The County
Comal County, created and organized in 1846, was among the first two counties carved from Bexar County.
Nestled in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, the county seat of New Braunfels has been labeled one of the most picturesque cities in Texas. The county is home to a wide array of attractions and unique events, some historical, others modern in nature, drawing a steady stream of visitors:
The country’s No. 1 water park, Schlitterbahn, complete with 65 acres.
The Annual Wurstfest held each fall. Launched in 1961, the festival featured a variety of sausage dishes and products. First called Sausage Festival, the event drew 2,000 people to town and attracted worldwide publicity. The name was later changed to Wurst Week and finally Wurstfest. The festival, a phenomenal success, grew into a yearly tradition.
Comal and Guadalupe rivers, perfect for floating or fly fishing.
Canyon Lake and its 80 miles of shoreline.
Natural Bridge Caverns, the largest-known cavern in the Lone Star State, and nearby Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch and its drive-through wildlife safari.
Texas Ski Ranch, a 70-acre action sports complex along with wakeboarding facilities.
Landa Park offering picnic facilities under the shade of giant oak trees, a miniature train that chugs around the 196-acre park, paddle boats, and miniature golf. The park boasts 76 species of trees.
Historic Gruene, featuring wine tasting, antique shopping and dining, and Gruene Hall. Built in 1878, Gruene Hall is the oldest continually running dance hall in Texas.
Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country and its famous dinosaur track site.
The county’s breathtaking, 64-acre gorge that was created after the flood of 2002 when water gushed over the Canyon Lake dam spillover. Fossils and dinosaur tracks from three different species have been unearthed.
The Courthouse
The current Comal County Courthouse was designed by J. Riely Gordon and constructed in 1898 on a budget of $36,300. The architecture reflects the Romanesque Revival style so famously attributed to Gordon’s work, and its layout uses his typical Greek cross plan with a square central stairwell and four semi-circular entry porches at re-entrant angles.
This full restoration project received a
$3.4 million Texas Historical Commission Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program grant for a total restoration budget of $8.6 million. The firm Volz O’Connell Hutson served as architect, with RBR Construction, Inc., performing the work as construction manager at risk.
The exterior restoration included the demolition of the sky-bridge and two limestone additions. The removed stone matched the historic masonry and was reused for the reconstruction of the north elevation and chimney. All 1960 aluminum windows were replaced with reproduction casement and double-hung wood. The interior restoration restored the double-height district courtroom and balcony, and reproduced exterior doors including the faux graining finish, the geometric and encaustic tile in the corridors and porches, historic light fixtures, vault doors, hardware, and original furnishings and finishes.
The new construction included an accessible ramp and updated elevator, restrooms, an expanded full-size basement to accommodate the new mechanical, plumbing, electrical and phone/data, and fire suppression systems. All ADA/TAS-compliant upgrades were made to both the building and site, along with state-of-the art media and security technology.
The project reflects several unique finishes. The hardware has antique “tiger-stripe” flame finish, the reproduction geometric tile was handmade, a finish investigation uncovered the original paint colors, and the reproduction balcony wallpaper in the courtroom was reproduced using only two black and white photos – handmade using silk-screens printed on custom-made oatmeal paper. The finer details in the design and colors are conjecture based on extensive research.
The project reached substantial completion in January 2013.
– Information provided by Volz O’Connell Hutson.