Across the street from the Courthouse on East San Antonio Avenue is a building that was added to the National Registry of Historic Places, and a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The story of the original Kendall County Courthouse right after this.

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Seven years after Kendall County was organized, the first county courthouse was completed in 1870. Local Surveyor John James donated the land. The courthouse was a small one-story structure that housed the first county jail on the northeast corner. The structure we see today includes the addition of a second story to the original courthouse, which operated for 128 years. This Kendall County building is the second oldest Texas courthouse in continuous use.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History, and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

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At Roeder Street and Hickman in Boerne there is a small park with a World War II memorial … more about Roeder Park right after this …

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The Roeder Memorial Park was built to honor two Boerne-area men who died in service. In 1945, C.T. and Eva Roberts deeded the four lots in the Cibolo Park Addition to the City of Boerne. Their twin sons Aaron and Allen were killed in World War II combat. They graduated from Boerne High School in 1944 and joined the Navy, where they were assigned to the USS Bismarck Sea. On the evening of Feb. 21, 1945, the Bismarck Sea had just recovered her aircraft from a strike when a swarm of Japanese planes appeared, with one crashing into the battleship. Allen went back to look for Aaron before abandoning the ship. They perished as the USS Bismarck Sea sank to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in less than 90 minutes.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History, and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

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When the first settlers came to Boerne Apache and Comanche Tribes roamed the Texas Hill Country. The story of the captured Smith Brothers right after this.

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In February of 1871, Clint and Jeff Smith were herding their father’s sheep along Cibolo Creek when the Comanche captured them. After five years, Clint was traded for Native American prisoners at Fort Sill. Apache chief Geronimo bought Jeff, who was later captured by bandits and returned to his family in 1878 for a $1,000 reward. Adjusting back into polite society was a challenge, as one of their many escapades included roasting a neighbor’s cow that they had killed with their father’s gun.

I’m Tom Allred with Boerne Texas History, and this is Boerne Radio 103.9FM.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.