Zanzenburg

Center Point is on the Guadalupe River eight miles southeast of Kerrville in southeastern Kerr County. The site became a focal point for business activity when early settler Dr. Charles de Ganahl opened a post office in his home on the north side of the river in November 1859. Ganahl called the post office Zanzenburg in honor of his ancestral home in the Austrian Tyrol. The new postmaster, Dr. G. W. Harwell, renamed the growing community Center Point in 1872, when the post office was moved to the south side of the river. It is reported that he chose the name because the settlement was halfway between Kerrville and Comfort, as well as halfway between Fredericksburg and Bandera. The area's potential as a farming and stock-raising center, its healthful climate, and its abundant game continued to attract settlers. Virginia Jordan (Wright) de Ganahl, Charles de Ganahl's widow, deeded 200 acres to the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway in 1888. She hoped to draw the center of population back to the north side of the river around a community to be called Ganahl. Although the community never developed, the Ganahl depot, located a mile north of central Center Point, ensured the town's position as a trade center for the surrounding region.

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.