What began as smoke signals from hill to hill evolved into lines on poles. The telegraph was introduced in the United States in the mid-1800s and many cities in Texas began constructing lines and stations. New Braunfels opened its first telegraph station in the 1860s at the Guadalupe Hotel. August Schmitz (1830–1894) operated as a telegrapher in the hotel until 1871 when the office moved to his home on Mill Street. Schmitz was a schoolteacher and spoke German and English. The mid-1800s house is of half-timber, or fachwerk, style with mud bricks made from Comal Creek. The office was located there until 1879 when it was moved back to the hotel and then to the railroad depot in 1881.