Gruene - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Obtained from the official Gruene, Texas website. The History of Gruene:
1845 - 1974
Arriving in Texas in the mid 1840s, German farmers became the first settlers of what is now known as Gruene, Texas. Ernst Gruene, a German immigrant, and his bride Antoinette, had reached the newly established city of New Braunfels in 1845, but acreage was scarce. Thus, Ernst and his two sons purchased land just down river, and Ernst built the first home in Gruene in early fachwerk style. His second son, Henry D. Gruene, built his home (now Gruene Mansion Inn) and planted his surrounding land with cotton. Having become the number one cash crop, the cotton business soon brought 20 to 30 families to Henry D.'s lands.
Henry D. built houses in various styles -- a Victorian cottage (now Lone Star), a large brick home, and a frame house (now Gruene Haus) for the foreman of his farm. The first mercantile store (now Gruene General Store)
was built in 1878 and a cotton gin (now Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar) powered by the Guadalupe River was added soon after. Further construction during this profitable time included a dance hall and saloon (Gruene Hall), which became the center of the community's social life.
As the town continued to prosper, a new mercantile building (now The Gruene Antique Company) sprang up in 1904. However, the death of Henry D. in 1920 marked the downfall of Gruene's development and good fortune. In 1922, the original cotton gin burned and was replaced down the road by a modern electric model (now Adobe Verde). Yet, the economic disasters of the boll weevil and the Depression were too much for the family businesses and they went under, except for Gruene Hall, which never closed.
1974 - Today
Today, Gruene is once again a thriving community, but for decades it was little more than a ghost town. This changed the day that Pat Molak, frustrated with big-city life, wandered into town and began to breathe life back into this piece of Texas history.
Pat Molak purchased Gruene Hall in 1975. A few unavoidable repairs were made to the Hall, but little else was necessary. Left uncorrupted, the 6,000-square-foot, open-air dance hall became a virtual magnet, a starting point for many of Texas' up-and-coming performers, and once again, the heart of Gruene.
With the help of his friend Mary Jane Nalley, he worked to preserve the authentic, turn-of-the-century look and feel of Gruene by purchasing and repairing several of the town's most notable structures and transforming them into thriving businesses. These developments seemed to rekindle the spark of Gruene, and soon the town's familiar charm began to shine again.
Gruene itself has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, and many of the buildings that were rescued by Molak and Nalley have been awarded a Texas medallion from the Texas Historical Commission. It has also been recognized by the Texas travel industry as a premiere attraction for visitors, which is no surprise to its merchants and guests.

My Interests

Music:

The following have performed at Gruene Hall in the last 30 years:

MICHAEL HEARNE,KAREN ABRAHAMS, ACE IN THE HOLE, CHRISTINE ALBERT, TERRY ALLEN, ANN ARMSTRONG, ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
, ASYLUM STREET SPANKERS, AUSTIN LOUNGE LIZARDS, BAD LIVERS, BALCONES FAULT, DAVID BALL, MARCIA BALL, MICHAE L BALLEW,JUlLIAN BANKS, BARNBURNERS, LOU ANN BARTON, BEACON CITY BAND, THAD BECKMAN, VINCE BELL, MARC BENNO, MERLE BERGANTE, BIG OTIS, BR549, BRIAN BLACK, BLUEDEVILS, CLAY BLAKER, BREWER&SHIPLEY, JUNIOR BROWN, PAUL BURLESON, ROCKY BURNETT, JOHNNY BUSH, SARAH ELIZABETH CAMPBELL, ADAM CARROLL, BILL CARTER, GUY CLARK, SLAID CLEAVES, DAVID ALLEN COE
, ALBERT COLLINS, DANA COOPER, ALVIN CROW, RODNEY CROWELL, MARY CUTRUFELLO, DAMNATIONS,TX, JULLIANE DAWSON, JOHNNY DEE & THE ROCKET 88'S, BO DIDDLEY, DIXIE CHICKS, RICHARD DOBSON, STEPHEN DOSTER, FRED EAGLESMITH, STEVE EARLE, TOMMY ELSKES, JOE ELY, JAY ERIC, , ROSIE FLORES, FILE', MICHAEL FRACASSO, STEVE FROMHOLZ, GUY FORSYTH, RADNEY FOSTER, ANSON FUNDERBERG&THE ROCKETS, THE GEEZINSLAWS, ELIZA GILKYSON, STEVE GILLETTE, JIMMY DALE GILMORE, JANE GILMAN, JOHNNY GIMBLE, PAUL GLASSE, BRET GRAHAM, NANCI GRIFFITH, THE GROOBEES, GULF COAST PLAYBOYS, ARLO GUTHRIE, BUDDY GUY
, MERLE HAGGARD, DAVID HALLEY, WAYNE HANCOCK, BUTCH HANCOCK, TOMMY HANCOCK&THE SUPERNATURAL FAMILY BAND, BILL & BONNIE HEARNE, LEVON HELM & THE BARNBURNERS, TERRI HENDRIX, JOHN HIATT, TISH HINOJOSA, CHAMP HOOD, CAROLYNHESTER, HIGH NOON, ERIK HOKKANEN, THE HOLLISTERS, HOODOO CATS, HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN, RAY WYLIE HUBBARD, WALTER HYATT, JOHN IMS,JACK INGRAM, CHRIS ISSAC, STEVE JAMES,SPENCER JARMON, ROBERT EARL KEEN, HAL KETCHUM, KILLBILLY, BILL KIRCHEN, KIWI, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, JIMMY LA FAVE, TRACY LAWRENCE, JERRY LEE LEWIS, LAURIE LEWIS, LITTLE FEAT, lITTLE RICHARD, JUKE LOGAN, LOOSE DIAMONDS,TRACIE LYNN, JOE BOB'S BAR AND GRILL, LOST GONZO BAND, THE LOTIONS, LYLE LOVETT, DAN MCCOY, MARSHALL TUCKER BAND, DELBERT MCCLINTON, JR. MEDLOW, MICKIE MERKENS, AUGIE MEYERS, PATSY MONTANA, MONTE MONTGOMERY, MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHY, TRISH MURPHY, NERVOUS PURVIS & THE JITTERS, GARY P. .NUNN, OMAR AND THE HOWLERS, LEROY PARNELL, ROB ROY PARNELL, PIERCE PETTIS, PLUM NELLEY, PONTY BONE AND THE SQUEEZETONES, WILLIE NELSON
, TONI PRICE, GARYP RIMITCH, JOHN PRINE, CHUCK PYLE, RAIN RAVENS, RECKLESS KELLY, LEON REDBONE, RHYTHM RATS, RIDERS IN THE SKY, BRUCE ROBISON, CHARLIE ROBISON, ROOM FULL OF BLUES, ROTEL&THE HOT TOMATOES, PETER ROWAN & THE FREE AMERICAN AIRFORCE, MASON RUFFNER, SHAKE RUSSELL, LEON RUSSELL, TOM RUSSELL, DOUG SAHM, JACK SAUNDERS, CLIFFORD SCOTT, CHARLIE SEXTON, WILL SEXTON, BILLY JOE SHAVER, SISTERS MORALES, DARDEN SMITH, TODD SNIDER, STORYVILLE, GEORGE STRAIT, ANGELA STREHLI, DOUG SUPERNAW, TEYE, TEXANA DAMES, THE DERAILERS, THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS, THE FLATLANDERS, THE TEXAS TORNADOES, THE TAILGATORS, TAJ MAHAL, ERIC TAYLOR, KOKO TAYLOR, LARRY JOE TAYLOR, THE TROUBADORS, WAYNE TOUPS AND ZYDECAJUN, GREG TROUPER, ERNEST TUBB, TWO HOOTS & a HOLLER, TWO TONS OF STEEL, JIMMY VAUGHAN, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN
, JOHN VANDIVER, THE VOLCANICS, THE WAGONEERS, JERRYJEFF WALKER, CHRIS WALL, DON WALSER, MONTE WARDEN, ROB WATKINS, MITCH WATKINS, RUSTY WEIR, KEVIN WELCH, VAN WILKS, HANK WILLIAMS III, LUCINDA WILLIAMS, KELLY WILLIS, WIMBERLEY VOLUNTEER FIREANTS, KIM WILSON, TOWNES VAN ZANDT....

AND MORE....

My Blog

Want Real Germans?

A'right...how bout real German food!!?? So Krause's has been closed now...and hey, that was more German-Tex food. For authentic, by-the-book German grub...check out Friesenhaus. So I rea...
Posted by Gruene on Sun, 02 Apr 2006 10:19:00 PST

Gruene: Where your beer gut is a chick-magnet...

Come on down to Gruene this weekend! The third weekend of every month is Gruene Market Days.Just watch out for me in the black SUV because I don't stop for pedestrians when they stop in the middle of ...
Posted by Gruene on Tue, 14 Mar 2006 06:04:00 PST