Kohlberg, Ernst, 1857-1910

Born in Beverungen, Prussia, Ernst Kohlberg (1857-1910) immigrated to Texas in 1875 with Solomon C. Schutz and settled in El Paso, then called Franklin. Kohlberg worked in stores owned by Schutz on both sides of the Rio Grande, studied Spanish, and became deputy United States consul in El Paso del Norte, Mexico, and assistant postmaster in Franklin. After losing all his money investing in a gold mine in Jesús María, Mexico, Kohlberg moved to San Francisco, where he worked as a clerk. Returning to the renamed El Paso in 1881, he opened a cigar store with his brother Mortiz. Five years later, the brothers established the International Cigar Factory, the first cigar manufacturer in the Southwest, which later expanded to Philadelphia. During an 1884 trip to Germany, Kohlberg met and married Olga Bernstein, who founded the first kindergarden in Texas and, with her husband, the Mount Sinai Jewish Congregation. Kohlberg was elected to city council in 1893 as a Republican. Additionally, he was active in developing railroads, banks, and electricity in El Paso and owned the St. Regis and St. Charles hotels. In 1910, Kohlberg was shot and killed by John Leech, whom Kohlberg was suing for delinquent rent on the St. Charles.

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