Comfort

by Ruth Kiel, Frank Kiel

Overview

Ernst Altgelt and people from what is now Germany founded Comfort in 1854 in the Guadalupe Valley of the Texas Hill Country. When the Civil War began, many of these freethinking people opposed secession. Some attempted to go to Mexico and were surprised by Confederates near the Nueces River. A few Unionists escaped; some were killed, and others were wounded and later killed. In 1865, friends and relatives retrieved their remains, and they now lie under the Treue der Union Monument. The first school was built in 1856, but not until 1892 did Comfort build a church. Charles Apelt created the Armadillo Farm, which made lamps, purses, and baskets from armadillo shells. Today descendants of original settlers live on family ranches and in houses built by their ancestors. Comfort is unincorporated to this day, and it retains a sense of its freethinking independence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738579481
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	01/31/2011
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

The Comfort Heritage Foundation and descendants of original settlers have shared images of their history and culture. Ruth Kiel is a former president of the Comfort Public Library Board and of the Comfort Heritage Foundation Board. Frank Kiel is a retired U.S. Army physician on the board of directors of the Army Medical Department Museum at Fort Sam Houston.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Introduction 7

1 Founding and Early Development 9

2 Treue der Union Monument 19

3 Historic Buildings 29

4 Businesses 45

5 Celebrations 63

6 Recreation 87

7 Outlying Communities 109