The early settlement of the German Hill Country was no orderly process but was often confused, arbitrary and disorganized. The accomplishment was as much a product of spur-of-the-moment decisions and seat-of-the-pants improvisation as forethought, coordination and long-term strategic planning. That Fredericksburg is on Barons Creek, and not someplace on the San Saba River, is as much a twist of fate as anything else. After Texas became an independent country in 1836, there were millions of ...