Surrounded by a rock wall, the small
pioneer family cemetery just west of this site is located on
land that was once part of the William
H. Magill homestead. Magill, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, moved his family to Burnet
County in 1850. He established this graveyard with the burial
of his 15-year-old son, John, in 1863.
The remaining four marked graves include William H. Magill (1813-1878); his second wife,
Elizabeth (1831-1914); and his parents, Nancy (1792-1865) and Samuel (1783-1865) Magill. At least
one unmarked grave is known to exist. (1985) [photo of cemetery and
marker]
-
- MAHOMET CEMETERY - LOCATION: 10 miles NE of Bertram on FM
243.
- This cemetery, with interments dating
back to the 1850s, became a community graveyard for the Sycamore
Springs and Mahomet rural communities. In 1909, J.W. Williams and
J.W. and Nellie Greer deeded the cemetery property to the
community of Mahomet. Among the hundreds of people buried here are
many of the area's pioneer settlers and their descendants and
veterans of wars ranging from the Mexican War (1846-1848) to the
Vietman War. Mahomet Cemetery remains active and is maintained by
an association of descendants of people buried here.
Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.
- MAHOMET-SYCAMORE
SPRINGS COMMUNITY - LOCATION: RR
243 right-of-way, 2.5 miles W. of US 183, 6 miles NE of Bertram.
Settlement in this part of Burnet County
began in the 1850s. Two early communities were
Mahomet and Sycamore Springs, originally
located 8 miles from each other. Pioneers of Mahomet were George Ater, William G. Hall, and
Mr. Sanford, while Sycamore Springs was settled by the Smart, Stewart and Williams families.
Although Sycamore Springs once had 3 gins, a general store, a school, and 2 churches, little
evidence of the community now remains.
Much speculation has taken place over
the years concerning the origin of the unusual name of the Maohmet settlement. Research now
indicates that the town was probably named by first postmaster George Ater, who came to
Texas from Mahomet, Illinois. Both the original Mahomet post office and an Austin-Lampasas stage
stop were located at his home.
The Mahomet Christian Church, moved from
Sycamore Springs in 1899, continues to worship near this site. Mahomet is also the home
of the Mt. Horeb Masonic Lodge, which was relocated from nearby Williamson County in 1915.
The community burial ground (.5 miles SW) dates from the early 1850s.
The history of these two related
settlements is an important part of Burnet County's heritage.
(1968, 1985)
- MARBLE FALLS
DEPOT - LOCATION: 801 US 281 at the intersection with Ave
H, Marble Falls.
- The town of Marble Falls was laid outin
1887. Texas Mining and Improvement Company deeded land for a depot
to Austin and Northwestern Railroad. this building was erected in
1893 and then Southern Pacific Railroad bought the line and
property. Area residents gathered at the depot to visit and watch
for the train. Excursions were offered and passenger service
provided. Hogs, horses, cattle, cedar posts, cotton, pecans, and
hides were shipped to market from here. In 1937 passenger service
was discontinued and the depot was closed in 1968. It was moved to
this site in 1976. (1979) [Photo]
-
-
- MARBLE FALLS
FACTORY SITE - LOCATION: on US
281, N of Colorado River Bridge, Marble Falls.
The potential of water power on the
Colorado River led town developer Gen. Adam R. Johnson and Farmers Alliance members to build a
cotton mill on this site in the 1890s. The two-story stone factory, 300 feet long and 100 feet
wide, was erected for the Marble Falls Cotton and Wollen Company, formed in 1892. New machinery
run by hydroelectric power was installed by the Marble Falls Textile Mills Company in
the 1920s. Woolen goods, surgical gauze, and air conditioners were made here before the
factory was gutted by fire in 1964 and razedin 1971. (1977) [Photo]
-
MARBLE
FALLS POST OFFICE - 1910 BUILDING - LOCATION: 115 Main, Marble Falls.
- 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. Constructed of poured concrete, the building features a
central double door with three-pane transom, a simply detailed
cornice, and a stone parapet. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -
1989. [Photo]
-
- MARBLE FALLS
SCHOOL BUILDING - LOCATION: 2005 Broadway, Marble Falls.
- Adam R. Johnson donated land at this
site for construction of the present two-story granite building.
Completed in 1891, it originally housed the Marble Falls Alliance
University. Near Backbone Creek, east of this main building, a
wooden boarding house was built for the students. The property was
sold later in 1891 at a sheriff's sale, but continued to be leased
for use as a tuition school. In 1908 the local voters chose to buy
the structure, and it has been used for classes by the Marble
Falls School District since that date. (1980) [Photo]
<>- MICHEL'S DRUG
STORE - LOCATION: 216 Main
Street, Marble Falls.
- Ernst Gustav Michel (1865-1930), a
native of Germany, and his wife, Lillie Agnes, opened a drugstore
at this site in 1891. After fire destroyed the first store in
1905, Michel built a 3-story edifice here. The first floor housed
the drugstore and soda fountain. The second floor was an opera
house with seating for 300 people. the top floor had the family's
living quarters. That structure burned in a fire that destroyed an
entire city block in 1927. All four Michel children who lived to
adulthood studied pharmacy. The Michel family has operated a
drugstore at this location since 1891. (1984) [Photo]
- MORMON
MILLS - LOCATION: South of Burnet
about 7 miles on Mormon Mill Road, marker is in pasture at the
Mill site, privately owned.
Site of a settlement made in 1851 by 20
Mormon families under the leadership of Lyman Wight1796-1858. Here they built homes, lumber
mills, and shops for the manufacture of furniture.
- Abandoned in 1853.
<>MOUNT
HOREB LODGE - LOCATION: on ranch
road 243 at the Lodge Hall at Mahomet.
Chartered
Jan. 21, 1854. Met in log schoolhouse, erected own Lodge Hall 1856 on
land given by grand master Sam Mather and B.K. Stewart. First floor
used as church and school. A fire in 1915 razed the hall. Lodge
rebuilt here in 1916 on land given by G. T. and W. J. Williams.
(1967)
- MOUNT ZION
CEMETERY - LOCATION: 3.4 miles SW of Bertram on FM 243, then
0.6 miles E on CR 330, then 0.5 miles N. on CR 330A to cemetery.
John Jennings (1802-1867), his wife
Sarah C. (Sally) (1806-1879) and their family came to this area in 1851. The settlement which grew
up around their farm became known as Jennings Creek Community. After Burnet County was
created in 1852, John Jennings was instrumentall in organizing the new county government. He
was a county commissioner for four yers.
The oldest documented burial in this
graveyard, which was originally known as the Jennings Family Cemetery, is that of Mary Ann
Jennings (1835-1856). Other early burials include those of John and Sally Jennings, members of
their family, and neighbors.
-
The Jennings Family Cemetery became
known as Mount Zion Cemetery when the Mount Zion Cumberland Presbyterian Church was built
about one-half mile south of this site in the 1890s. The land on which the cemetery is situated
remained in the Jennings family until 1944.
Among the more than five hundred grave
markers here are tombstones of veterans of the Civil War, and the Spanish American War. A
cemetery association incorporated in 1972 cares for the historic graveyard. (1989)
[Photo]
-
- OAKALLA -
LOCATION: Ranch Road 963, Main
Street of Oakalla, 26 Miles NE of Burnet.
The first settlers in this rich farm and
ranch land arrived in the 1850s. Oakalla Post Office was established May 19, 1879. Schools were
private until a cooperative was built which provided classrooms on the second floor.
Oakalla
boased a doctor, drugstore, blacksmith shop, and a cotton
gin by 1881. The two-acre school site
was deeded in 1890. Worship was held in the schoolhouse and in brush arbors until 1908 when
Oakalla Baptist Church erected a meetinghouse. The school consolidated in 1958 with Lampasas and
the building became a community center. (1979)
- OATMEAL CEMETERY
- LOCATION: 5.2 miles SW of Bertram
on FM 243, then left on CR 326 0.2 miles, then right on CR 327 0.7
miles.
-
Some of the earliest pioneers of the
Oatmeal community are interred in this cemetery. The oldest
documented burials are those of Mary
Smith and her year-old daughter, Fanny, both of whom died on September 16, 1854. Mr. and Mrs. J.
L. Roundtree deeded the two acres of land containing the cemetery in 1871. Among those
interred here are veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and
World War II. An additional land
acquisition in 1983 enlarged the cemetery to three acres. A
cemetery association formed in 1945
maintains the historic graveyard. (1990) [Photo]
- OATMEAL SCHOOL (EARLY) - LOCATION: Ranch Road
W. to Oatmeal, due east of Oatmeal community center on county road
of Creek
-
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 1853-1876. This limestone structure was
successor to the first school of 1850. Excepting minor repairs
and additions of a board floor, building
looks much as it did in 1869. It is a church today. A third
school build in 1924 now houses a
community center.. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -1968. [Photo of Oatmeal
School
- PIONEER SETTLERS OF BURNET COUNTY (IN MEMORY OF) -
LOCATION: NE corner of court house lawn
in Burnet. Erected by the State of Texas 1936, with
funds appropriated by the Federal
Government to commemoriate 100 years of Texas Independence.
Samuel E. Holland, first settler, 1848,
Logan Vandeveer, Peter Kerr, William H. Magill, Noah Smithwick, Jesse burnam, R. H. Hall,
General Adam R. Johnson, Captain Christian Dorbandt, and to those pioneers who pushed into
this wilderness and established here the first traces of human habitation, unknown planters
sowing seeds for a new civilization. They marked for us our
channels of trade and industry. (They)
Built the first schools and churches and after the tumult of
Indian depredations and the terrible
scars of Civil War, returned and again took up the ax and plow and brought new acres into cultivation.
Most of them died in obscurity and were laid to rest in the
county of their adoption. As the rank
and file of our pioneers, we honor their memory for the deeds they performed and the doctrines
they taught.
Fort Croghan - Established here March
18, 1849, abandoned by troops in December 1853,
permanently abandoned 1855.
Burnet County created February 5, 1852
organized August 28, 1852, by Logan Vandeveer, William H. Magill, R. H. Hall.
Landmarks...Holland Springs, first
settlement in 1848; Fort Croghan established 1849; Morman Mill built 1850; Black's Fort built
1851; Smithwick Mill established 1855.
<>
POWDER HOUSE - LOCATION: on Fort Croghan Museum Grounds in
Burnet.
- One of 8 buildings of Fort Croghan,
United States Army Post 1849-1853. Later used by frontier "Minute Men" and local settlers.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -1966. [Photo]
PRAIRIE POINT COMMUNITY. LOCATION: 5 miles N. of Bertram on FM 243, then 2
miles E on CR 274 to intersection with CR 280.
- Anglo settlement of this part of Burnet
County began in the 1850s. By the 1870s, settlers had established
cattle and sheep ranches as well as a number of family farms. A
community school opened in 1882 and remained in operation until
1921. The Prairie Point missionary Baptist Church was organized in
1883 and met in the schoolhouse until it burned in 1890. The
congregationed worshipped in a brush arbor until a new school was
erected, then met at the school until 1906, when a new sanctuary
was built. The church eventually was disbanded in 1957.
(1994)
PRAIRIE VIEW CEMETERY - LOCATION: 3.2 miles S. of Briggs on US 183.
Pioneer settlers in this vicinity met
together for worship services in the Gum Springs schoolhouse until 1892, when Stephen Taylor deeded
land at this site for church and cemetery purposes. This
<>historic cemetery began in the
churchyard of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South (also known as Prairie View Church) in the
early 1890s.
-
The
earliest documented grave in the cemetery is that of Scottish native
James Smith (1836-1892), who immigrated to Texas in 1884. Those
interred here include pioneer settlers, a number of infants and small
children, and veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and
Korea.
The Prairie View Church moved to Briggs in 1906 and became the Briggs
Methodist Church. The congregation later was dissolved, and the
members attended worship services in neighboring communities. The
church building was moved to Lampasas in 1951 and converted into a
parsonage.
- The Prairie View Cemetery serves as a
physical reminder of the area's pioneer heritage. The Prairie View Cemetery association,
organized in 1977, provides maintenance for the historic graveyard. (1991)
- ROBERTS, GOVERNOR O.M. (HOUSE) - LOCATION: 819 7th Street, Marble Falls.
- President of the 1861 secession
convention and a Confederate officer, Oran M. Roberts (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. They altered the front
porch and roofline, adding Victorian touches.
- Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
-1978.
[Photo]
<>- ROCKVALE CEMETERY. LOCATION: 5 miles
NW of Spicewood on Burnet County Road 404.
- The once thriving community of Rockvale
began as a pioneer settlement in the 1850s. A log cabin built in
1855 served as a school and church. A Baptist Church was erected
in 1856 and had eight charter members. Over 36 acres of land were
deeded by Thomas Lloyd Denniston in 1872 to the Methodist
Episcopal Church. A stone church building was erected on the land,
and two acres were set aside for a cemetery. The earliest recorded
burial is that of infant John Francis from 1870. The cemetery
north of here is one of the few remnants of the Rockvale
community, and is still in use. (1996) [Photo]
<>ROPER
HOTEL - LOCATION: 707 Third
Street, Marble Falls.
- George C. and Elizabeth Roper
constructed this double-galleried hotel building about 1888. In
the growing town of Marble Falls, the Roper Hotel became a popular
stop for visiting businessmen and dignitaries. It was purchased by
W.F. Smith in 1926 and later operated as the Central Hotel and the
Francis House. His son, R.O. Smith, who became manager in the
1930s, lter served as mayor of Marble Falls. The hotel remained in
the Smith family until 1963. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -
1981. [Photo]
- RUSSELL-MCFARLAND HOMESTEAD - LOCATION: 309 N.
Boundary Street, Burnet.
- William H. and Mary Russell built this
Victorian residence in 1883-84. Russell, a veteran of the Civil
War (1861-65), headed the Burnet School system about 15 years.
Sold in 1895, the house had such tenants as J. W. Edgar, later
State Commissioner of Education, and J. H. Gildart, one of the
first Texas game wardens. Since 1922 the property has been owned
and preserved by the family of Samuel A. and Pearl (Teagle)
McFarland. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1978.
[Photo]
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