Comfort, the town of German Freethinkers

Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016

A short drive south of Kerrville is the small Hill Country community of Comfort located between San Antonio and Fredericksburg and best known for all its antique shops, quaint buildings, old homes and interesting restaurants.   Nearly the entire downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Ron and I have visited here before and always enjoy driving around the narrow streets among the old buildings.  One of the things you notice here in Texas, especially in this part of the state, is that so many of the buildings and homes are built from limestone which is found everywhere.   

Comfort was founded in 1854 by Ernst Algelt who was a young “freethinking” German who came to Texas to found a community.  He and his family lived in Comfort for about ten years then moved to San Antonio where he established the city’s first suburb and named the first street “King William” for the German King Wilhelm. Beautiful old homes can still be found in this area of San Antonio.

What and who were German Freethinkers (Freidenker)?   They were Germans who immigrated to the Texas Hill Country between 1845 and 1861.  For the most part, they were German intellectuals who advocated reason and democracy over religious and political authority.  Many of them had participated in the 1848 German revolution and sought freedom in America.  Many Texas communities were developed by these “freethinkers” with about half of them in Comfort.

I thought the following information about "freethinkers" was worth printing in the blog.  “Freethinkers valued their new found freedoms of speech, assembly and religion. Their settlements, where a knowledge of Latin was considered essential for a cultured intellectual society, became known as "Latin Colonies." They strongly supported secular education and generally did not adhere to any formal religious doctrines. They applied themselves to the crafts of physical labor and divided their time between farming and intellectual pursuits.

Freethinkers advocated universal equal rights, and their moral values were dominated by their respect for life. They actively supported such social issues as the abolition of slavery and the rejection of secession. Their loyalty to the Union during the Civil War cost many their freedoms and their lives. Following the war, many Freethinkers relocated to nearby urban areas, while others returned to Germany.”

Ron, of course, stopped at several antique stores in Comfort for me to get my “antique fix” for the day.  I so enjoy just poking around in these places and often find some little trinket to bring home to our RV. 

To some extent, I find the buildings in each of these communities very much alike but they are still unique and interesting.  

Faust Hotel

Notice the sign says "Meet Market"

An Old building being renovated