BEHIND THE NAMES: FREDERICKSBURG’S STREET NAMES

T o most, it’s just two signs on a corner. But have you ever wondered how Fredericksburg named its streets?

In the early days, town planners encoded friendly messages when selecting names for the thoroughfares.

Most of the city byways have large signs showing the name of the street and an illustration of the Vereins Kirche, a symbol of Fredericksburg that stands in the center of the city on Marktplatz.

Among the more German names of streets is Ufer, which runs parallel to Main Street, three blocks south. In English, Ufer means stream bank and undoubtedly was named because it runs along the southern bank of Barons Creek.

Originally, the street that runs along the north side of the creek was likely called Bach Strasse, but was translated to Creek Street when the city incorporated in 1933 and the streets were officially named.

The Fredericksburg Lions Club took on the naming of all the streets and its members purchased and installed street signs.

They decided to name the streets running north and south across Main to spell out words.

Starting at Courthouse Square, all the streets crossing Main to the east were named so that their first letters would spell out “All Welcome” — Adams, Llano, Lincoln, Washington, Elk, Lee, Columbus, Olive, Mesquite and Eagle.

Traveling west from the square, the streets spell out “Come Back” — Crockett, Orange, Milam, Edison, Bowie, Acorn, Cherry and Kay.

Many streets are namesakes of trees — Mesquite, Cherry, Cottonwood, Hackberry, Liveoak, Mulberry, Apple, Orange, Plum, Pear, Pecan, Poplar, Spruce, Sycamore and Walnut. Naturally, there is a street named Peach, in honor of the county’s most popular and prolific fruit.

There is an Elk Street and a Deerwood Street, but no deer street.

Several streets are named for famous native son Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, including Nimitz Street, Nimitz Drive, Nimitz Circle and Nimitz Parkway.

There is a Bunny Drive, in the shadow of Cross Mountain, which was named for the city’s Easter Fires characters.

There are also some unusual street names, such as Kraupahen, a contraction of the names of Mayor Edward Krauskopf and Commissioners Willie Pape and Max T. Henke, who were in office in that era.

And when the new Fredericksburg Post Office was built, the city named a street there “Theodore Specht Drive” in honor of the city’s first postmaster.

Some streets were named before the project began in the early 1930s, among them San Antonio, Travis and Austin Streets, which retained their names. What is known today as Main Street was originally San Saba Street.

Despite gaining metropolitan ways over the decades, Fredericksburg still thinks of itself as a small town, where most people know each other and where people live.

Fredericksburg maps are available at the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce office at 306 East Austin Street and the Fredericksburg Information Center next door.