Across the street from the Courthouse on East San Antonio Avenue is a building that was added to the National Registry of Historic Places, and a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The story of the original Kendall County Courthouse right after this.

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Seven years after Kendall County was organized, the first county courthouse was completed in 1870. Local Surveyor John James donated the land. The courthouse was a small one-story structure that housed the first county jail on the northeast corner. The structure we see today includes the addition of a second story to the original courthouse, which operated for 128 years. This Kendall County building is the second oldest Texas courthouse in continuous use.

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

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At Roeder Street and Hickman in Boerne there is a small park with a World War II memorial … more about Roeder Park right after this …

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The Roeder Memorial Park was built to honor two Boerne-area men who died in service. In 1945, C.T. and Eva Roberts deeded the four lots in the Cibolo Park Addition to the City of Boerne. Their twin sons Aaron and Allen were killed in World War II combat. They graduated from Boerne High School in 1944 and joined the Navy, where they were assigned to the USS Bismarck Sea. On the evening of Feb. 21, 1945, the Bismarck Sea had just recovered her aircraft from a strike when a swarm of Japanese planes appeared, with one crashing into the battleship. Allen went back to look for Aaron before abandoning the ship. They perished as the USS Bismarck Sea sank to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in less than 90 minutes.

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

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When the first settlers came to Boerne Apache and Comanche Tribes roamed the Texas Hill Country. The story of the captured Smith Brothers right after this.

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In February of 1871, Clint and Jeff Smith were herding their father’s sheep along Cibolo Creek when the Comanche captured them. After five years, Clint was traded for Native American prisoners at Fort Sill. Apache chief Geronimo bought Jeff, who was later captured by bandits and returned to his family in 1878 for a $1,000 reward. Adjusting back into polite society was a challenge, as one of their many escapades included roasting a neighbor’s cow that they had killed with their father’s gun.

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

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Next to the Bear Moon Bakery on Main Street sits a building where Dr. Jack Diamond opened a hospital in 1949. The story of the place where most of Boerne’s future citizens were born…right after this.

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Most likely, Joe Vogt built the home next to his store at 421 Main back in 1890. The small building housed a general store, a barbershop, and a doctor’s office. It served for a time as a clinic building for Dr. Nooe and later for Dr. Griggs. Dr. Jack R. Diamond acquired the building in 1949 and converted it into a hospital, licensed by the State Health Department with 12 beds. It was the only intensive care facility in Boerne. Since it closed in 1954 it has been an antique store and then back to a family home.

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

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Across from St. Peter’s on South Main is the park that used to be called Military Plaza. … The story of Veterans Plaza right after this.

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Veterans Plaza on South Main features the Veterans War Memorial in its center. In 1923, the H.J. Graham's family erected the monument honoring the Boerne men who died in World War I. Years later a bronze piece was added to the top of the monument and plaques were added to recognize those killed in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. In 2014, plaques were added in honor of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the park was dedicated on March 6th 1923, Eugene Goldbeck documented the day with a panoramic picture that hangs in City Hall. 100 years later to the day, Boerne citizens duplicated the picture in 2023, as Goldbeck’s grandson captured that moment.

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

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Pfeiffer Road runs from I-10 West north of Boerne and ends northwest of Branding Iron Road … the history of one of Kendall County’s First Families: The Pfeiffers coming up right after this …

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August Ludwig Pfeiffer was born in 1809 in Germany. At the age of 46, August, his wife Wilhelmine and their eight children sailed from Prussia to New Orleans and originally homesteaded near Kreutzberg. In 1862 the family was issued 160 acres along the Cibolo five miles northeast of Boerne and another 160 acres located on the headwaters of Joshua Creek. In 1867 the Boerne Cemetery was established and August was one of the first of 33 to buy a burial plot where he rests today.

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

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In 1852, Dr. Ferdinand Herff acquired large tracts of land where the Menger and Cibolo Creeks flow together … over time the farmstead grew to 10,000-acres … more about The Herff Farm after this …

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San Antonio physician Dr. Herff maintained his farm as a summer home until 1894 when his son, Charles moved to Boerne to manage the property until the early 1920s. In 1935, George and Erma Rozelle purchased 68 acres from Charles’ son. The property was last occupied in the mid-1980s. The family home, a two-story, limestone structure built in 1883, remains intact along with agricultural and domestic structures. In 2007 the Cibolo Center for Conservation purchased the farm that is now home to the Nest Nature School, community gardens and the weekly Farmer’s Market.

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In the late 1800s it was believed that Boerne and the Texas Hill Country held miraculous cures for those with pulmonary troubles. The Sisters of Incarnate Word built and operated one of Boerne’s first health resorts. The story of Saint Mary’s Sanitarium right after this.

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Across the street from St. Helena’s Episcopal Church on Main Street stood Saint Mary’s Sanitarium. This three story building with a steep roof was opened in 1896 with the help of Dr. Ferdinand Herff. The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word grew the Sanitarium from 20 beds to 50. Boerne was the destination for patience with Tuberculosis also known as the "white plague”. The St. Mary’s Sanitarium closed and was torn down around 1924. Today another 3 story building sits on the same site…our Boerne City Hall.

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

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