Texas Small Town History Project Palo Alto College |
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Ashley-Nicole McEwen History 1302 |
Robert Hines November 14, 2006 |
Twin Sisters, Texas
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Founders: Max Krueger was a very influential person in Twin Sisters. He seemed to have owned nearly half the town. In the 1890's, Twin Sisters has three general merchandise stores, a gristmill, and a cotton gin. Krueger owned the mill, the gin, and one of the stores. One man owned nearly half the town, and in his time in Twin Sisters, he brought more to this town then any other person. Krueger settled in Twin Sisters in 1875, with his family, and raised his children in Twin Sisters. Krueger was born in Pomeranian, Prussia where he was raised by his mother only. He contracted a lung disease as a young man, and he was advised by the doctor to live in a warmer climate. He decided to move to Texas, following his older brother Carl in 1868. He married Emily Buergener on December 25, 1870, and they had sixteen children, twelve of them lived to maturity. He raised his family in Twin Sisters, where he pretty much ran the whole town. In addition to pursuing his businesses, he was also the town's postmaster and the justice of the peace. Besides the gin, mill, and the store, he also built a bowling alley and a dance hall. I am sure he was the towns' favorite person, because he imported beer from St. Louis. We all know how much people loved beer and still love beer. Unfortunately, he was not able to import beer from St. Louis any longer, because the cost of beer became too high. He thought he would just invest in his own beer. He opened up a brewery nearby Twin Sisters to attempt to produce his own beer, but the plan failed because the facility was not cool enough. Because of a series of drunken brawls and shootouts, the dance hall and the other entertainment facilities were closed. A drought from 1894 through 1896 was seen as the breakdown of Twin Sisters. Many of the local farmers and ranchers were driven into bankruptcy. Krueger was also forced to sell out. This drought brought financial ruin to Krueger's family. They lost half of their livestock from the lack of water, and eventually lost all of their land. I see Krueger as the one most important persons in Twin Sisters. He built up the town of Twin Sisters. When he returned, he reopened the post office as a combined post office and general store. He was the postmaster and a merchant until the 1940's. The post office in Twin Sisters closed in 1951, after that their mail was sent to Blanco County. Twin Sisters Dance Hall
Landmarks: The Evangelical Lutheran Church was started in 1920 by the people of Twin Sisters. It would later be moved to Blanco County on August 20, 1950. The church eventually just withered away to some steps in a field, surrounded by graves. The two people in the photo are a married couple from Twin Sisters. They were buried in the Twin Sisters Cemetery. The man was Herman Koch he was born on November 6, 1842 and he died November 20, 1926. His wife was buried next to him, she was Louise Koch she was born on June 17,1850 and died on February 9, 1943. Lutheran Evangelist Church
Photos: The first photo is of the steps of the original Evangelical Lutheran Church that was started in 1920 and moved to Blanco County in the 1950's. The second photo is of the St. Mary's Chapel of Twin Sisters, this photo was taken in 1994. This is also another location that is no longer being used in Twin Sisters. The third photo is of the Twin Sisters Creek. As you can see there is no longer any water flowing through the town they suffered a horrible drought in the early 1900's, that the town never truly recovered from. There is still little business in Twin Sisters but not as it once was.Lutheran Church
Interesting People: There was a man who was born and raised in Twin Sisters, Texas. In his time he did a lot to protect the people of his community. His name was Jerome Preiss, who was born on February 29, 1924 and died on July 12, 2004. Like a lot of men his age, he was able to serve his country in World War ll. Once he came back from the war, he decided to join the highway patrol. He joined the highway patrol on August 1, 1948 were he served in Pleasanton, San Antonio, Carrizo Springs and Johnson City. He served as a patrolman for six years before he became a Texas Ranger. It was when he was stationed in Carrizo Springs that he became friends with a man by the name of Captain A. Y. Allee who was the commander of the company at the time. Becoming this man's friend began promising 22 year career as a Texas Ranger. During his time as a Texas Ranger, he served in Rio Grande Valley, Harlingen were he stayed for ten years, and then Seguin in 1966. He later transferred back to Harlingen were he later retired. He was also known by the name Geronimo and he will also always be remembered as a great storyteller. Jerome Preiss