"Promised Land "provides a close examination of the circum-stances surrounding the colonization contract issued to Henri Castro of France and the contract assumed by Germany's Adelsverein.

This is the story of the founding of New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Boerne, Comfort and the other German settlements of the Texas Hill Country. Refugees from economic and social strife in Germany, followed by idealistic communalists and liberal political refugees, came to the Hill Country looking for freedom and opportunity. Landing on the windswept shores of Matagorda Bay, they traced a path across the plains, seeking a future in the hills beyond. There they found a raw, untamed realm where few but Comanches dared go. Reaching for a promised land beyond the Llano River, the earliest...

New Second Edition, revised and updated Nestled into the rolling terrain of the Texas Hill Country, Boerne is acclaimed for its beautiful setting, salubrious climate and strong values. Dating to 1852, the town boasts a German heritage that is evident in its community traditions and institutions. Boerne has been home to intellectual socialists, German freethinkers, idealistic Unionists, polo-playing Englishmen and health-seeking consumptives. Ancient trails, military roads, stage lines and railroads have traversed Boerne's site on the banks of Cibolo Creek. Natives have raided, pioneers have...

Beginning in 1845, German immigrants of the Adelsverein colonization company became the first settlers to venture significantly north of San Antonio de Bexar. From their first staging ground at New Braunfels, they began plans for a second at Fredericksburg, a way station on the journey to their promised lands north of the Llano River. The best-known pathway into the frontier to the north was the Pinta Trail, said to be an ancient native trace. The trail began at San Antonio, crossed the Guadalupe River near today's Sisterdale, and ventured north at least as far as the vicinity of...