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FOCUS ON THE BACKROADS: TEXAS DANCEHALLS – SISTERDALE

Sisterdale, Texas is located in Kendall County, in the valley of Sister Creek.  It is 13 miles North of Boerne, Texas.

Sisterdale, Texas was settled in 1847 by Nicclaus Zink, a German surveyor and one of the many freethinkers that settled in the area.  During the middle 1800 many freethinkers immigrated from Germany to the Texas Hill Country with the hopes to settle and live without the interference of government and church authorities.  Most freethinkers who settled in this area were  very well educated and respected scholars in their native country.

In 1851 Sisterdale received a post office.  Eventually a school house , general store, a cotton gin, and a factory that made cypress shingles were built.  The cotton gin, which was built in 1885 has been restored and is the home of the Sister Creek Vineyards.

It is not know exactly when when the Sisterdale Dancehall was built.  Some of the structures on the site date back to the mid-1800s.  There are remains of the pre-Civil War stone block fort with narrow angular openings that allowed gunmen to fight off indian attacks and to protect the folks from return fire and arrows.  These have the same designs used in Medieval European castles.  Originally the Dancehall was a Opera House, dance hall, and community center.  As in other early Texas towns the Sisterdale Opera House was the center of social activities for the towns folks.  Both the post office and general store stood next door.

A visit to the Sisterdale Dancehall is a must for Texas Road Warriors.   The dancehall sits on the banks of the West Sister Creek.  When you walk into the 3,000 square foot dance hall you step into an important part of the Texas historical past.  It is amazing to step on the original dance floor that was built out of 300 year old long leaf pine.  You then look up at the amazing wood ceilings.  On the grounds there are century old oak trees and of course the old weathered tin roof.

Sisterdale Dancehall is available for private functions and is a very popular wedding site.  During my recent visit I had the pleasure of meeting a soon to be bride and her father.  The future bride had a smile on her face that lit up the hall.  She said that her dream since she was a little girl was to be married at the Sisterdale Dancehall.  To think about 170 years ago Nicclaus Zink had a dream and established a settlement and a new life at the exact location that this young girl today shares that same dream……..Dang DREAMS DO REALLY COME TRUE!

We’ve got to have a dream if we are going to make a dream come true…….Denis Waitley

 

 

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