History
1910 Post Office Building
Established in 1884, the original Marble Falls Post Office was built south of the Colorado River. William P. Cochran, appointed postmaster in 1901, built this structure in 1910 and leased it to the U. S. Government for use as a post office. It continued to serve as a postal facility until about 1950.
History
Airy Mount Barn
Kentucky native Adam Rankin Johnson (1834-1922) came to Texas in 1854. After attaining the rank of brigadier general in the Confederate Army, Johnson later settled in Burnet County where he was active in business and civic affairs. In 1882 he donated land for the railroad that carried Burnet County granite for the Texas State Capitol.
History
Bertram
The town of Bertram was founded in 1882 when the Austin and Northwestern Railroad established a route through the area. The community was named for Rudolph Bertram, an Austin merchant who was instrumental in the development of the rail line. Many early residents were from the settlement of South Gabriel (2 mi. SE).
History
Bertram School
When Bertram was founded in 1882 along the Austin & Northwestern Railroad, one of the first structures erected was a combination school, Sunday School, and Masonic Lodge hall. Rudolph Bertram, Austin Railroad executive for whom the town was named, contributed $50 for construction of the school. The frame building was enlarged as the community grew.
History
Black's Fort
Built as a defense against the Indians in 1851 by William Black (1815-1907) on land owned by him. In the stockade, constructed of cedar logs, sentries were kept on guard on moonlight nights. Guns and ammunition for public use were kept here. Abandoned in 1868. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Brandt Badger House
Brandt Badger (1839-1920), a veteran of the Confederate Army, moved to Burnet from Gonzales in 1885, and in 1887, helped found Marble Falls. He built this house in 1888 of granite from nearby "Granite Mountain". The stones were cut from quarry rubble remaining after the "shaping" of the blocks for the State Capitol building. The structure has 8 rooms and 6 fireplaces.
Architecture
Briggs State Bank
The Briggs State Bank was chartered on May 27, 1909. Constructed that spring, this limestone and brick building is typical of a commercial architecture style once popular in Texas. It features a three-bay front with central entry and transoms, and decorative brickwork detailing. The bank and town flourished for fifteen more years, with an economy centered on cotton and wool production.
History
Buchanan Dam
In 1931, the Central Texas Hydro-Electric Company planned to build a dam on the Colorado River on the county line of Burnet and Llano counties. However, in April 1932, the project went bankrupt and lay unfinished. State Senator Alvin Wirtz took the project, and, unable to secure private funding, turned to government. Wirtz secured the support of U.S. Representative and Chairman of the U.S.
History
Burnet County Jail
Built 1884 of hand-hewn rock. Has apartment for sheriff, who is also jailer. On second floor the county library was founded. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
History
Captain Jesse Burnam
Texas Patriot Jesse Burnam (also spelled Burnham), born in Madison county, Kentucky, was the youngest son of seven children. In 1812, Jesse married Temperance Null Baker in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Jesse was a private in the Mounted Volunteers of Tennessee in the War of 1812, serving from Sep. 1814 to Apr. 1815, including the Battle of New Orleans.
History
Christian-Matern House
Juliet Johnson, daughter of the founder of Marble Falls, married George Christian in 1887. He was one of ten owners of the Texas Mining & Improvement Company that developed the town. The first town lots were sold in 1887, and in 1892 this house was built for the Christians. Ivo B. and Mina Matern bought the house in 1908 and owned it for 51 years.
History
Conrad Fuchs House
Conrad L. Fuchs, born in Germany in 1834, came to Texas in 1845 with his parents, Pastor and Mrs. Adolf Fuchs, who settled in Austin County. The Fuchs family moved into this area of Burnet County in 1853. In 1861, Conrad Fuchs married Anna E.
History
Crownover Chapel
Backbone Valley's first public building, started 1859 on 7-acre tract donated that year by heirs of settler Jefferson Barton. Finished 1870, chapel was named for the Rev. Arter Crownover (1810-76), whose preaching of Methodist faith opened its use. Building soon also housed a school. The nearby cemetery was in use by 1872. A school room was added but later removed.
History
Dead Man's Hole
Entomologist Ferdinand Lueders made the earliest recorded discovery of this cave in 1821. Notorious in the Civil War era, the hole is believed to have been the dumping ground for up to 17 bodies, including those of pro-Union Judge John R. Scott and settler Adolph Hoppe, several Reconstruction-era county government officials, and Ben McKeever, who had a conflict with local freedmen.
History
Dobyville Cemetery
The Dobyville Cemetery is the last visible renmant of the community of Dobyville, settled in the 1850s, and named for the town's location on a white adobe rock hill. The cemetery contains more than 230 marked graves; between 60 and 70 graves are unmarked and believed to be infants. The earliest documented grave was for Mary E. Standefer (1833-1857), daughter of Hugh and Ana Lawhon.
History
Early Oatmeal School
This building, once a combined school and church, was erected in 1869 in Oatmeal, second oldest community in Burnet County. The settlement, founded in 1849, had a post office from 1853 to 1876. This limestone structure was successor to the first school of 1858. Excepting minor repairs and addition of a board floor, building looks much as it did in 1869. It is a church today.
History
Fort Croghan Stone Building
One of 8 buildings of Fort Croghan, U.S. Army post, 1849-1853; later used by frontier "Minute Men" and local settlers. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
History
Fuchs Cemetery
Land here granted by the Republic of Texas to Ferdinand Lueders, Battle of San Jacinto veteran, was transferred in 1844 to the Rev. Adolph Fuchs (1805-1885) of Germany. Fuchs, a noted musician and composer, immigrated to Texas with his wife Louise and 7 children on January 10, 1845, and settled here in 1853. The first recorded burial was that of Ino Fuchs Varnhagen in 1869.
History
General Adam R. Johnson
Home County of Texas Confederate Joined C. S. Army 1861. Cavalry scout with Gen. Nathan B. Forest 1861-62. Commanded Partisan Rangers 1862-64 executing daring exploits behind enemy lines in Kentucky area. Took Newburgh, Indiana with 12 men and stovepipe "cannon". Promoted brigadier general June 1864. Escaped from Federal trap on Buffington's Island by swimming Ohio River with some of command.
History
George Whitaker Home
Built 1870 by George Whitaker, early settler. Of hand-hewn rock. Has inside cistern. Stones from old courthouse used in 1939 addition. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
History
Governor O. M. Roberts' House
President of the 1861 Secession Convention and a Confederate officer, Oran M. Robert (1815-1898) served as governor of Texas from 1879 to 1883. After leaving office, he became a law professor at the University of Texas. He built this cottage at Third and Main Street and settled there after his retirement in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Faubian bought the house in 1901 and moved it to this site.
Nature
Granite Mountain
This 866-foot dome of solid pink granite, covering 180 acres, contains the largest quarry of its kind in the United States. This mountain, like all granite formations, was once melted rock similar to lava. As the molten rock cooled thousands of feet below the earth's surface, it hardened into large crystals of quartz, feldspar and several dark-colored minerals.
History
Granite Mountain
2 1/2 miles northwest to Granite Mountain. From it was cut the granite for the Capitol of Texas. Second in size to the United States Capitol. Built in 1885-1888 at a cost of three million acres of state land.
History
Haynie Flat Cemetery
The Haynie Flat community was a sparsely populated settlement established in the 1800s near Red Bluff Creek and the Colorado River along the Burnet-Travis county line. The earliest graves in Haynie Flat Cemetery are for siblings, Sallie A. Cox (age 18) and Dennis Cox (age 7), who died four months apart in 1864.
History
Henry Thomas Lodge, A.F. & A.M.
In settlement started by Noah Smithwick, when he built water mill here in 1855. In 1861 he moved to California, but the mill continued in operation. A. M. Cox erected this building in 1874. Minister Henry Thomas moved the Lodge (chartered June 15, 1865) from Turkey Bend, Texas to this place in 1876. A store occupied the lower floor. Lodge obtained upper story at death of Mr. Cox, by his will. F.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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