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Water sports are a great asset to Comal County, Texas, and so are its citizens. Call on our retirement and estate attorneys at Heard & Smith, LLP to protect your personal and financial assets.
Comal County, Texas, with
New Braunfels as the county seat, was formed in 1846 by the Texas
legislature under the sponsorship of the Association for the
Protection of German Immigrants in Texas. Its 555 square miles of
grassy prairie and timbered hills, cut from part of Bexar County, is
located in south central Texas on the divide between the
Blackland Prairies and the
Balcones Escarpment. The Guadalupe River and Canyon Lake provide
drainage for the surrounding land as well as add prime recreational
opportunities. The Cibolo Creek defines the southwestern boundary of
the county. Located along I-35 between San Antonio and Austin, Comal
County is included in the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Comal Springs was originally the Nuestra
Senora de Guadalupe Mission (1756-1758). The mission was considered
indefensible during the Comanche wars and was closed. The springs
(Las Fontanas) and river (the Little Guadalupe) were named Comal
(Spanish for "flat dish", possibly a description of the river basin)
about a 100 years later.
Comal County residents voted in favor
of secession, but seem to have escaped the violence between Unionists
and Confederates that decimated counties to the northwest.
Possibly the most significant portion
of Comal County history was made in 1964, with the creation of
Canyon Lake by the Army Corps of Engineers. Flooding of the
Guadalupe River valley cost the area productive land and two rural
communities, while it provided opportunity which Comal County promptly
developed. The county leaders focused on the possibility of a resort
and tourist industry economy that added to their manufacturing and
agriculture. (Mineral resources in Comal County of limestone, sand,
and gravel, have triggered a construction-materials industry, also)
Before the dam was completed, residential subdivisions were planned
and some were being built even as the lake was filling. Waterside
public parks and marinas were designed for weekend visitors, and
service industries and new businesses created thriving commercial
centers in Canyon City. From a rural area with an agricultural base,
Canyon Lake has become one of the largest rural population centers in
Central Texas. Canyon Lake and New Braunfels boast over thirty hotels
and motels thriving in the resort atmosphere.
Comal County attractions include
Water Sports, canoeing, rafting, swimming, sunning, picnicking,
skiing and fishing; cultural activities such as
Sophienburg Museum,
The Children's Museum in New Braunfels,
New Braunfels Museum of Art and Music; and natural wonders such as
Natural Bridge Caverns, pan for gems at
Texas's largest sluice
The population of Comal County
expanded by 21 percent in the 1950's and again by the same percentage
in the 1960's. 1980 saw a 50 percent increase from the previous
census. Current (2000) population is 78,021, and Comal is again listed
in the
top 100 cities of the United States for population increase. |
