Brownsboro Community

Brownsboro Community. . From 1821 to 1836, when Texas was a Mexican state, impresario land grants to Texas included territory between the Colorado River and the Guadalupe River. When Texas became a republic, Texas citizens claimed their land grants, and José Antonio de la Garza received a 4605-acre grant that included the future location of the Brownsboro settlement. , Brownsboro, also known as Brownsburg, was originally a shingle-maker's camp. It is unclear who founded the settlement. Early travelers to the region made diary entries about the cypress trees and the shingle-making business. Glen Lich states that Joshua Brown, the founder, and related families built permanent homes at Brownsboro. By 1856 Brownsboro was named in the Kerr County Court minutes. , The 1870 census shows many new family names in the community: Bierschwale, Giles, Haufler, Howell, Insall, Manning, Nichols, Nowlin, and Rose. These additional settlers brought farming and other activities to the settlement. The Mannings, in 1870, donated one acre for a church and graveyard to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The Howells added to this with their own donation in 1884. A school was built east of the cemetery, as indicated on an 1893 county survey map. , A stagecoach stop, also known as a remount station, was on the mail route from San Antonio to Fredericksburg, about 200 yards north of the Guadalupe River ford. , Native Americans occupied the Edwards Plateau for 11,000 years, including this part of the Guadalupe River, called the Big Bend., Artifacts confirm a hunter-gatherer presence long before the Spanish explorations of the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1767, while on an inspection tour, the Marqués de Rubí returned to Mexico by way of Cypress Creek, following the creek to where it emptied into the Guadalupe River. About the downstream area, Rubí reported, "Tall stands of cypress, cottonwood, and live oak grow on the banks of the river and are constantly in view." , The third phase of the Brownsboro settlement included the building of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad, connecting San Antonio, Comfort, and Kerrville. An Hispanic community grew in nearby Waring as Mexican workers came to work on the tracks. In the big flood of July 16, 1900, the lower part of Comfort was under two to eight feet of water. This caused enormous damage along the Guadalupe River from Comfort to Waring, tearing away the big bridge and inundating summer camps. The Brownsboro settlement suffered heavily and never recovered. , The church was sold and is now on private property in Comfort. The school closed. Only farms and ranches remain, where cattle, sheep, and goats are raised. In about 1963, Charles Schreiner moved one-half of the original settler's residence to the YO Ranch and restored it as a guest lodge. The other half of the residence remains on the original location. , Captions , Lower Left: Settler's Residence now at the Y.O. Ranch , Lower Right: Remount (Stagecoach) Station , written by Ruth and Frank Kiel