Historical Markers in Blanco County
Texas·24 places
History
1894 Blanco County Jail
Noting the unhealthy dampness of the basement where prisoners were first kept after the Blanco County seat was moved to Johnson City, the commissioners court ordered the construction of this jail facility in 1893. Completed the following year, the jailhouse was built of limestone by J. E. L. (Kergie) Dildine (1853-1925), a rock mason who came to Blanco County from Kansas in the 1880s.
Architecture
Adrian Edwards Conn Home
Built before 1873, with walls 16 inches thick. Has hand-dug well, rock-walled cellar and underground cistern. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966.
Architecture
Blanco County Courthouse
Designed by San Antonio architect Henry T. Phelps, the 1916 Blanco County Courthouse was the first permanent courthouse built after the seat of government moved from Blanco to Johnson City in 1890. Serving as contractor for the project was stonemason James Waterston, who had come from Scotland to Texas in 1883 to aid in the construction of the state Capitol.
History
Blanco County Trail Drives
From this headquarters site in the 1870s, the brothers J. T. and Sam Ealy Johnson started thousands of cattle up trails to Kansas and other shipping or market points. To the west, at Williamson's Creek, and at Deer Creek (southeast) the Johnsons had gathering and processing pens.
History
Blanco High School
Chartered in 1883, Blanco High School began as a combination private and public school. A white limestone schoolhouse was constructed at this site and opened for classes in October 1884. During its early years, Blanco High School offered a six-month public school term and a ten-month private school term.
History
Dr. James Odiorne
(1816-1887) Prominent pioneer physician, civic leader. Practiced medicine in Illinois and Kentucky before settling in Texas in 1857; moved to Blanco County in 1860. He was Civil War surgeon at Fort Mason, Tex. Served as commissioner and chief justice of Blanco County, 1860s; owned a newspaper, 1885-87. As doctor he went by horseback or gig, regardless of weather.
History
Elitha Smith Martin
(Jan. 30, 1830-Aug. 10, 1899) Prominent local businesswoman; born in Patrick County, Virginia, she married John Martin (1826-69) on June 27, 1848. The couple came to Texas in 1856 with 4 children and settled in Llano County, where 5 more children were born. After John Martin's death, Mrs. Martin and the younger children moved here and built a 2-story hotel (100 yards E.
History
Goeth Ranch House
Situated near well-known Indian Spring where Carl A. Goeth (1835-1912) settled in 1865 and in 1882 built this 2-story limestone house in German tradition. Goeth, head of a large, prominent family, served 1887-1888 in Texas Legislature. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972
History
Home County of Pioneer Leader Joseph Wilson Baines
(1846-1906) Born in Louisiana; in 1850 came to Texas, where his father, Rev. Geo. W. Baines, founded a church newspaper and was president of Baylor University. Served in the Williamson Cadets, in Civil War. Lived in Collin County, 1867-1882. Married Ruth A. Huffman. Was a teacher, lawyer; founder and publisher of McKinney "Advocate." Served 1883-1887 as Secretary of State for Texas.
History
Hye Post Office
Named for Hiram ("Hye") Brown, founder of store, in 1880. Post office established 1886. Present store with Bavarian metalwork built in 1904. Owned by Deike family since 1923. At age four, Lyndon B. Johnson, future U.S. President, mailed a letter here- a postal customer for first time in his life. Postmaster General Lawrence F.
History
James Polk Johnson
(August 24, 1845-October 20, 1885) A native of Georgia, James Polk Johnson came to Texas with his family and grew up in DeWitt County. Following his service in the Confederate army during the Civil War, he moved to Blanco County to join his uncles in the cattle business. He bought the business in 1871 and became successful in his own right.
History
James Polk Johnson Building
Built by Johnson City founder James Polk Johnson (1845-1885), this structure has housed a variety of businesses and served as a community gathering place. In addition to serving as a community hall, opera house, and meeting place for churches and community groups, the structure was occupied by such commercial enterprises as banks, general stores, hotels, restaurants, and business offices.
History
Jesse L. McCrocklin
(November 8, 1800-March 22, 1888) Born in Kentucky. Moved to Texas in 1833. In Texas Revolution he fought in Siege of Bexar (1835) and Battle of San Jacinto (1836). In 1842 took part in Somervell Expedition against Mexico. Resided at Washington-on-the Brazos, present Kendall County; finally settled on his land grant in Blanco County. Worked as stock raiser, farmer, and blacksmith.
History
John Walton Harrington
(July 4, 1822-Jan. 7, 1908) A soldier in Army of Republic of Texas at age 13, Harrington served from May 10, 1836, to August 14, 1837. In payment he received a bounty land grant of 1,280 acres in present Newton County. A stockraiser, he came to own several hundred acres in Llano, Blanco, and Henderson counties. He was born in Arkansas; his wife, Sarah (1829-1928), in North Carolina.
History
Johnson City Masonic Cemetery
In 1892, local masons Joseph Bird, W.H. Withers and G.M. Nash, on behalf of Johnson City Masonic Lodge No. 561, purchased land at this site from Julia Ann Moore Jjohnson, widow of town founder James Polk Johnson. Early marked graves date from the 1890s and include many community leaders, as well as veterans of military conflicts from the War of 1812 to Vietnam.
Architecture
Joseph and Eliza Bird Residence
Once home to area pioneer Joseph Bird, his wife Eliza, and their extended family, portions of this house date to the mid-1850s. Two single-pen log cabins, built at different times and exhibiting different construction techniques, eventually were joined together to form a dogtrot cabin under one roof, with limestone chimneys at the east and west ends.
History
Joseph Bird
(July 15, 1821-August 15, 1909) For more than 50 years after becoming a pioneer settler of this area, North Carolina native Joseph Bird greatly contributed to the development of Blanco County as a distinguished frontier Baptist minister, postmaster, Civil War soldier, county judge, rancher, and prominent community leader. Bird married Eliza L. Doriss in Arkansas in 1844.
History
L. B. J. Boyhood Home
Sam Ealy Johnson Jr. (1877-1937) and his wife Rebekah Baines Johnson (1881-1958) bought this residence in 1913. Sam, an educator and six-term Texas legislator, and Rebekah, an educator and journalist, raised five children here. The frame house was built in 1901, with simple Classical details and decorative bargeboards of milled wood. Each wing is one room deep for light and ventilation.
Architecture
Old Blanco County Courthouse
Designed in Victorian style by architect F. E. Ruffini. Erected in 1886 as first permanent county courthouse, building served only four years--until 1890. County seat then moved to Johnson City. Purchased by Chas. E. Crist, the structure entered varied career as school, Blanco National Bank, office of "Blanco County News," opera house, Farmers' Union Hall, and hospital (1936-70).
History
Peyton Colony (Board House)
In 1865, a group of freed persons, led by Peyton Roberts, established a community they named Peyton Colony. Roberts was born into slavery in Virginia. In the 1820s, he came to Texas with his owner, Jeremiah Roberts, settling in the Bastrop and Caldwell counties area.
History
Peyton Colony Lime Kiln
Peyton Colony was a freedmen's community established in the 1860s under the leadership of former slave Peyton Roberts. In addition to homes, the community included a local school and Mt. Horeb Baptist Church. This lime kiln was built by Peyton Roberts and his neighbors to provide high quality materials with which to make mortar for buildings in Blanco County, some of which remain today.
History
Robert Price
Detailed to guard the baggage at Harrisburg, April 21, 1836. Born August 2, 1811, died August 17, 1900.
History
Saint Mary's Help of Christians Catholic Church
In 1850s when first Catholic families came to Blanco County, worship was in homes and halls. Land was purchased in 1887. By efforts of Father Virgilius Draessel and people of Twin Sisters, this church was built and dedicated in 1889. Stone for foundation came from quarry about a mile from site. Other building materials came by wagon over 30 miles of rough roads and trails.
History
Thomas C. and Eliza V. Felps
Born in Tennessee in 1836, Thomas C. Felps came to Texas in 1850 and to this area in 1856. He earned a living by freighting and joined the Blanco County Rangers during the Civil War. In 1863 he married Eliza V. White (b. 1846), a native of Ohio. In the summer of 1869, the couple lived with Eliza's parents while Thomas recovered from a fever. Her father, newly-appointed County Judge S. T.
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