Llano County, Texas: History
The Tonkawa tribe were the first known inhabitants of the region before European settlement.
European settlement began by April 20, 1842, with the founding of the Adelsverein Fisher-Miller Land Grant, setting aside three million acres (12,000 km2) to settle 600 families and single men of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry in Texas. By June 26, 1844, Henry Francis Fisher sold his interest in the land grant to the Adelsverein, and by December 20, 1845, both Fisher and Burchard Miller had sold their remaining rights to the organization. In 1847, the Meusebach–Comanche Treaty was signed, and the Bettina commune, named after German liberal Bettina Brentano von Arnim, was founded as the last Adelsverein community in Texas. However, the commune failed within a year due to a lack of governing structure and conflict of authority. By 1860, the population had reached 1,101, including 21 slaveholders and 54 slaves.
During the Civil War, in 1862, one hundred Llano County volunteers join Major John George Walker Division of the Confederate States Army, and in April 1864, a cavalry company under Captain Brazeal was formed to defend against Indian attacks. This unit served under Brigadier General John David McAdoo until it disbanded in June 1865 at war's end. By August 4, 1873, Packsaddle Mountain was the site of the Battle of Packsaddle Mountain, which was both the last Indian raid and battle in the county, marking a turning point that allowed the county's farming economy to expand without the threat of attacks from local Native tribes. Progress continued with the arrival of the Llano branch of the Austin and Northwestern Railroad on June 7, 1892, followed by the completion of the County Courthouse in 1893, designed by Austin architect A. O. Watson. In 1895, the Llano County Jail was erected by the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St Louis, MO.
By the turn of the 20th century, Teich Monument Works was established by Frank Teich, along with the Llano Women's Literary Society was organized a year later in 1901 with sixteen charter members. That same year, the Victorian style Antlers Hotel, a railroad resort located in Kingsland, opened for business.
Count Castell of the Adelsverein negotiated with the separate Darmstadt Society of Forty to colonize 200 families on the Fisher–Miller Land Grant in Texas. In return, they were to receive $12,000 in money, livestock, and equipment, and provisions for a year. After the first year, the colonies were expected to support themselves. The colonies attempted were Castell, Leiningen, Bettina, Schoenburg and Meerholz in Llano County; Darmstädler Farm in Comal County; and Tusculum in Kendall County. Of these, only Castell survives. The colonies failed after the Adelsverein funding expired, and also due to conflict of structure and authorities. Some members moved to other Adelsverein settlements in Texas. Others moved elsewhere, or returned to Germany. …