin (Farmers' Union) and continued ginning with the improved Geronimo Gin. 

The Geronimo Gin North Seed House was known as "The Eagle Hotel" because a man often slept in it, probably intoxicated, as per the reliable older community members' grapevine throughout the years.

During the 1970's, cotton root rot became a major problem for the farmers.  More and more farmers quit growing cotton and began to depend more upon milo, corn, wheat and hay crops.  The major livestock raised in the area include cattle, sheep, hogs, and in more recent years, goats.  The decline in cotton production resulted in the closing it's doors and its books in 1977.

           

The school was named for José Antonio Navarro, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a large land owner in the community.
 

Some of the earliest names recorded for the area were associated with the schools.  Names included in the 1888 Navarro School Board Minutes (right) which were written in German were von Boeckmann, Heinemeyer, Herrmann, F. Engelke, Schriewer, Glenewinkel, C. Specht, A. Glenewinkel, Bading.

1888 Navarro School Board Minutes, page 1 (Click on image to view enlarged version)

Original 1888 one room Navarro School house.  It was moved from the original location to the corner of Texas State Highway 123 and Friedens Church Road to avoid its destruction. (history above)  The first teacher, E. M. Bittner, received $35 per month.  School supplies were purchased in October and classes were held December, February, March, and April.	Navarro Agricultural High School as it appeard shortly after it was constructed.  Picture is a scanned image of a courtesy photo printed in the October 2, 1988 Seguin Gazette-Enterprise in the Navarro 100th birthday article.

In 1912, six acres of land on the corner of Friedens Chruch Road and Huber Road was purchased from L. H. Heinemeyer for the total sum of $5.00.  Navarro was primarily an agricultural school at the time, that taught students proper farming methods.  It was called the Navarro Agricultural High School.  (see picture above right)  The first class graduated in 1918 with 10 graduates.  The class members were Helmuth Alves, Marvin Bormann, Lydia Braunholz, Samuel Bretzke, Myrtle Greebon, Monroe Harborth, Eugene Heinemeyer, Oscar Schlichting, Helmuth Wittenborn, and Etelka Zipp._{Navarro Graduates 1918-1988  pamphlet}

Several smaller schools in the area consolidated with Navarro in 1918.  They included the Specht School (Barbarossa), the Cordova School, and the Harborth School (Schmoekel), and two out of district schools, the San Geronimo School and the Galle School.

In 1954, new school buildings were constructed.  They are the 300 and 400 wings of the present day Navarro High School which are now adjoined by the Central Office.  Then in 1957, the Dietert School (Zorn) consolidated with Navarro.
 

Aerial View of Navarro ISD from the southeast.  Texas State Hwy 123 runs in front.  Baseball field (left) is on the south side of the high school.  The two original buildings are the long wings to the north of the baseball field (toward the far right of the photo)  with the green area between them behind the adjoining section in the front.	Navarro School Historical Marker (Click on picture for enlarged view)

Friedens UCC is located on the corner of Frieden's Church Road (East to West - bottom left to top right of photo) and Barbarossa Road (North to South - left to right of photo). Friedens Church History - Clicking on this link will take you to the Friedens Church website.  When finished viewing, click on the "Back" button in your browser.	"Friedens Kirche 1904" granite inset in the red brick and the Friedens Church Historical Marker are located on the north side of the church near the west end (end near Barbarossa Road). Click on the picture for an enlarged view of the Friedens Church Historical Marker.

Lone Oak Cemetary

Lone Oak Cemetary This cemetary is located across from the front of Friedens Church at the intersection of Barbarossa Road and Friedens Church Road. The cemetary is where the German people and their descendants in the community are buried.   The Hispanics and African-Americans are buried in different cemetaries.  There were not many blacks in the community, because many Germans did not have slaves.

Lone Oak Cemetary Historical Marker Click on the picture above to read the inscription. This will take you to another website, therefore, when finished viewing, click on the "Back" button in your browser.

Community Ties

These women will tell you "We're Famous!"  They are descendents of the original Timmerman Family that settled in Geronimo area, but they only partially rely on that for their notoriety.  Unique in their own right, none of them ever married, and they all began dressing alike when they went out in public and for social gatherings.  They have been featured in such magazines as Texas Monthly and Life, and have made it into newspapers across the state, including the Houston Cronicle.  Of the seven, two are still living, Meta and Wanda.  Meta is the quiet one and is content to sit back and listen while Wanda shares her stories with anyone who is willing to listen. They claim fame for the many contributions they and their family have made to both the Geronimo and Seguin communities.  They owned and operated a flower shop from their home until all of them had passed retirement age.  Church was always a major part of their life.  They were not only seen at every service and function, but they contributed their artistic skills to decorate and singing skills in the choir.  They proved their love for children by teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.  In the community, they boosted the spirit of the Seguin Matadors and Navarro Panthers by showing up and cheering at games of every sport, and often feeding the football players complete meals.  During the Christmas season, they would spend many hours, if not days, constructing a display under a large Christmas tree in their home depicting the earliest settlers who were part of the German immigration into the area.  The sisters would then welcome into their home visitors, both locally and from afar, individuals and groups, to view the display and listen to the retelling of the beloved stories they had heard growing up, and shared so many times in an effort to keep the local history alive. During the early 1900's, the Timmerman family constructed and operated a park complete with a swimming pool beside Geronimo Creek in the pasture area just east and south of where their home still lies today. (pictured below right)    July 11, 1919, the Guadalupe Gazette, Seguin, Texas, reported to have the first "social whirl" bathing party at the Timmerman's park near Geronimo.  The swimming pool was basically spring fed, but a well was built to help fill it up.  It was located across the road and south east of their home.  Across the road to the north of the pool and east of their home was a fish pond and fountain which lay in the center of a compass rose (below left) made from concrete somewhat like a sidewalk. The pool was closed only a short time after it opened due to some type of epidemic outbreak.  However, for many years later, the park was used for church picnics and Easter egg hunts.   I can even remember hunting easter eggs down there with my friends when I was small.  We would ride "for a long time" on the "Bunny Bus" from the church until we finally reached "Bunny Land."C. Bading, V. Mueck, B. Neumann   Compass Rose Timmerman Road can be seen running approximately from east to west (left to right across top corner of photo).  The compass rose lies to the north of the road, and the swimming pool to the south.  Best viewed from the air, the compass rose has actually saved the life of a pilot who lost control of his airplane.  Spiraling downward, he saw it, realized he was heading straight for the ground, and pulled up just in time to save his life. Timmerman Sister's Home This photo was taken from the road in front of the house.  The flower shop was operated out of the room on the right end while facing the house.  Still welcoming others into their home, it currently serves as the temporary home for a church which will be built on the property to the west (left) of the house.  (The compass rose lies to the east (right).

Several landmarks in the small Geronimo community remain as reminiscent relics of the past.  They contribute to the small town a nostalgic feeling of stepping backward a few years in time.  Although there are many more than pictured on this page, any history of Geronimo would be incomplete without the following.  Information on the following was gathered through visits with Bonnie Neumann and Carolyn Bading, both of whom grew up in the community and are descendants of the original Heinemeyer family.   Geronimo Post Office A small, but friendly operation is often the meeting place of those utilizing its services.  The Geronimo Post Office was originally a bank, started by von Boeckmann, before the post office moved in.  The banker had been embezzling funds and found out that the auditors were coming.  One night, after consuming a beer with a friend, he committed suicide by shooting himself.  The spelling of the banker's name is uncertain, but it is something close to Thieme. Bretzke Store was a general store during the late 1800's.  Saddles, shoes, clothing, cotton sacks, feed, seed, fertilizer.  It was first owned by Robert Bretzke, then by David Bretzke, his son.  Affordable Antiques is the business currently operating out of the building.. Heinemeyer Store William Heinemeyer opened this store in the late 1890's, but community grapevine contends that it had been in existence and operated by a previous owner. Koebig Store ~ Geronimo VFW Koebig Store was built in 1917.  Koebig had been running Bretzke Store, but decided to open his own.  He carried more groceries than Bretzke, but was still a general store.  The post office was located in the back and was where they stored the chicken feed.  Postal customers often had to climb over sacks of feed to get to their mail.  When the post office moved out, it moved into a mobile building prior to moving to the little red brick building where it is housed today.  The original post office boxes are in the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, Texas. Model-T Shop~Schubert's Garage and Gas Station Victor Bading and Gene Dietert owned and operated a Model-T Shop where they actually built the cars.  It was later turned into a gas station and garage by A. A. Schubert.  It is now the Emporium, a novelty and gift shop. Meyer's Blacksmith Shop There were also two other blacksmith shops.  Since torn down, one was owned and operated by Herman Krueger next to where the old Navarro School house is now located.  The other was Scheel's Blacksmith Shop where a local family now lives.

Community Events
  Geronimo Volunteer Fire Department

Credits

Web Author's Note