Construction & Industry
Early settlers constucted their own homes. Many of them had brought their crude tools from Germany. The half-timber (fachwerk) construction method dates back to the Middle Ages in both Germany and England. As there was a plentiful supply of cedar here, the immigrants cut the cedar trees and then squared them with an adze. The cedar timbers were mortised and pegged to form a solid wall. This was plastered over inside and covered with cypress siding on the outside.
The cotton gin, flour mill, and saw mill are examples of the early industries in the 1850s. The first horse-powered cotton gin was constructed in 1857. The first water-powered grist and sawmill were built in 1858 on the Comal River. In 1887 a cotton gin and a flour mill were built utilizing water power from the Clemens Dam.