City of Garden Ridge

Texas Small Town History Project Palo Alto College
Abel Espindola History 1302	Robert Hines December 7, 2006
Garden Ridge, Texas

	Founders	Economy	Stories	Landmarks	Events
Theme	Interviews	Photos	Community Ties	Prospects	Links

Origins:Before the city of Garden Ridge and before any cities at all in the United States; there existed the "true" inhabitants of North America, the Native Americans. I will start off by speaking of the original natives of Garden Ridge because I feel like they should be mentioned and are a part of our "ignored past". The natives of Garden Ridge had no desire other than to live off the land that they had deep respect for, therefore they did not create machines and tools as advanced as our ancestors did in order conquer and spread like a wild fire.

When early Spanish explorers brought horses into North America, it gave Native Americans their first means of modern transportation at that time, which led to an easier life for the Indians. The introduction of the horse to the Indians ironically led to not only a better life, but also led to their end as a way of life in Garden Ridge. What I mean by this is that it was used against them in battles; whether it was rival natives or the white settlers. Today you can find pieces of arrowheads in Garden Ridge near Browns Creek. Unfortunately the early Indians of Garden Ridge were inevitably wiped out never fully got to enjoy the land of its city today. When heavy rains flood Browns Creek; erosion washes artifacts into the open.

Founders: The original Founding Fathers are not realy known, but history of Garden Ridge goes back to early German settlers. There is a funny story on how Garden Ridge got its location. When talking to Mayor Fiebelman, he said that when the first settlers came to America they settled in a city that is now called Bracken. The settlers, (mainly German) made cotton farms there and relied on trains that transported tanks of water to supply the cotton crops because their was no nearby supply of water. The trains stop passing through, and the crops inevitably dried out; forcing the German settlers of Bracken to move to what is now called today the city of Garden Ridge.

Economy: When first going to Garden Ridge the first thing I noticed was there weren't many businesses like there are in big cities. They basically had businesses that kept them going as a town such as gas stations and real estate agencies, rather that having materialistic places like a twenty-four hour Whataburger, or a Best Buy. Basically, businesses sell things that are needed and not wanted. Its main source of income is from a brick comapany. The economy of the city is based on businesses like veterinarians, gas stations, real estate, dentists, and drug stores. There is also a brick company that contributes to the largest sales tax in Garden Ridge. The city has very cheap property tax compared to other large cities and small towns. They have a twenty-three cent dollar per one hundred dollars of the evaluation of a home. The heart of the town is volunteerism. The library itself is run by volunteers of the city and no one is paid in order to keep the library open. Garden Ridge is "a way of life…not just a place to live" according to the town's motto, and it stands strong to this day.

Stories: The first place I began to get my information was the City Municipal Offices up on a hill. I met with a police officer named Johnson and I told him what I was doing and he recommended that I speak with the Mayor there. He assigned me a time and place to meet and interview the mayor. The people seemed nice and friendly and were very helpful with helping me complete this project. The further in I went towards the small town the more it reminded me of the past and how hard it was to live back in the old days. There were only two lane roads and they were actually none congested.

Landmarks: In another day going to Garden Ridge, I was looking for the city cemetery and found that the city did not have one but had something better that I could use for this project. I was told that the city had an old burial ground through one of the small roads that was located behind the main roads in Garden Ridge. I was told by a real estate agent where to find this road that led to the burial ground. After she gave me directions I went off and the road became smaller and I found the direction where she was pointing me to. I found the land where she said had said a burial ground existed which was cut off by a barbed wire fence and an eerie old gate that said No Trespassing. I began taking some photos and I saw a large rock that stood up like a tombstone and further down the road I saw some bones and remains of some animal. I did not go any further because I would then be trespassing.

Events:
4 Sep.- Labor Day
6 Sep. City Council Meets 7pm
10 Sep - National Grandparents Day
11 Sep. - "Lest We Forget" - Patriot Day in honor of those who died September 11th
11 Sep. - Quarry Comission meets - 7pm
11 Sep. - Republican Club meets

Theme:Most of the themes decribed in my website came from the interview with the Mayor of Garden Ridge. He talked about the Great Depression and how everyone had their own job to do, no matter their age,and how from the very young to the old everyone had a duty to fulfill. He talked how when he was a child during the Depression, he collected items such as tin foil to sell and did whatever he could to help out in the effort. He also described how resources such as gas were limited.

Interview with Mayor Jay Feibelman:
Abel: When and why was the town founded?

Jay Feibelman:The town was founded in July 6, 1972 because the city of San Antonio and overtures wanted to annex the subdivision of Garden Ridge. Approximately 200 people of the sub-divisions of Garden Ridge decided to incorporate as a city rather than fall for another cities boundary. The people wanted to control their own destiny.

Abel:How did the city gets its name?

Jay Feibelman:The original founders of Garden Ridge in the 1960's came across the land over a hill and they saw a sea crest of wildflowers and decided to call it Garden Ridge.

Abel:What is the town's economy based on?

Jay Feibelman:The city of Garden Ridge does not encourage economic development but does have businesses like veterinarians, real estate, dentist, gas stations, and drug stores. Twenty-four hour businesses are also not allowed. Property taxes which is twenty three cents per one hundred of evaluation of home. There is a brick company that contributes the largest sales tax and is to keep things like the police department running.

Abel:Are there any historical landmarks like buildings, farms, cemeteries?

Jay Fiebelman: I don't think we have any historical buildings but there is a church called Bracken Ridge Methodist Church. It served as German farming for cotton farms back in the old days but the cotton dried up because trains would stop by and supports the water for the cotton but they stopped coming so the cotton dried up.
Abel:What do you remember about World War One, Korean War?

Jay Feibelman:I remember collecting foil and items that could be sold for money and everyone had a job to do; even the young. There were certain amounts of gas that could be used for vehicles. I was eight years when the war ended. During the Korean War I was an air traffic controller stationed in Korea.

Abel:What is your opinion on a woman's life now and then pertaining to history?

Jay Feibelman: Well, woman stayed home and raised the children in my time. Woman work now and they want the some goals that men want because I guess they want a sense of identity which I don't blame them for wanting one. But I think it is hurting us in the children's sense because I do believe that having mom raise the children is still important today in a child's upbringing.

Abel:What are the ties to the community?

Fiebelman: The heart of the city is volunteerism. The library itself is run by volunteers and no one is paid to keep it going. Our motto is "A way of life…not just a place to live".

Community Ties: The town of Garden Ridge has a close relationship to the community where people of the town keep their city alive and active with thier beliefs. The heart of their town is the people.

Prospects: I think one of the main things that attracts people to live in Garden Ridge is the scenario and getting away from city life. Driving through some of the neighborhoods, the houses are located in a way where it looks like someone dropped a house in a wildlife refuge. There are deer wandering around looking for food right in your own backyard or even front yard!

Links: Handbook of Garden Ridge
Annotated Bibliography
Pete Read. "The First Families of Garden Ridge" The Grape Vine News Article This is an article written by possibly a historian of some sort given to me by the Mayor of Garden Ridge. I say this because he seemed to dig deep into a town that is newly founded. In the article, it talks about the first people of Garden Ridge, which were an Indian tribe and describes how they lived and were eventually wiped out.
Jay F. Feibelman "Interview with Mayor of Garden Ridge" Current Mayor of Garden Ridge as of 2006. This interview went well because I got more information than I thought I would get. He basically gave me a run down on how his town works and what he and the people of Garden Ridge believe in and why it was founded.
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/DDrbd86.html (accessed October 22, 2006). This only gave me a small piece of information about Garden Ridge. Mainly dates when it was founded and population as of today.
The Grapevine. "The Newsletter of the City of Garden Ridge" The actual town of Garden Ridge does not have a newspaper, but they had an alternate to it called "The Grapevine", a newsletter which list not only new residents of the city, but also announcements from the Mayor, upcoming events, and such.
Garden Ridge Area Map. 2006 Garden Ridge Women's club and Dezign Smith. It is what it says it is. Yes, a map of Garden Ridge.
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/GG/hlg5.html (accessed October 22, 2006).
Carmen Eastmon. Garden Ridge City Resident Resident of Garden Ridge, she is 80 years old and has lived in Garden Ridge all her life. She should have plenty of information and possibly more primary sources.
Wikipedia Free Online Encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_Ridge%2C_Texas (accessed October 23, 2006) Wikipedia has always been a good source of information for just about anything. I'm not surprised Garden Ridge was in it because its library is huge. Provided a good source on Geography and Demographics.
Christy Haberer "Resident at Garden Ridge" Yet another resident of Garden Ridge.
Karen Bishop "Resident of Garden Ridge" All three residents were meet at a local church in the community.

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