The other day, in my post about Love Lock Bridge, you learned that Bexar County, Texas, home to the city of San Antonio, is pronounced like "bear" or "bare," not "becks-arr." I mentioned that this is just one example of Texas names that non-Texans mispronounce. Today, we're going to look at another Texas name that is prone to being mispronounced by non-Texans...the city of Gruene.
Gruene is pronounced just like the color "green," not "grew-en." Technically, I think it's an historical area in the city of New Braunfels. Gruene was founded in the 1840's by German farmers. Many of the original structures are still standing, like the first mercantile store (now the Gruene General Store), which was built in 1878.
We live minutes from Gruene, and often eat at the Gristmill Restaurant, which was originally built as a cotton gin, powered by the Guadalupe river.
During its heyday, the center of social life in Gruene, was Gruene Hall, a dance hall and saloon.
The Great Depression took its toll on Gruene, and most businesses closed, all except for Gruene Hall, which never closed, and remains the oldest dance hall in Texas still in operation.
Gruene was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and since then has once again become a thriving community of restaurants and shops.
