La Grange: Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives

Contemporary brick building with a covered walkway and a group of flags in front
Group of five men posing for a photo in front of a canvas background painted with trees. Name identifications are written on the photo

Johannes Romberg is lower left in this group of men who may have been Prairieblum members (UTSA Special Collections Library)

Group of men in suits with boutonnieres standing on stairs in front of a building

Handel Club Singers (Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives)

Group of women wearing white gowns on a horse-drawn float labeled Handel Club

Handel Club float in a local parade. (Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives)

Group of people standing on an auditorium stage, some in formal wear, some wearing Japanese-style kimonos and holding fans

Cast of a production at the old opera house, ca. 1920s. (Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives)

Group of men wearing medals posing for a photo in a grassy area, one is holding a flag with unidentifiable markings

Cedar Maennerchor, 1895. Romberg is pictured here front and center sporting a full beard. (Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives)

Johannes Romberg is generally believed to be the most notable German-Texan poet of his time. His poetry about the Texas landscape and pioneer life contributed to a brand of romantic “Tex-lit” that helped woo many German families to the Lone Star State. Born in Germany, Johannes Romberg’s family settled here, in Fayette County, where he founded in 1857 a literary club called Prairieblum – which translates as “Prairie Flower.” The club drew members from all over the region to read aloud their poetry, articles, and stories.

The Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives features extensive archives on German settlements in Fayette County, including death and marriage records, and information about the Sons of Hermann and social clubs.

Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives

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