The city was founded by the Deutsche Ansiedlungs-Gesellschaft zu Philadelphia (German Settlement Society of Philadelphia) in 1837. It was promoted by Gottfried Duden, who wrote about the area in his "Bericht über eine Reise nach den westlichen Staaten Nord Amerikas" ("Report of a Journey to the Western States of Northern America"). In November 1837, an early group of settlers was led by George Bayer, who bought the land on the behalf of the Society. However, George was waylaid in Pittsburgh due to illness and arrived in Hermann in the spring of 1838 leading another group of families. The town was platted after the society sold shares in the of Gasconade River valley land it had purchased.