Title: How German Immigrants Shaped Texas | Texas Heritage for Living
Headings: How German Immigrants Shaped Texas
How German Immigrants Shaped Texas
An Ambassador for German Texas
Chain Migration
The German Belt
A Disappearing Culture

Content: Germans came to Texas for many reasons. Some settlers were drawn by the promise of new economic and social opportunities. Others were enticed into emigrating by German nobles who were hoping to decrease large, rural peasant populations. Some emigrants were political refugees fleeing the numerous political revolutions that afflicted Europe in 1848. The German migration surged before the American Civil War, halted during the military conflict, and then accelerated once again when the war was over. The German Belt
Although many of the new German Texans came from west-central Germany, they represented many different backgrounds and possessed varying religious traditions, educational experiences, and linguistic dialects. Some of the German immigrants were peasant farmers, while others were middle-class merchants or intellectuals. As a result, Texas’ German Belt was as heterogeneous as Germany. German settlers in the Pedernales River Valley, for example, tended to be Lutheran or Catholic, and they were known for holding community dances and forming robust social organizations. The Llano River, on the other hand, attracted German Methodists who renounced dancing and fraternal organizations.