New Braunfels was founded on March 21, 1845 by Carl, Prince of Solms-Braunfels, Commissioner-General of the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, and was named after Prince Solms' estate, Braunfels, on the Lahn River in Germany. Its permanence was assured by John O. Meusebach, the second Commissioner-General. The first colonial officials were Jean J. Von Coll, bookkeeper; Nicholaus Zink, surveyor; Theodore Koester, physician. L.C. Evenberg served as pastor and Hermann F. Seele as teacher. Comal County was created on March 24, 1846, by an act of the first Legislature of Texas. The New Braunfelser Zeitung, the oldest German newspaper in Texas, began publication on November 12, 1852, with Ferdinand Lindheimer as editor. The first Staatssaengerfest was held at New Braunfels on October 16, 1853, and the first special tax for school purposes levied and collected in Texas was voted by New Braunfels on March 17, 1856.