Gillespie County Was Built by German Immigrants in the 1840s

In May 1846, John O. Meusebach led 120 German settlers sponsored by the Adelsverein (a society that organized German immigration to Texas) to the site of Fredericksburg. By 1850, Germans made up about 74% of the county's white population. Many settlers came from villages along the Rhine and other parts of western and central Germany. They built stone houses, established Lutheran churches, and started farms and ranches across the Hill Country.

Texas created Gillespie County in 1848 and named it for Captain Robert A. Gillespie, a Texas Ranger killed in the Mexican-American War. The German roots are still visible on Fredericksburg's Main Street, in local churches, and in place names around the county. The Handbook entries for Gillespie County and Fredericksburg trace the settlement's early years and how the county formed.