Prior to the 1850s, Native American groups, such as Comanche, inhabited the Cibolo Creek Land that would become Kendall County. The country possessed a few existing roads, such as Camino San Saba and Camino Pinta. John James conducted initial surveys in the area and, in 1850, sold 400 acres of land along Camino San Saba on Cibolo Creek to William Friedrich, and it was used as a socialistic farming commune. The unnamed Cibolo Creek commune was populated by seven men from Darmstadt, Germany, with six members of the previous Llano River Bettina colony which had gathered approximately forty members. The Cibolo Creek commune was short-lived but the young men garnered two nicknames: DArmstädters (a region in Germany) and Vierziger (“forty”). Several former Cibolo Creek commune members moved to later settlements in Kendall County and became prominent. In 1852, John James and Gustav Theisen platted the adjacent town of Boerne, named after German writer Karl Ludwig Börne, also near Camino San Saba. William Friedrich was an early settler in the new town. Grocer and saloon owner August Staffel became Boerne’s first postmaster in 1856. The town provided travelers a much-needed rest stop along Camino San Saba, now called Fredericksburg Road. The settlement was included in the new Blanco County in 1858, but in 1859, Boerne residents were among those who filed for the creation of Kendall County (1862). Former commune members Adam Vogt, Leopold Schultz, Phillip Zoeller and Christoph Flach held civic leadership roles in the new county seat. Kendall County and Boerne continued to experience growth due to its natural assets and strategic positioning near major roadways. (2023)