Kiss Me, I'm German!

 
Yesterday we got an early start, and with Raf's sister Mary we headed north on US 281 (you know, the road from Canada to Mexico).  We didn't get very far on our first leg, as we stopped at the cafe on Hill Top to eat a very delicious breakfast.  If you're every going in that direction, Hill Top is a fine cafe.





After our meal, on we went, through Perrin and to one of the most historic of Texas towns, Jacksboro, in Jack County.

I did see a Barn Owl in broad daylight swoop down into a field to retrieve breakfast!

 

As we approached Jacksboro, we came upon Fort Richardson State Park.  If you are interested in the history of the Indian Wars in Texas, this is a must-see! We didn't stop as we had much farther to go.


 

We drove past the Jack County Courthouse, which, as you can see, if fairly new.  The old one burned, along with hundreds of documents, including birth, death, and marriage.  Because of that fire I have never been able to prove the birth of my great-grandmother, Rosa Cane Routh.
 

We drove around the courthouse and took Highway 59 in a northeasterly direction toward the town of Bowie, named, of course, for James Bowie who died at the Alamo.  Here we are crossing Lost Creek Lake north of Jacksboro.



Bowie is, I believe, the largest town on Montague County.  Montague is pronounced Mon-tage, not Montague after the Shakespeare characters.  This is local pronunciation, so it is correct...to us, anyway!


The we came to the town of Montague, county seat of Montague County, with a large courthouse and a very small population.


Next we came to the town of St. Jo.  No it's not named for Saint Joseph, but rather for Joe Howell who founded it.  It was first named Head of Elm, as it is on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.

We saw a herd of antelopes on the north side of the highway between St. Jo and our destination, Muenster.


Next we came to our destination, the German town of Muenster, Texas, founded by southern German Catholics who settled there in the 1880s.  They wanted to name it Westphalia, but that name in Texas had already been taken, so they named it Muenster for the capital of Westphalia in Germany.   Muenster is in Cooke County west of Gainesville (where my daddy died in 1961 in a car crash).

If you love German food, as we do, and were brought up by German-American parents, you might want to attend Muenster's annual German Fest.

In Muenster we ate German food, bakery goods, sausage, kraut, red cabbage...need I go on?




We drove by Sacred Heart Catholic Church and school.
 





We purchased many goodies at Fischers.  They make their own sausage, cheese, kraut, etc.  YUM!
 



Driving home we were able to show Mary what the beginning of a Texas Blue Norther looks like, and thankfully it did not reach Mineral Wells but went north of us after dumping much snow in the Panhandle and West Texas.  However, our winds were up to 60 mph gusts!
 


 Blue sky before the storm.


If you want a place to go that really reflects the German influence in Texas, Muenster is a good place to start.  You know, German was almost the official language of the country of Texas!

 


Comments

Annie Jeffries said…
What an interesting read. I didn't know there was a highway the actually ran all the way between Canada and Mexico.

This post illustrates everything I like about Texas. The terrain is so variable and the towns so full of diverse history.

I never heard the term, Texas Blue Norther, so I immediately hit up Google and found some fine visuals.
Felisol said…
Thank you for bringing me with you om your journey.
SO many lovely sights.
I have a German friend who I have visited in Germany. I've never eaten so much and such delicious food in such a short time. The Germans know food, they care about quality and they sure aren't cheap. My plate was always more than full with tasty wine to go.
Barbara said…
I loved travelling this road with you and seeing the sights. That first breakfast picture with the crispy bacon and what looked like potato rosti with the scrambled egg looked very tasty. I blew the pitures up and read the menu. So, so cheap compared with here. I am sure I have probably told you before that my memories of Texas are Dallas and Fort Worth.

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