Geier and Schmid Farm Historical Marker

This site was once the farm of German immigrants Martin Schmid and Wilhelm Geier. Wilhelm, his wife, Theodora, and her daughter, Johanna, immigrated to Texas from Wolfenbuettel, arriving at the port of Galveston in 1849. They moved inland and settled first in New Braunfels, where Johanna Geier married Martin Schmid, from the state of Wuerttemberg, in 1854.

Martin, Johanna and her parents moved to the new community of Selma, then known as Cibolo, in 1855. They bought 127 acres of land and established a garm for each family. In 1869, Geier and Schmid agreed to split the land, each receiving a portion.

Martin and Johanna Schmid reared four children in Selma: William, Sam Sedonia Hale and Mary Elizabeth Wuest. Martin, a Civil War veteran who served under Capt. Theodore Podewils' 32nd Regiment of the Texas Calvary, died in 1880 and was buried in the immediate area, thus establishing the Schmid Family Cemetary. Johanna remained on the farm until 1984, when she sold it and moved to San Antonio. She, along with her parents, two of her infant children, son William and daughter, Sedonia, were buried in the family cemetery.

All orginal fencing and tombstones have disappeared from the Schmid Family Cemetery, as they have from the Kincaid Family Cemetery, which lies 100 yards northwest. Kentucky native David Kincaid moved his family to this area and was the town blacksmith. His wife, Talitha, their daughters Esther Ada Kincaid Wallace and Josephine P. Kincaid, and Talitha's father, John Davis, are buried in the Kincaid Cemetery. Their stories reflect the patterns of settlement and rural life in this part of Texas in the 19th century.

Geier and Schmid Cemetery on the 18th Fairway of the Olympia Hills Golf Course

Photo contributed by Jean M. Heide.