New Baden

The plaque's immigrants came through a land company, and the colony ran through its agent. J. W. Baker's county history says the Texas Land and Immigration Company settled New Baden in 1881, and the New York and Texas Land Company deeded the land to the colony on February 17, 1882, with Matern Leber, John George Meyer and A. B. Langermann as trustees. Meyer approved every land purchase, and his house facing the tracks held the post office, ticket office and freight depot. The congregation built the Evangelische Ebenezer Gemeinde church in 1894.

What the plaque says

New Baden Founded by German, Prussian, and Swiss immigrants in 1881, New Baden was named for the German town of Baden-Baden. The immigrants built a central building known as the Colony House to provide lodging for families while homes were under construction. Located on the route of the International & Great Northern Railroad, the town soon boasted stores, churches, a school, and a railroad station. Most of the residents were farmers, and the economy was based on agriculture. Population declined in the 1940s, but New Baden remains a viable rural community. (1997)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Calvert — 15 mi
  A railroad cotton town of 1868 on State Highway 6 that claimed the largest cotton gin in the world and elected Black men to county and state office during Reconstruction.
• Fort Boggy State Park — 28 mi
  A 1,847-acre park in Leon County named for a settlers' palisade of 1840, with a 15-acre lake, short trails and the story of Tennessee farmers, the Keechi and a Ranger captain.

More markers nearby

• General Walter Washington Williams — 2.0 mi
• Franklin — 3.8 mi
• Franklin Cemetery — 3.9 mi
• Edward McMillan — 4.5 mi