Sophienburg Museum and Archives

The Sophienburg Museum and Archives is located in New Braunfels on the historic site where Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels established the headquarters of the Adelsverein in 1845. The verein, otherwise known as the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, was established to form a German colony in Texas. Prince Carl was to establish a colony on the Fisher-Miller land grant. Because of the Comanche Indian threat and the distance from headquarters to the Fisher-Miller grant he chose instead, however, to purchase a temporary site on the Comal River-1,265 acres, which he acquired for $1,111. The verein went bankrupt in 1847, and the headquarters fell into disuse. In 1926 a group of interested citizens purchased the historic site and in 1933 incorporated themselves as a memorial association chartered by the state of Texas. Artifacts soon filled the small museum, which was also used as a library for the city. A separate library building was opened in 1938 and used until 1969, when a new library was built by the city and the old library reverted to the museum and became the archives. The museum and archives is a nonprofit organization supported by admission fees, donations, trust funds, and city funds from the hotel-motel tax. The museum and archives is governed by a nine-member board of trustees serving no more than two three-year terms and has a hired director. Museum exhibits are planned by the director and a volunteer exhibit chairman. The archives houses copies of Prince Carl's correspondence with the Adelsverein. County and city government papers are housed in the archives as well, along with a collection of some 300,000 photographic negatives available for research. The Sophienburg is a member of the Texas Association of Museums and the American Association for State and Local History.