Going to the Heart of Texas, USA-Fredericksburg
The Heart of Hill Country in the Heart of Texas
Nov 16, 2008
Fredericksburg gives the visitor a unique look into the heart of Texas. The rolling and river-cut Hill Country stretches north and west from San Antonio of Alamo fame and Austin the jewel and state capital. Fredericksburg, named after a Prussian nobleman is equidistant from those hubs (each about an hour's drive away). This small town at the centre of Hill Country is a Texan micro-culture. A walk down its historic uptown can quickly put the observer smack dab in the middle of a blend of "Can Do" hospitality and "Don't Mess With Texas".
Historic Fredericksburg
About 120 Germans immigrated to this area in May 1846 amidst the Mexican War and Comanches resenting the incursion. Fredericksburg now boasts over 10,500 people who pride themselves on being tolerant. Indeed its history makes this no idle boast:
- the Meusebach-Comanche treaty in 1848 brought peace between rural settlers and native nomads, although two tombstones in the Pioneer Catholic cemetery northwest of town proclaim that Miss Metzger, aged 19, and a Herr Berg were "Murdered By Indians."
- the German population generally supported the Union in the Civil War but Charles Nimitz, ancestor of Admiral Chester Nimitz , Commander of the WW II Pacific fleet, organized a Confederate unit called the Gillespie County Rifles
- Gillespie County and Fredericksburg, the county seat, always vote Republican (70% according to the Fredericksburg Standard, Nov. 5/08) while 8 miles down the road the LBJ ranch at Stonewall is a showcase Democratic site
- pioneers built the Vireins Kirche, an eight-sided church where any denomination could worship. Now Fredericksburg, (according to the City 2005 Comprehensive Plan, page 26) is a "community of churches" including Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Mormon, Baptist and Evangelical denominations worshipping in 27 churches (one church per 400 people approximately)
- there is a unique rural and town relationship since surveyors granted every pioneer a town lot so they could stay in a "Sunday house" when they came into town from their ranch or farm to worship
Progressive Fredericksburg
Not wanting to be just a historic enclave caught in the past, Fredericksburg has embraced the modern future. It attracts millions of tourists annually by building on its heritage. For instance:
- it now has 7 vineyards nearby, more than half the wineries in Texas making the state the 5th largest producer of wine in the U.S.A., says the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce magazine (2008, page 13)
- almost 40% of all Texas peaches are grown here and the Peachfest goes along with Oktoberfest and the Schuetzenfests (marksmanship tournaments)
- the German accordion has become part of a "Texas Sound" writes Leslie Johnston (Ibid. p. 44). A Fredericksburg resident and 1986 world champion fiddle player, Bart Trotter is part of a live music draw to the area, including the Texas All-Star Big Band Bash
- just 10 miles outside of Fredericksburg, an enterprising local "bought" the three-building town of Luckenbach and brings in acts that include Willie Nelson and Will Owen Gauge
Fredericksburg pluck and Texan attitude is typified by one elderly resident who was travelling abroad and wanted to take four prized tomatoes to share with her relatives. When Customs told her she couldn't take them and they would have to be thrown out, she sat down and ate the tomatoes right there exclaiming, "I told y'all they was comin' with me and I meant it." Such is life deep in the heart of Texas.
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