In 1905 the very first Kendall County Fair happened on Labor Day - Monday, September 4th, except it wasn’t on the fairgrounds you know today. The history of The Kendall County Fair right after this.

Sponsor: Kendall County Roofing

The very first Kendall County Fair took place in 1905 in the Opera House on Main Street - the site of the present-day Black Rifle Coffee. There was no rodeo or rides. It was created to have an annual event to exchange agricultural and livestock ideas, recipes and share news of events. In 1913, the Kendall County Fair Association was formed and was given an offer they couldn’t refuse. The Ferdinand Ludwig Von Herff Family would deed 55 acres of their land on present-day River Road. The terms included a clause that forbade the sale of the property. H.O. Adler was the first president, Miss Martha Fabra was the first-lady manager. The only times the Kendall County Fair failed to meet was during World War II… and you remember…in 2020 for the pandemic.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History, and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Boerne is the county seat established in 1849, Kendall County was created 13 years later. But Boerne was not the first settlement in the area…those bragging rights belong to Sisterdale. The story of our sister city right after this.

Sponsor: Kendall County Roofing

Sisterdale was first settled in 1847 when Nicolaus Zink built his cabin in the valley of Sister Creek. It was Comal County then. Zink was a former Bavarian army officer and a civil engineer. He built a fort and laid out the town of New Braunfels, in fact, Zink Street is right above Stinky Falls. Sisterdale was one of the Latin settlements, more free thinkers, also known as Forty-Eighters, fleeing the German State Revolutions of 1848. Other original pioneers in Sisterdale include Fritz and Betty Holekamp, August Siemering, who later founded the San Antonio Express News, and Edgar von Westphalen, whose brother-in-law was Karl Marx.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History, and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boerne Radio Presents Boenre Texas History

When you pull into the right side of WalMart, you see the remains of rock walls, a limestone building, a tower and a house. The story of the original 1280 acre tract right after this.

The Republic of Texas couldn’t pay their volunteer soldiers in cash so instead The Texas General Land Office was created to give men land for fighting at the Battle of San Jacinto.

Surveyor John Small accepted that land in Boerne for his efforts in 1838. Johann Menger was the next owner, and the creekbed remains Menger Creek. He held it until 1850. Dr. William Kingsbury owned it next and named it Molar Ranch as he was a dentist. After Kingsbury died in 1896, the Shumard family took it over, and Malnor Shumard III was born in the ranch house. He died in 1999. When WalMart expanded, they carved out that section and donated it back to Boerne, where the main house became the Boerne Visitors Center.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History, and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While it never was incorporated and never had a post office, Texas maps will still recognize Nelson City…the halfway point between Boerne and Comfort—the story of Edwin Nelson and The Po Po Cafe right after this.

Sponsor: Kendall County Roofing

Edwin Nelson was a rancher and dairyman. In 1929, He opened a gas station and built the Nelson Dance Hall. As the nation entered the Great Depression, the dance hall failed and was sold to Edwin Houston, another rancher who exported animals to Latin America. He converted the building into a restaurant and named it Po-Po Cafe after a volcano in Mexico. In 1950, Luther and Marie Burgon took over the family-style restaurant and started decorating the walls with the plates they collected from their travels. Today, as Po Po Family Restaurant nears its 100th anniversary, there are over 2100 plates on the walls generously donated by diners…with another 2000 in storage.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On East Blanco are a couple of empty buildings with rich history and keepers of history. One is still marked City Hall, which was also Boerne’s schoolhouse since 1910, and to the left of it was the Police Department. But before that, it was our library. The history of The Boerne Public Library right after this.

Sponsor: Kendall County Roofing

After the Civil War, It was common in small communities across the country to have a fraternal group to advocate for farmers called The Grange. In 1951, The Boerne Grange - Chapter 15-45 decided Boerne needed a public library. 400 books were immediately donated and housed in a small room at the Fire Station. The Grange of Boerne won a national contest from the Sears Roebuck Foundation, and all $5000 went to build a new library that opened in 1967.

By 1991, the library outgrew its Blanco home and moved half a block West into the Dienger Building. On June 4, 2011, The Patrick Heath Public Library was dedicated, and today, City Hall and The Library are neighbors again.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History, and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boerne Radio Presents Boerne Texas History - Sponsored by Kendall County Roofing

The First Baptist Church in Boerne has not always been at the top of the hill on South School Street. It’s been several places along the way since its founding in 1898. Some special history of FBC Boerne right after this.

First Baptist Church of Boerne’s first service was on Sunday, August 14th 1898 when J.M. Mizzell met with 6 charter members, meeting in each other’s homes. By 1906 the church had 17 members, and by 1908, they were meeting in the Methodist Church on James Street.

In 1909 First Baptist bought the lot at 210 East Blanco, across the street from the Kendall County Jail.

By 1940 they were on East Hosack, within walking distance for baptisms in the Cibolo Creek. In the Fall of 1945 and again in 1946, an evangelist came to First Baptist Church of Boerne to speak to the teens about Youth For Christ. That young man’s name was Billy Graham.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every Sunday on Boerne Radio you can hear the teaching ministry of The Boerne Church of Church from their sanctuary on I-10 behind the Starbucks. The history of the Boerne Church of Christ right after this.

(Kendall County Roofing - 830-230-5003 - www.kendallcountyroofing.com)

The Boerne Church of Christ met for the first time on October 10, 1945, with a series of tent meetings over 10 days. W.S. Boyett did the preaching, and Robert Simmons of Kerrville led the singing. They finally found a permanent home in 1947 when they built a sanctuary on Bandera Street and then ended up at the corner of San Antonio and Turner in December of 1961. An offer came from David and Lindabeth Vaughan to purchase the building in the early 90’s and it became the Vaughan Funeral Home. After the Vaughan family retired, it became another Funeral Home…Holt and Holt. The new building for the Boerne Church of Christ on I-10 was dedicated in January of 1994.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.