Tusculum

Boerne, the county seat of Kendall County, is located on Cibolo Creek, Interstate Highway 10, and U.S. Highway 87 thirty miles northwest of San Antonio in the southern part of the county. In 1849 a group of German colonists from Bettina camped on the north side of Cibolo Creek, about a mile west of the site of present Boerne. They called their new community Tusculum, after Cicero's home in ancient Rome. In 1852 Gustav Theissen and John James laid out the townsite and changed the name to Boerne in honor of Ludwig Boerne, a German author and publicist. A post office was established in 1856 with August Staffell as postmaster. The community had only ten houses in 1859, but it was chosen as county seat by a margin of sixty-seven votes after the county was established in 1862. A courthouse was built in 1870 and was still in use in the 1990s; it was thus the second-oldest courthouse in the state. Boerne developed the reputation of having a very healthful environment and quickly became known as a health resort. By 1884 it had five hotels, assorted businesses, and 250 residents. Cotton, wool, and grain were the principal shipments, but timber, cedar posts, and building stone were also profitable commodities. The arrival of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway in 1887 brought increased economic opportunity, and by 1890 the population of Boerne had risen to 800.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.