For me, the most mysterious stop on the tour is the house at 1132 Belvin Street, the one with the football-field-sized front yard, aka Fisher Hall. I am delighted that this home is on the tour, and turns out it has a very interesting history: boy’s dorm, military training ground, hospital, even a frat house!

Tickets are $30 in advance at Heritage-San-Marcos.org ($35 the day of the tour). For more info, go to heritagesanmarcos.org.

On Sunday, the Clay Club will be having a special event from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. where they will dive into some of the African American history that formed our city as well as some of the local artists that continue to shape the city’s culture. The event will include 1.5 hours at the Calaboose African American History Museum, one hour at the San Marcos Art Center, a one-hour picnic at Eddie Durham Park, a 30-minute walk through Dunbar and Downtown Historic Districts and a 2.5-hour optional after-party at the Dunbar Rec Hall Studio. You must RSVP at this link to attend: https:// tinyurl.com/ClayClubCultureWalk

This weekend the San Marcos Rattlers are looking to capture their first Bi-District championship in three years when they host Medina Valley on Friday.

The two teams have already met during the regular season with Medina Valley winning, so the Rattlers are more than ready to avenge their loss.

With the series pitting two very well-coached programs against one another, with the stakes at an all-time high, it is setting up to be a thrilling showdown Friday night in San Marcos.

My name is Charlotte and I love Texas. I also love picnics — elegant, elaborate, simple or purchased. Walk with me and share my adventures in nature’s arms, learning about some of our wonderful state parks and how to create your own perfect picnic.

GUADALUPE RIVER STATE PARK, 3350 PARK RD 31, SPRING BRANCH, TX Including parks, historic sites, and natural areas, there are currently more than 90 State Parks in Texas, comprising over 630,000 acres. From Big Bend State Park’s 300,000 acres of raw wild terrain to Old Tunnel State Park’s 16.1 acres, there is every reason to pack a picnic basket and explore Texas any day of any month.

Situated east of Boerne and west of Wimberley, Guadalupe River State Park is a lovely oasis of green trees, blue sky, and ancient stone. The park is 1,938 acres of trees, cliffs and trails, with the river running through and along its northern edge. Acquired by the state in 1973-74 from private owners, it was opened to the public in 1983.

All of the Texas state parks are beautiful and unique, but there seems to be a common denominator for each one of them in the Texas Hill Country — a body of water in some form is always at its heart. On the privately owned north banks, sheer cliffs drop to the water; along the southern banks, where park visitors can access the river, there are switchback trails that make for an easy descent.

Picnic tables dot the hillside along the trails and above the water, and even though the park has over 11 miles of trails, it is the river that draws visitors. Kids and adults alike flock to it like a magnet. Guadalupe River State Park has been the site of many picnics for us in past years,especially during the summer months when tiny grandchildren appeared on our doorstep. During the early spring of 2020, the U.S. and every other country in the world shut down, closed their doors, and locked them down tightly to slow the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19. Isolation was the only weapon available.

At the end of April, everything was still in lockdown, but thankfully, the Texas governor realized that people needed to breathe and get out in the fresh air. He opened the state parks to limited attendance with masks and reservations required.

As soon as I heard this, I told my husband we were going on a picnic. However, my cupboard was bare, well, almost bare. I had flour, butter, eggs, and bacon. I found a hunk of Gruyère, safely shrink-wrapped from a local box store, stuck in the back of the cheese drawer. I knew there was only one thing to fix, and it had been years since I last made it.

We found a table with a view of the water at the top edge of the picnic area, well away from others. The day was so glorious, and it was so wonderful to feel almost normal, that instead of having a single slice each of this European hamand- cheese sandwich, we ate the whole thing.

We nibbled and nibbled and nibbled until it was gone. The pickled grilled asparagus was the perfect foil. After that indulgent feast, we definitely needed to take a walk on one of those trails by the river. The day was so special, the adventure so welcome, that we made a pact to explore every park we could easily drive to each week, for as long as the weather cooperated.

“THE SIMPLEST PICNIC EVER” Lunchtime Giant Gougère Pickled Grilled Asparagus Olives

LUNCHTIME GIANT GOUGÈRE 6 servings

• 10-ounces thick-sliced bacon

• 1 cup milk

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, loosened with a wire whisk before measuring

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

• 6 - 8 ounces Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F, and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 2. For bacon: Slice each strip in half lengthwise, then cut the strips into small squares. Fry at low heat until bacon has rendered all of its fat, then drain well on paper towels. Set aside. 3. For the gougère: In a large saucepan, over medium heat, combine milk, butter, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. As soon as the mixture boils, remove it from the heat and add the flour all at once. With a sturdy wooden spoon, off the heat, stir briskly until the liquid absorbs the flour and forms a cohesive lump. 4. Place the saucepan’s contents in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and run it for a minute or two to help release the heat from the flour mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cheese and drained bacon, beating until incorporated. 5. Drop the dough by large spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet to form a large oval ring, about 12 to 14 mounds. Place in the 400°F oven and, after baking for 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

A lifetime food enthusiast and cook, Charlotte Caldwell loves to entertain and enjoy fine food in the beauty of the outdoors. She has catered everything from weddings to charity events and, of course, picnics for family, friends and organizations who can’t get enough of her recipes.

She is the author of “Charlotte’s Texas Hill Country Picnics,” from which these columns appear. To learn more, contact charlotte.caldwell@yahoo.com with the subject line “COOKBOOK.”

Six years and two kids later, I began reading books like ”Last Child in the Woods” and ”The Anxious Generation.” Upon finishing those texts, I’ve been a lot more intentional about hitting the trails with my kids. If you’re looking to do the same in San Marcos, here are a couple of things I learned along the way: Upper Purgatory’s ADA, crushed granite path is perfect for a running stroller. Whether you’re chasing the stroller marathon record (Two hours and thirty-one minutes!) or just looking for a way to walk with your kid in nature, this trail offers plenty of sun and flora. I loved pausing close to trees and grasses to let my kids reach out and stimulate their sense of touch with the natural world.

At some point, you’ll get tired of the same old Upper Purgatory route and want to return to single track — enter the hiking backpack. My backpacking buddies all chipped in and bought us an Osprey Poco Pack, which we’ve used for kids ages 1-5. In the world of kids’ gear, that’s equivalent to driving a car for 300,000 miles, so I highly recommend this Toyota Hilux of backpacks.

That being said, backpacking with a kid is different from carrying a tent and a Jetboil. Their dynamic, wiggly load tests your body and your footing in ways a static pack doesn’t, so stick to manageable trails like those found at Lower Purgatory. The Dante and Ripheus trails provide engaging scenery, like the Matilda Bridge to the dam overlook, while offering terrain that won’t send you sprawling the first time your toddler reaches for a leaf.

Lastly, there’s nothing more exciting than hiking with your kids for the first time on their own. I wanted to make a good first impression, so I subscribed to the ”Goonies” method of introduction, where I helped my kids discover a handdrawn map of a local park that led them to candy stashes and buried treasures.

Virgil’s Trail from Prospect Park to the Learning Tree and Cosmic Circle provides the perfect setting for a treasure hunt. This 0.6-mile round trip offers numerous benches for snacking, informative signage on the natural sciences, and easily identifiable features like switchbacks, sinkholes and marshes, where kids can practice their map-reading and adventure skills. Hide a Crown Royal bag filled with costume jewelry and Jolly Ranchers in the crux of the Learning Tree, and you’ll have them hooked on hiking for life.

Hitting the trail with kids has been one of the most rewarding parts of parenthood, and while the verdict is still out on tree-hugging, I gotta believe tree-climbing with my kids is positively impacting their mental health and moral character. “‘Goonies’ never say die!”

Faithful Odd Fellow married three sisters

Sometime in the 1820s, Littleberry Green, his wife Francis (Tyree) Green, and their kids lit out for Texas. They didn’t quite make it…at first.

The Greens were living in Bedford County, TN, when they decided to move. No interstate highways. No paved roads. No railroads that would have been helpful. There were only seven short railroads in the U.S. Three from Boston, one from Albany, two from Baltimore, and one from Charleston. So they loaded up a wagon and, by themselves or with other wagons of settlers, and headed west.

They probably crossed the Mississippi River by steamboat ferry at Memphis, TN, and made it to Hempstead County, in Arkansas Territory. There they stopped. Perhaps they were tired of traveling. Perhaps they found desirable farm land. More likely, Littleberry fell ill or was killed; he died in 1829 and is probably buried in Hempstead County.

Littleberry’s son George died in Hempstead County in 1855. George’s son Edwin Jeremiah Littleberry Green – let’s call him Ed – was born in Hempstead County. In 1850, he was still there, but by 1859, Ed was in Hays County where, in 1859, he and Mary Ann Young married. Their first child died at birth, they had one more child, then Mary Ann died in March 1865.

Ed then married Mary Ann’s sister Eliza Jane Young in July 1865, and they had at least six kids; possibly two more who did not survive. Eliza died in 1896.

There was a third sister, Alice (Young) Bohon. Alice’s marriage to William Bohon didn’t last long. Married in 1881, they separated after their daughter Mamie’s birth in 1886. Ed and Alice married in 1898; when Alice moved in with Ed, so did Mamie. They are with Ed on the 1900 census.

Meanwhile, in San Marcos, Ed clerked for Dr. Cayton Erhard, San Marcos’ first postmaster and Texas’ first druggist. Ed’s career was interrupted by the Civil War. His service with the CSA is hard to decipher. One record puts him in TX in 1863-1864, part of the 27th Brigade at Willow Springs in Bell County. Another record puts him in Rip Ford’s cavalry regiment, no date given.

His service may have been somewhat erratic. His daughter Mary was born in 1862, so Ed wasn’t always off to war. John Salmon Ford got his nickname by writing “Rest In Peace” on casualty lists. Part of Rip’s fame rests on his defeat of Union forces at the Battle of Palmito Ranch outside Brownsville in May 1865. The Yankees suffered 118 casualties and retreated, thus crediting Ford with a win in the last land battle of the Civil War. The battle was won, but the war was lost. Two weeks after Palmito Ranch, all Confederate forces in Texas surrendered.

Shortly after the war ended, Ed was elected as Hays County’s district clerk and county clerk, positions that he held until 1882, when he declined to run for re-election. Meanwhile, in 1879 Ed opened a bank on the south side of the square. Ed immediately established banking ties with the First National Bank of Dallas, the Frost National Bank of San Antonio, and the First National Bank of Houston.

Frank H. Malone operated Green’s Bank until Ed’s term as county clerk expired and Ed took over as president. Former mayor O.T. Brown had an office over Green’s Bank. In 1885, Green’s Bank was chartered as the First National Bank of San Marcos. Now part of Wells Fargo and Co., it is San Marcos’ oldest business in continuous operation. As he aged, Ed stepped down to vice-president rather than president, but, as a majority stockholder, still retained firm control of the bank. Ed was also instrumental in forming the First National bank of Lockhart and the National bank at Bastrop. Ed spearheaded the organization of the Texas State Bankers’ Association in 1886 and was its third president in 1889.

When Ed opened his bank, I.H. Julian, editor of the San Marcos Free Press, said, “By his card in another place, it will be seen that Ed. J.L. Green has opened a Banking business in his building southeast corner of the public square. Mr. Green has resided in this county twenty-four years, and no man in it is better or more favorably known in a business capacity or as a citizen. Such a man needs no introduction or commendation from us. He is not only a prompt, skilled and faithful business man, but he possesses in an eminent degree what writers on phrenology designate as “agreeableness.” His past career is the best guarantee of his success and acceptableness in his new sphere of action.”

He incorporated the San Marcos Electric Light & Power Company in 1889. He was heavily involved in the San Marcos Water Company and in an ice factory at the water works. He erected a dam on the San Marcos River to provide power to those businesses. In 1905, William Green proposed and instituted the San Marcos sewerage system which he expected to have in operation by 1 July. William was Ed’s son. It’s hard to imagine that Ed was not intimately involved in the project.

In 1900, Ed sold “the head of the river” to the San Marcos water company.

No longer working for the county government, Ed ran for and was elected to the Board of Aldermen, today’s City Council. Ed was on the board of the San Marcos River Camp Meeting Association of Texas. On the original Board of Trustees of SWTN, serving for a time as its president. He was also President of the San Marcos School Board for most of the 30 years he spent on the School Board. About 1890, Marion Columbus McGee opened the Lone Star Business College at 325 N. Comanche in San Marcos. McGee’s College was eventually eclipsed by business courses at SWTN and closed. Ed was on the first Board of Directors of Lone Star Business college and served, probably, until it closed.

Texas felt a need for prisons and education. It decided to put a prison in San Marcos and a Normal school in Huntsville. Ed made trips to Austin to confer with state leaders who saw the wisdom of locating the prison at Huntsville and the Normal at San Marcos. Ed, along with W.D. Wood and S.V. Daniel were appointed as the first Local Board of Directors and Board of Visitors for 19031904, 1904-1905, 1905-1906. Judge W.D. Wood died 11 May 1906; he was replaced as a Director by Dr. J.M. Hons who joined Green and Daniel for 19061907, 1907-1908,1908-1909, 19091910, 1910-1911. In 1911, Will G. Barber replaced Daniel, joining Green and Hons for 1911-1912. Briefly. In 1911, the state created the State Normal School Board of Regents to oversee all Normals in the state. The local Board was then superfluous.

Ed joined the Christian Church/Disciples of Christ membership which had, in 1869, erected a church on Guadalupe Street. Ed hauled wagon loads of lumber from Austin to build it. This must have seemed a great improvement to a congregation that had been meeting in members’ homes or, occasionally, under a large oak tree. Sadly, people have been contentious ever since Cain and Abel disagreed about what constituted proper worship. The bone of contention in the San Marcos Christian Church centered around musical accompaniment to the singing of hymns; shall we have an organ or no? Ed was in the group that favored acquisition of an organ. That group withdrew from the Guadalupe Street church and in 1893 erected a new church on the corner of San Antonio and Comanche Streets. Ed owned the land on which the new church was to be built; he sold it to the church for $1. Ed was Sunday School superintendent and secretary-treasurer of the church for 40 years; 20 years before the split and 20 after.

Ed was a joiner. The Masons and their subdivisions such as the Shriners; he was a Past Master of the San Marcos Lodge. He was also a member of the Odd Fellows. “Odd” should be viewed in the context of “odd” jobs. Fraternal organizations in England were normally formed by the well-to-do. The Odd Fellows was formed by common working men for mutual aid and charity.

Ed’s mining interests included a silver mine which he jointly owned with Texas’ lieutenant governor Leonidas Jefferson Storey. He was also a principal in the Corwin & Green Mining and Milling Co. In 1908, Ed was re-elected president and J.C. Corwin was re-elected general manager. The mine was operated in the 1908-1909 period, but probably ceased operations about 1913 due to land office issues. Likely they failed to maintain their claim by failing to provide proof that the mine had value other than just as a piece of land. The mine can still be viewed on a self-guided tour in Mount Rainier’s Carbon River area.

Ed amassed a sufficient fortune to have his own private railroad car for trips to Chicago and New York. At his death, his estate was valued at about $160,000; about $3 million in 2025.

Ed capped his political career with a single term, 1913-1915, as mayor of San Marcos.

In 1883, I.H. Julian, editor of the San Marcos Free Press, said that Ed possessed an eminent degree of “reasonableness,” a fitting epitaph for a man of such remarkable abilities.

Ed was not able to enjoy San Marcos’ first street paving project. A city ordinance of 1 October 1924, laid out the plan. The city had contracted with Brown & Root to improve some streets with a hard surface bituminous top. Those streets were [parts of ] North and South Austin Streets, San Antonio Street, Hopkins Street, Guadalupe Street, Cheatham Street, Comanche Street, Colorado Street and Mathews Street.

The total cost was reckoned to be $16,665.36. Four blocks of the paving surrounded the Square. The City would bear the cost, $6,237.53, of its side of those streets; the other sides and the other eight or so blocks, $10,427.83, would be assessed against the adjoining land owners. Ed’s estate was assessed $250 for 166.67 feet at $1.50/foot on South Austin Street, now South LBJ; and another $40.68 for 90.32 feet on San Antonio Street at $.45/foot. The street paving surrounded the square, Guadalupe from the square to Hutchinson, North Austin Street to Colorado Street, then east to Water Street, and South Austin to Cheatham Street and then Cheatham Street to the river.

No life is without its shadows. It appears that Ed was a member of the San Marcos Chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. A 2011 Texas State thesis states merely that he was a member. In 1926, the Klan held a Lodge of Sorrow near Rogers Park to honor deceased members, 12 of whom, including Ed, were named.

Ed died at his home on Sunday 17 Feb. 1924. findagrave # 31870195 Almost immediately after Ed’s death, Alice moved to Lockhart to live with her daughter Mrs. Harry Chew. Mamie, that is; whose dad was William Bohon, Alice’s first husband.

Long after Ed’s death, some old timers were gathered around the square. Ed was called “colorful.” Agreeable AND Colorful.

On 6 April 1915, A.L. Davis succeeded Ed as mayor. Davis’ story next week will end this series.

Editor's Note: The online version of this story has been edited.

As I grew older and set out on my own, I learned that in addition to ballparks, early morning runs also revealed the essence of a metropolis, especially international cities. Thus, I came to know the regenerative genius of Florence as I dashed past century-old shopkeepers rinsing and sweeping their frontages clear of beautiful chalk murals and discarded sugarspun delicacies, or the vibrant merchant heart of Doha as I jogged up the Corniche, fueled by the smell of strong Turkish Coffee and the stronger whispers of those on the way to Souq Waqif.

Yet when a trip to watch the Round Rock Express and an early morning loop around the Capitol failed to reveal the true Austin, I took to the trails for a better understanding of the city. I found out that to know Austin, I needed to circumnavigate Lady Bird Lake and hike the Barton Springs Greenbelt. Similarly, to know Nashville, I had to move beyond the Brewers’ Minor League affiliate, the Sounds, and the beer-soaked Honky-Tonks of Broadway for a stroll around Radnor Lake or a hike through one of the Warner Parks. There are just some cities whose lifeblood pumps through their trails.

So on a recent trip to San Diego, I fore- went Petco Park and a run around the harbor in favor of a hike in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve on the north end of the city. What I discovered on those winding trails of cliffs and beaches, pines and scrub was the non-anxious heart of a town of good vibes…if you could afford to live there.

In all fairness, the weather in San Diego is perpetually perfect, but even beyond the 70-degree day and 20 percent humidity, the landscape offered the optimal balance of mountains and sea. The 1200’ of elevation change from peak to wave was sufficient to get the blood pumping without turning the hike into a death march, while maritime vistas popped up every few miles, and the intervening connections provided a mix of flora and fauna that seemed perpetually in bloom and constantly on the wing.

This delightful mix of land and air simultaneously invigorated and relaxed me, and not just me, but everyone I met. San Diegans on the trail were constantly smiling, letting me pass, offering helpful advice, and genuinely enjoying themselves. There was none of the influencer entitlement at overlooks or weekend warrior aggressiveness in the parking lots.

Just look at these pictures—this city was like a detox day spa for the state of our world. It was only after dropping $60 for parking and sunscreen that I realized all of these good vibes came at a price…a very steep price.

So while I enjoyed my time in Southern California, I still think the best bang for your buck is right here in the heart of Texas. If you don’t believe me, check out a game at Bobcat Ballpark, a run along the San Marcos River, or a hike in Purgatory Creek.

See the Edwards Aquifer through the perspective of textile artist Gwendolyn Hustvedt in “Exploring Aquifers through Art” (11 a.m.–12 p.m.). Hustvedt will also discuss her latest exhibition of silk paintings, “Groundwork,” currently on display at the Meadows Center.

The Texas State Philosophy Department’s “Eco Philosophy Walk and Talk” (12:30–1:30 p.m.) will incorporate mindfulness techniques and discussion on the philosophical implications of human and natural cohabitation.

See a scuba diver’s perspective of Spring Lake in “Exploring the Deep, A Spring Lake Virtual Reality Experience” (2–3 p.m.).

All of these events are terrific opportunities to build on your understanding of Spring Lake! Another big bonus for this event is free glass-bottom boat tours throughout the day for a unique view of the headwaters.

Triple Six Social, at 329 Cheatham Street will be celebrating its second anniversary with a macabre market (11 a.m.-4 p.m. and live music (12 p.m.-10 p.m.) on Sunday. There’s going to be a sick lineup of rock music throughout the day that you do not want to miss! This is an all-ages show.

To bring a wider awareness of the unhoused community in both San Marcos and Hays County, the HOME Center presents their inaugural Walk HOME Community Event.

In addition to spreading awareness, the event also offers live music and entertainment for everyone while also providing a resource fair to those in need.

While the event promises to bring fun, it also offers an opportunity for people to give back to those in need.

The event will be held 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. Saturday at Plaza Park.

FRIDAY Wake the Dead Coffee House

Free Range Farmers Market Friday, April 17, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Riley’s Tavern

The Homebodies Friday, April 17, 7 p.m.

Senza Maeso

Karaoke Night by Heart of Texas Karaoke Friday, April 17, 7:30 p.m.

The Porch

Playdate! A Drag Music Bingo Happy Hour Friday, April 17, 8 p.m.

Devils Backbone Tavern

Silverada Friday, April 17, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY Wake the Dead Coffee House

Abracadavor Market Saturday, April 18, 5-9 p.m.

Tantra

Lewk Magazine party with performances by In the Shade and Junkbunny Friday, April 18, 7 p.m.

Riley’s Tavern

Andi Holleman band Saturday, April 18, 9 p.m.

Senza Maeso

Unseelie Exchange Pop Up Arts Market Saturday, April 18, 5 p.m.

Cheatham Street Warehouse

Ian Tonroy Band Saturday, April 18, 8 p.m.

The Porch

The Spotlight Social Saturday, April 18, Time TBA

Devils Backbone Tavern

Linda Gail Lewis Saturday, April 18, 1 p.m.

Industry

Stephen Martin and the Railway Revival Saturday, April 18, 1 p.m.

Historic Hays County Courthouse

San Marcos Farmers Market Saturday, April 18, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Wonder World Cave

San Marcos Flea Market Saturday, April 18, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

SUNDAY Wake the Dead Coffee House

Chief and TheDoomsDayDevice Sunday, April 19, 11 a.m.

Riley’s Tavern

Pickers Circle with Bo Porter Sunday, April 19, 4 p.m.

Senza Maeso

Sunday Acoustic Sessions Sunday, April 19, 4 p.m.

The Porch

Punchlines at The Porch Sunday, April 19, 7:45 p.m.

Devils Backbone Tavern

Silverada Sunday, April 19, 8 p.m.

Industry

Lane O’Neal Sunday, April 18, 1 p.m.

Wonder World Cave

San Marcos Flea Market Sunday, April 19, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Before we even broached names, I learned about the art, the science, and the social alchemy of naming trails. The art comes in choosing names that resonate through all kinds of communication media. Names need to be unique and pronounceable, so if you are a visiting New Englander telling a friend or a first responder where you are located, you don’t have to guess at the pronunciation of Menchaca.

Likewise, the science requires choosing names with first letters that don’t already exist in the park system, so that the trail markers don’t become too cumbersome. Science also dictates that appellations must mesh with the theme. So while Manfred, King of Sicily, is totally on brand, because Malacoda already exists at Purgatory Creek, Manfred doesn’t make the cut.

Finally, the social alchemy comes from balancing popular practice with stakeholder preferences. As it turns out, this balancing act also applies to the trail blazing and maintenance of official and rogue trails. Todd explained rogue trails, aka social trails or desire paths, come about when the general public blazes its own way independent of official entities like SMGA or SM Parks and Rec. Rogue trails offer great insights into our community values, from shorter connections to less-technical terrain, even though they may frustrate stakeholders’ designs and preferences (trail maintainers worldwide have unpublishable names for rogue trails).

Cameron told me both Inferno and Farinata started life as rogue trails and that SMGA learned how to adapt them to the larger plan, as well as adjusting their own plans to provide more acces- sible foot travel for a user group that was growing rapidly in numbers, abilities, and distances traveled. Purgatory Creek is now a destination trail system, and the names of these new trails reflect that reality.

Inferno is unique and pronounceable, starts with I, which isn’t represented in the trail system, and captures the Dante theme wonderfully for an exposed footpath. Inferno is also a clever adaptation of the crowdsourced name “Ring of Fire,” found on both Strava and Trail Forks.

Farinata checked the art and science boxes as well, but took a little more alchemy. Cameron revealed that volunteers and city employees lobbied hard for a number of different names, but eventually Farinata rose to the top, given his unique role in the Divine Comedy.

Farinata was the Florentine politician who resided in the sixth circle of hell reserved for heretics. Dante respected Farinata even though he disagreed with him vehemently, thus casting him as a kind of noble damned character in the Inferno. It’s exactly the kind of name trail maintainers would give to an adapted rogue trail.

Given all the hard work that’s gone into converting these trials and the clever alchemy in naming them, it would be a shame if we didn’t use them. So San Martians, get out there and enjoy these destination trails in our own backyard.

Sutter’s Mill was a water-powered sawmill on the bank of the South Fork of the American River in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California. In 1848 James Marshall found gold, and Americans began trickling west. Among them were David Arthur Porter and Sarah Ann Graham. They married in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1857 and joined the trickle. By stagecoach.

They made it to Science Hall, Texas, a settlement between Kyle and Buda, where Bob was born on 13 August 1858. When Bob was a year old, this family of three continued the trip to California. Bob may have been the first white child to travel to California by the southern route. His parents placed Bob on a pallet on the floor of a stage coach, and started that long trip over the desert to California. During the trip, Indians at stations along the way bargained with the Porters in an effort to buy the “pale papoose” or even to hold him for a few moments.

When Bob was old enough to understand, his parents told him of his attraction to the Indians and of the efforts to buy him. He never forgot the stories. California was Bob’s first world, for the family spent ten years in California where his siblings Dora, Luther, and John were born. About 1870, the Porters, remembering the friends they had made at Science Hall, returned to Hays County, Texas, where other siblings were born.

Dr. James Gaston Barbee Sr., one of the first physicians in Hays County, was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1832. Sarah Elizabeth “Sallie” Nance was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1840. Barbee and Nance married about 1861. Their first child was Mary Lewis Barbee, born in April 1862. Mary and Bob married on 6 August 1883 in Hays County, probably in Kyle. In 1886, their first child Allie was born, again, probably on the family farm near Kyle.

At the time, Bob was still helping his parents on the family farm. The enumerator who wrote Bob’s name on the 1880 census was Fergus Kyle. A small farm in the San Marcos valley could support only so many people. Bob decided to become a merchant and, familiar with wear and tear on harnesses, he chose to sell harnesses. Today, he might have chosen the auto parts business. Familiarity with harnesses

and with their manufacture are not the same thing. Bob needed a partner, and he found one in William Covington who seems to have had a business in Harper’s Hall. Covington’s wife was Laura Virginia Harper, whose parents were Benjamin Frank Harper and Sarah A. Martindale.

In January 1886, there was a new saddle and harness shop in San Marcos. It was styled Covington & Porter. Bob was energetic and learned quickly. Ads appeared regularly in the newspaper. Bob expanded the business. He paid cash for hides. He strayed out of the pure harness and saddle business to include lap dusters for warmth and protection from the dust in open carriages or wagons. For the ladies, they sold side saddles. Bob may have been the junior partner, but he was clearly in charge, and in June 1886, Bob bought Covington’s part of the business and changed the ads to read “J.R. Porter Successor to Covington & Porter”.

Covington then formed a partnership with Henry Holtz to sell saddles and harnesses. It lasted very briefly. In 1887, J.J. Nolen, constable for precinct 2, resigned. Holtz was appointed to take Nolen’s place. He handily won the election in 1888. Covington returned to farming, in Wilson County which joins the SE side of Bexar County. He died in 1906 and is buried in Martindale.

By 1887, the Covington name had disappeared from the ads. Bob said he’d “sell ‘em low, sell ‘em fast and make up more.” That suggests that his claim on the 1900 census to be a harness manufacturer had some basis in fact. He might, for example, have bought leather straps, bits, and buckles and made up his own bridles for sale.

By 1889, Bob was selling buggies and still running ads, pretty plain ads, in the newspaper. Also in 1889, Charles Hutchins opened a competing buggy business, with much more attractive ads. Bob noticed and his ads improved. And expanded. An 1894 ad mentions saddles, hames, bridles, traces, harnesses, whips, collars, robes, backbands, blankets, carriages, phaetons, jumpseats and buggies.

Keeping up with the market meant attending annual conventions where manufacturers would display new products. Bob regularly attended annual meetings of the Southwestern Retail Saddle and Harness Makers’ convention. At one convention in Fort Worth, Bob led a discussion: “The Drummer and What to Do With Him.” The Drummer was a traveling salesman who moved from town to town taking orders and offering cheaper prices because the local dealer’s overhead and profit was cut out. No doubt that Bob would stress the local dealer’s guarantee and local service. At the convention in Waco in 1904, Bob was elected first VP; he had been president before. And would be elected president again in 1911.

In 1925, Bob sold his two-story brick building on the north side of the square to A.C. Feltner. It was one of the oldest business houses in San Marcos; formerly known as Harper’s Hall; formerly used as an opera house. Bob had owned it for 10 or 12 years and used it for his harness business.

At least one JR Porter saddle survives, right here in Hays County. It was purchased, probably from Bob personally, about 1900. You can see it at https://www.crawfordfamilyhistoricalmuseum. com/ by appointment only.

Just as Cornelius Vanderbilt put the nation on rails, Henry Ford did the same for personal transportation in the early 1900s. In 1909, Bob bought an automobile from the Columbus Buggy Company. Apparently, he was satisfied. In 1914, he began ordering Overland automobiles to sell at his saddle and harness shop. John North Willys bought the struggling Overland company in 1908, reorganizing it as Willys-Overland, and turning it into a major automaker that later produced the iconic Jeep. The Willys-Overland brand eventually became synonymous with the World War II-era military Jeep.

Convinced of the automobile’s utility, Bob was with a group that went to New Braunfels to see their new auto fire truck. New Braunfels bought a Ford Model T touring car conversion as their first motorized fire engine around 1913, a common practice at the time where standard cars were adapted with pumps, making it an early example of a motorized fire truck for the city. Apparently, the inspection was satisfactory. Bob championed a bond issue which was approved by voters in August 1914. That bond issue provided $20,000 to rebuild the city hall - fire station, recently destroyed by fire, and to purchase fire fighting equipment.

San Marcos purchased its first motorized fire truck, nicknamed “Old Faithful,” in 1914, and it went into service in 1915, serving the San Marcos Fire Department (SMFD) for over three decades before being semi-retired and later sold in 1954. In 2023, Old Faithful, an American LaFrance Type 12 pumper truck, was donated back to the SM fire dept. See https://universitystar. com/16451/life-and-arts/firstmotorized- fire-truck-returns-to-smfd/ Bob’s association with the San Marcos fire department was long-standing. Soon after arriving in San Marcos, Bob joined. About 1887, he was elected Chief of the SMFD. In 1890, Chief J.R. Porter attended the State Firemen’s association meeting. In 1896, Bob was elected to the finance committee. In 1900, he was elected second VP, in 1902 first VP, in 1903 president.

On 7 May 1914, the SM Fire Dept. met to present an award to Claude S. Ivey,The SM Fire Dept met to present an award to Claude S. Ivey, former chief and veteran fire fighter. President De Witt Taylor called on W.L. Talbot to make the presentation speech. Talbot said that Judge Gus Cook had begged so hard to make the speech, that Talbot deferred to Cook. Cook said that ex-Mayor Porter had to plead so hard to do it, that Cook deferred to Porter. Porter made one of the best speeches of his long official career. Ivey was so deeply affected by the unexpected tokens of esteem, that his response was barely audible.

After many years of attending State Firemen’s Association meetings in various towns around Texas, Bob invited the association to meet in San Marcos. It accepted and met in May 1923 when Bob was elected to life membership in the San Marcos Volunteer Fire Department.

Bob was heavily involved in local politics. In 1899, a new state law required election of school trustees. W.O. Hutchison was elected president. The other members were Ed J.L. Green, T.C. Johnson, Chas. Hutchings, J.R. Porter, C.D. Lake, and Squire Rucker. These men were all connected. For example, in 1896, Fire Chief Bob had accepted a $25 donation to SMFD for the department’s help in preserving T.C. Johnson’s home and property from fire. Bob served on the school board until 1909 when the Texas attorney general ruled that relatives of school district employees could not serve on the board. Bob’s son Gaston had been hired as a teacher. Bob stayed on the district’s building committee which was evaluating plans for San Marcos’ new central high school.

In 1911, J.R. Porter, A.B. Rogers, C.C. McNeill and Frank Bradley organized the San Marcos Theater Company whose purpose was to build an upto- date Opera House on North Austin Street. In October 1912, the new opera house opened with a performance of “Polly of the Circus.”

In 1914, Bob was elected chairman of a committee to devise ways and means to help farmers hold their cotton by buying bales of cotton and storing them in local warehouses. The problem was the beginning of war in Europe when the European cotton market disappeared and prices collapsed from about 11 cents/pound to about 9 cents/pound with a low of 6.6 cents/pound. To help farmers, politicians and businessmen developed the “buy-a-bale” agreement, where buyers agreed to purchase bales at a flat rate of ten cents per pound and withhold them from the market for at least a year to stabilize prices.

San Marcos had enough warehouses to store the cotton which was weighed and graded and had warehouse receipts issued. The merchants of San Marcos agreed to give one cent a pound above the market price on all cotton paid on account for merchandise as long as the market stays below 10 cents. A committee was appointed: A. Wilson, A.B. Rogers, J.R. Porter. Bob bought a bale, making a total of about 18 such purchases within the past 2 weeks. The article does not specify whether those 18 bales were bought by Bob or by various SM merchants. The Firestone Rubber and Tire company, through its agent J.R. Porter, bought a bale.

Then the U.S. entered the Great War, which resulted in a huge demand for cotton for uniforms, blankets, and other military needs, boosting American textile manufacturing. After initial chaos, cotton prices surged, benefiting farmers in states like Texas, which saw prices jump from around 7 cents to over 29 cents per pound by war’s end. This increased demand and rising prices led to a period of prosperity for cotton farmers and related industries.

The booming economy and war- time opportunities drew rural workers (Black and White) to cities and the North (Great Migration), creating labor shortages for picking cotton. The wartime boom exacerbated the longterm issue of agricultural overproduction, leading to a severe market crash when European production recovered and government orders ceased after the war. In essence, U.S. entry fueled a temporary, significant recovery and boom for cotton, but it also highlighted and worsened structural problems that led to a sharp decline in the 1920s.

Bob was a joiner. If three people formed a club, he would join or, at least, attend the meetings. He was for years on the executive board of the Chamber of Commerce. In 1914, he was on the advisory board for the Good Roads Association of Hays Co. In 1915, Bob was installed as reporter and treasurer for the Knights of Honor which was a secret society that provided sick benefits and death benefits to its members, functioning as an early form of life insurance. It ceased to exist about 1916 because of an unsustainable assessment model. Bob was also a local agent for the Great Southern Life Insurance company. In 1915, the home industry club was formed with Bob as VP. Its goal was to patronize Texas industries, trade at home and eliminate the mail order house or induce it to come to Texas.

In 1916, Bob attended the retail merchants state convention at San Antonio. He was grand marshal of the Loyalty Day parade. Bob’s efforts didn’t always turn out well. In 1920, Bob introduced Judge Greenwood as main speaker at a meeting to promote Joseph Weldon Bailey who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1890, and to the Senate in 1901. A corrupt politician, he resigned from the Senate in 1911 and never held public office again. In 1920, he ran for governor of TX and was defeated. More seemly was Bob’s election as permanent secretary of the Pioneers of Hays County. Bob was on the committee that invited the third district of the Bankers’ Association to meet in San Marcos; it did. A good speaker, Bob was invited to speak many times. He spoke at an American Legion entertainment to promote the new hospital and at the Normal to celebrate enrollment reaching the 1,000 mark. He spoke at the PTA and at the annual firemen’s convention.

In 1887, Hammett Hardy won the office of Mayor of San Marcos and served three two- year terms until 1893 when the fire department urged Bob to run for mayor. Bob won and served one

term 1893-1895. Then Hardy re-entered the race for mayor and won. Hardy then served three more terms until 1901 when Bob re-entered the fray and won, this time serving six more terms in spite of having said in 1905 that he positively declines to be a candidate for mayor; unlike Sherman, he accepted the nomination, was elected without opposition, and served.

The next step up, politically, must have been County Judge with a jurisdiction that covered the entire county. In 1900, Hardy opposed Ed R. Kone for County Judge of Hays County. Kone stayed in office. In 1922 Bob announced his candidacy for county judge of Hays county. In the November election, Bob won and assumed office on 1 January. He ran for re-election in 1924, won, and died in office on 27 August 1925.

Bob lent his expertise to many town issues. Public schools; convincing voters to approve a school tax. A cotton factory. Mayors’ conferences to attend. The Sorosis club organized a village improvement society; Bob was chairman. Promote and facilitate the construction of an electric train line from Seguin to San Marcos. And another electric train from Austin to San Marcos. San Marcos residents were expected to buy $6,000 of the train company stock; start-up money, I suppose. Appoint I.S. James as night watchman. There was a Progressive League that wanted to “bring the city out of the old time ruts that it has been in for the last ten years.” Urge town folks to take as roomers the extra load posed by the 300 students that were expected at SWTN. A railroad crewman had smallpox; Bob had to put the crew under guard awaiting their removal from town. Bob waged war on the Sunday law violators who, under the guise of a restaurant, sold ordinary things on Sunday. The Commercial Club appointed Bob as a delegate to the Intercoastal Canal Convention at Victoria. A new central fire station. Bob called a town meeting to raise relief funds for the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Bob delivered a welcome to a conference of the A.M.E. church, an historically Black, independent denomination. San Marcos finally got a sewage plant; Bob toured and smelled nothing offensive. The Commercial Club wanted the city to build a cotton compress which would require selling $30,000 of stock; Bob chaired the committee.

Post Office receipts would soon reach $10,000 which would entitle San Marcos to free delivery within the corporate limit; Rural Free Delivery RFD had become permanent in 1902, but villagers had to schlep to the Post Office and fetch their own mail. Many wanted to continue that practice because there were government demands: good sidewalks so carriers didn’t have to slog through the mud, mail boxes, house numbers, better lighting. San Marcos dilly-dallied; three years later, Congressman Albert Sydney Burleson warned Bob that if San Marcos didn’t take advantage of the opportunity, it might be lost. Burleson’s voice was authoritative; in 1913 he would become President Woodrow Wilson’s Postmaster General.

Bob tried to convince the Woodmen of the World to build their next orphanage in San Marcos; he failed. The courthouse burned so Bob offered City Hall space to county offices.

In the destruction of the courthouse, Kyle saw an opportunity. Kyle citizens proposed that the county seat be removed to Kyle and the new courthouse constructed there without the issuance of bonds to pay for it. In the bond vote, Kyle opposed it. In San Marcos, not a single vote was cast against it. In the county as a whole, 2/3 of the voters approved. Removal of the county seat would require a 2/3 vote the other way. Thus, reasonable people thought that pursuing the issue was both foolish and wasteful.

An ordinance prohibited keeping more than 10 gallons of gasoline within the city fire limits unless kept in a fire proof vault. The city’s insurance company threatened higher insurance rates unless the ordinance was enforced. Bob instructed the city marshal to file complaints against all violators. The school grounds needed work: sidewalks, walls, leveling, new roof. Bob was chair of another committee to solicit stock subscriptions to build a mill to manufacture corn goods.

The firemen wanted the railroads to offer free or nominal transportation to state firemen’s conventions; which would require a change in state law; Bob went to Austin to urge the governor to sign the bill. The water, light, and sewer system were in receivership and not taking new customers. After much delay, the San Marcos Utilities Company got a franchise from the city. The company resumed providing new buildings with electricity; they’d been going without. Meters were installed.

In recognition of his good work, in 1911 Bob’s salary was increased from $300/year to $40/month.

Finally, in 1913, Bob gave up the mayor’s office and in 1922 moved to the county judge’s office. Different office; similar workload.

In all of that, Bob was still attending the Harness and Saddlery meetings, Retail Merchants Association meetings and speaking to any organization that would have him. He worked himself to death; he died in his second term as County Judge. See findagrave # 82953592.

Sponsored by the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce, you are invited to a day of “discovery, innovation and fun” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This event is free and open to all ages.

Other attractions include moon rocks from NASA, a virtual reality playroom, high-voltage demonstrations by Bluebonnet Electric, soap box cars from Texas State and the Exotic Animal Experience.

Plus you can see the creativity and innovation of San Marcos-area students first hand with student STEM showcases, science fair winners and live musical performances from SMCISD school groups. You can even participate in an interactive scavenger hunt!

While each artist on the tour is amazing, here are a couple I plan to check out. As a ceramic artist myself, I definitely plan to stop by the Eye of the Dog Art Center, 405 Valley View West Rd., and the Ceramic Studio at Dunbar Recreation Center, 801 W. Martin Luther King Dr. Both should have pieces by multiple artists on display and, likely, for purchase. I like the stops where I can get more bang for my buck!

Senza Maeso, 1090 FM 32, will be turning its cocktail room into a gallery featuring local art; once again, more bang. And you can’t go wrong checking out student art, as some of the city’s most talented creatives have studied at Texas State University. Check out the Joann Cole Mitte building for a smorgasbord of delight.

If you’re looking to get your photo taken, I recommend stopping by Alan Michnoff’s Photo Garage, 205 Sierra Ridge Dr.

San Marcos is a Central/South Texas hotbed for baseball, with the Bobcats and Rattlers having excellent seasons so far.

The Rattlers are currently on the hunt for a postseason berth and while the team may be on a bye in district play, San Marcos continues play in non-district.

If you want to support the local hometown team and have some delicious food at a reasonable price cooked by one of the best baseball booster clubs, check out the Rattlers Saturday.

Over in Slam Marcos, the high-flying Bobcats are powering their way through conference, hitting a whopping 64 home runs this season.

Sunday Kids Day is back, where many children will have an opportunity to run around the bases and get autographs from the players.

FRIDAY Wake the Dead Coffee House

Free Range Farmers Market Friday, April 10, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Tantra

Funkotron! Friday, April 10, 7 p.m.

Riley’s Tavern

Mark Jungers Friday, April 10, 6 p.m.

Cheatham Street Warehouse

Mason Lively Friday, April 10, 8 p.m.

The Porch

OUTlaw Pride SMTX presents Rock Bottom String Band and Emily Herring Friday, April 10, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY Wake the Dead Coffee House

Nature Drawing/Journaling for the Studio Tour Saturday, April 11, 1-3 p.m.

Tantra

Bryan Ramond, Poppy S Fields, Dirty Kid Schmely Saturday, April 11, 7:30 p.m.

Riley’s Tavern

Chuck Mead! Saturday, April 11, 8 p.m.

Cheatham Street Warehouse

Cameron Allbright Saturday, April 11, 8 p.m.

Devils Backbone Tavern

Gonzo Survivors Saturday, April 11, 1 p.m.

Industry

Molly’s music bingo Saturday, April 11, 11 a.m.

Historic Hays County Courthouse

San Marcos Farmers Market Saturday, April 11, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Wonder World Cave

San Marcos Flea Market Saturday, April 11, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

SUNDAY Wake the Dead Coffee House

Chief and TheDoomsDayDevice Sunday, April 12, 11 a.m.

Riley’s Tavern

Kayla Jane’s Pickers Circle Sunday, April 12, 4 p.m.

Devils Backbone Tavern

South Austin Moonlighters Sunday, April 12, 1 p.m.

The Porch

The Martian Talent Show hosted by Maddie Ava Sunday, April 12, sign up at 6 p.m., open mic 7-10 p.m.

Industry

Two’s a Party Sunday, April 12, 1 p.m.

Wonder World Cave

San Marcos Flea Market Sunday, April 12, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The goal of this exhibition will be to showcase the diverse voices, histories, and vibrant futures of the queer community through a multidisciplinary collection of works. Application for the show can be found at artleaguesmtx.org/ events.

TXST’s “Heart of Texas State” handsigned balloon is slated to appear in the Battle of the Flowers Parade on April 24 at 10:30 a.m. One of the few parades in the United States produced by a passionate, dedicated group of only women, the parade honors the defenders of the Alamo and Goliad while commemorating the victory at the Battle of San Jacinto that gained Texas its independence.

Entertaining crowds for over 133 years, the parade is an ever-evolving tradition that features gorgeous flower-covered floats and participants adorned in bright, colorful costumes, horse-drawn carriages, antique cars, military personnel, thousands of marching band students, pep squads, and much more.

The Texas State Alumni Association will also host a Fiesta Medal Release Party on April 16 at Rebecca Creek Distillery. TXST alumni, families and friends will come together to celebrate what it means to be a Bobcat. This gathering is a great way to meet alumni, hear from inspiring speakers, and explore opportunities to stay connected with the university.

Designed with tradition in mind, the Fiesta 2026 medal is an elegant piece with deep tones and a vivid banner, offering colorful accents that reflect the vibrancy of Fiesta. A $15 registration includes one 2026 TXST Fiesta medal, which must be picked up in person at the event.

These Fiesta appearances and alumni events offer a high-profile opportunity to celebrate university pride during one of Texas’ most notable cultural traditions.

Ham’s grandparents, Joshua Hardy and Elizabeth Gee, were born in Lunenburg Co., VA, and married there in 1808. His dad, William Henry Hardy, was born in Lunenburg Co., and his mom, Cena Ellen Hudnall, in Bedford Co., three counties west of Lunenburg, and married in Bedford Co. in 1833. Ham was born there in 1838.

By 1840, the William Henry family was in Pittsylvania Co., VA, the next county south of Bedford. They were probably in the northern part of Pittsylvania Co. because in 1850, they were back in Bedford Co. The Civil War was looming, so the William Henry family joined the GTT [Gone To Texas] migration and, in 1860, were on a farm near Boonville, TX. Boonville was the first county seat of Brazos County, Texas, founded in 1841, but is now a ghost town absorbed by Bryan. William Henry was a farmer, Ham was a carpenter.

Mary Malissa Dailey and Rufus Fielder married in Tallapoosa Co., AL, in 1842. Mary had her dad’s approval. On 5 May 1842, Samuel Clark Dailey sent a note to Simeon Goolsby, clerk of the Tallapoosa Co. orphans’ court which was also responsible for maintaining marriage records.

Dailey said, “If Mr. Rufus Fielder, of Chambers County, calls for license to marry my daughter Mary M. please let him have it. The law I suppose requires notice of this kind to you in case of minors to indemnify you, hence this note. I am very respectfully yours. Sam C. Dailey” Tallapoosa Co. is in east central AL; the county seat is Dadeville. Rufus lived just over the county line in Tallapoosa’s eastern neighbor, Chambers Co. Communication was difficult. There was U.S. mail service, but no telegraph, and no newspaper. The Tallapoosa River was partially navigable by steamboat but because of the river’s difficult navigation, early settlers and traders relied on overland routes like the Okfuskee Trail (or Upper Creek Trading Path).

Industrial development in the area was actually delayed by the river’s challenging falls. Messages were delivered by stagecoach. Some of those messages were official government notices which officials like Goolsby were required to publish. He used the Argus in Wetumpka, the county seat of Elmore Co. which joined the southwest side of Tallapoosa Co.

By 1860, Rufus and his brother John Elon had GTT, and lived in the same household in Cherokee Co. where, probably, Mary Malissa Fielder was born in 1850. Mary and Ham married in Brazos Co. in 1869. Ham soon moved into government service. In 1869, he was elected a precinct officer in Brazos Co. In 1870, Ham was listed on the census as a judge in police court and had two Black servants. In 1872, Ham attended the County Democratic convention in Corsicana. In 1873, Ham was elected Clerk of the District Court, defeating C.F. Moore 1113 to 869.

In 1880, Ham and Mary were still in Brazos Co. They had five kids, and Ham was the county clerk. He was so wellliked that the local correspondent for The Dallas Herald filed this report: “Bryan, April 18, 1880. On Wednesday last Mr. Hammett Hardy, County clerk, went over on Main street and purchased a dozen boxes of parlor matches and returned to the court house and placed them on a chair in his office. Mr. Hardy is a good hand at electioneering, but he had never tried to electioneer with parlor matches before. He commenced to record some deeds but forgot to record the fact that he had placed those matches on that chair that contained those matches.

Lifting up a large book he had been reading, he tossed it over on that chair that contained those matches. An explosion followed, equivalent to a small engagement of artillery. Mr. Hardy jumped about ten feet in the clear, as though he was practicing acrobatic feats in order to join a circus troupe. He said he was not aware that parlor matches were so humorous and that they cracked jokes in that manner. The fire was extinguished without any damage, but the matches acted as if they felt put out about it.”

Sometime in the very early 1880s, Ham and family moved to Hays Co., TX, where, in 1884, he established a grocery business which remained in the family for many years and expanded to include all manner of merchandise Infallible Red Ant EX-ter-min-a-tor “Or we will guarantee their destruction for one dollar per hill”; Double Shovels, Hoes, Sweeps and a full line of farming implements generally; Baking Powder Absolutely Pure.

When the San Marcos Free Press announced Ham’s entry into the grocery business, it described him as a prominent sheep man. Perhaps so. Mary’s brother Zeno Fielder was a pretty big sheep rancher. Ham may well have invested in his brother-in-law’s enterprise. Ham probably did not approve of Zeno’s foray into sheep smuggling, for which he was found guilty and fined. In 1899, Ham finally got out of the grocery and general merchandise business. The mercantile business probably stayed in the family until Ham’s death in In 1885, Ham was a Director of the First National Bank of San Marcos. That lasted until 1889 when J.W. Herndon died and Ham replaced him as vice-president of the First National Bank.

In 1887, Ham received a petition from several San Marcos citizens who wished him to run for mayor. He did and announced his candidacy in the Free Press. His platform was 1. have all city ordinances strictly enforced, 2. favor all practical measures for the better advancement of our educational interests, and 3. the general prosperity of our beautiful little city.

In 1887, San Marcos was little with probably about 2,000 inhabitants; I think I’ve seen that many in the big HEB. Ham was easily elected to his first term as mayor of San Marcos.; he defeated William Giesen 169-133. Thus began a game of musical chairs with James Robert Porter. Ham served six years from 1887 to 1893 and declined to run for re-election. Porter then took over for one term 1893-1895. The baton passed back to Ham who served six more years 1895-1901. Then, Porter resumed the seat for twelve years 1901-1913.

The duties of the mayor of little San Marcos were large and small. One of Ham’s first acts was, in 1888, to sign a proclamation for perhaps the first annexation of land to San Marcos. The land annexed was bounded by the San Marcos River, Post Road, Lime Kiln road to Cahill’s 40-acre lime kiln property, then back to the river. The kiln was new.

In 1887, J.J. Belger and James D. Cahill constructed a lime kiln from roughcut limestone blocks lined with fire bricks at the foot of a natural limestone outcrop on the outskirts of San Marcos. Here, they extracted and burned limestone, producing 100 to 120 barrels of lime per day for agriculture and building construction. The kiln supplied mortar for numerous local structures, including the Hays County Courthouse, supporting the building boom and prosperity that San Marcos enjoyed at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. By 1910, the kiln had ceased operations due to the availability of cheaper lime elsewhere.

Then, in 1889, a report of a rabid dog in the city limits, prompted Ham to proclaim that no dogs, not muzzled, be allowed to run free within the city limit. The muzzle indicated ownership. Unmuzzled dogs were to be destroyed by the city marshal or policemen.

Ham made announcements other than as mayor. In 1889, as President of the Board of Trustees of the public schools, Ham announced that school would begin on the first Monday in September 1889.

The Texas Spring Palace was a massive, temporary agricultural and immigration exposition held in Fort Worth in 1889 and 1890, designed to attract settlers by showcasing Texas’s abundant natural products like grains, cotton, and minerals, which also formed its elaborate, decorative exterior before the structure was tragically destroyed by a fire in 1890. San Marcos saw an opportunity to participate and perhaps draw investors. A committee was formed to gather exhibits of all kinds from the farm, orchard, ranch, prairie and forest and water, and art and nature, and send them to Fort Worth for exhibition at the Spring Palace. A committee was formed; Ham was chair.

The Chautauqua movement was founded in 1874 by businessman Lewis Miller and Methodist minister, later Bishop, John Heyl Vincent, Chautauqua’s initial incarnation was in western New York state on Lake Chautauqua. The Chautauqua movement spread across the U.S. In San Marcos, a pavilion was built atop Chautauqua Hill where Southwest Texas Normal began in 1903.

The movement was founded on the premise that adults of either sex are capable of learning, that intellectual opportunities should comprise of more than just formal education, and that adult education should examine current social issues. Just as public schools tried to normalize the content and teaching of the three Rs, Chautauqua wished to normalize instruction in social issues. In 1889, a Chautauqua was held in San Marcos. As mayor, Ham appealed to San Marcos citizens to show their support. He asked merchants and businessmen to close for the day and for all to “go to the hill” to make our Chautauqua Opening a gala day to be remembered.

That day was remembered for another reason. J.W. Nance had realized that the power provided by the San Marcos River would certainly turn a dynamo to produce electricity. As construction neared completion, the Free Press waxed ecstatic about the industrial possibilities. The Free Press noted that the consumption of wrapping paper [almost all purchases at local merchants, wrapped in paper; no plastic bags then], could not be met by a dozen paper mills. Such paper could be made from almost any vegetable fiber -- hay, straw, cotton stalks, cactus fibre and the cockle-burrs. With electricity, we could have a paper mill.

But first, the Chautauqua. The tabernacle was illuminated by fourteen incandescent lamps. Two 100-candlepower above the roof at each end shed a lustre. Mr. Dubose called for three cheers for the light company and for Mr. Green and Mr. Smith and all those connected with the company. The City, contract signed by Mayor Ham, had signed on for nine street lamps, four 100-candlepower lamps for the corners of the courthouse square, with others at the depot, Ham’s house, John Barbee’s corner, and other convenient points.

In 1891, San Marcos filed a charter for a cotton gin and a cotton seed oil factory. The directors/owners of the new enterprises were W.D. Wood, W.I. Hutchinson, J.A. Brown. And Ham.

On a less pleasant note, many citizens of San Marcos enjoyed cock fights. The crowds sometimes grew unruly. In 1895, San Marcos passed an ordinance requiring the presence of the city marshal or a policeman. The fee for compliance was $4. The fine for non-compliance was $5 to $100.

In 1900, as Ham’s final term as mayor was drawing to a close, he chose to run against County Judge Ed. R. Kone for that position. Despite his best electioneering efforts, Ham lost.

After his final term as mayor, Ham and Mary moved to Fort Worth where Ham set up as a cotton buyer. Mary died there in 1904 so Ham moved in with his daughter Mary Pearl. Ham died in 1911. Although both Mary and Ham died in Fort Worth, their bodies were transported back to San Marcos for burial in the city cemetery. See findagrave #104908821.

2019 Poet Laureate of Texas Carrie Fountain, Literary Curator at the Wittliff Collections, served as this year’s judge and selected the manuscript “moments made into monuments (in my mind).”

“Harper Claes’ poems are so human and humane,” Fountain said. “They are bursting with image and specificity, feeling and purpose.” Fountain will also be reading at the event as will fellow Texas Poet Laureate ir’ene lara silva. The free event, which starts at 6 p.m at the Price Center, is organized by the literary nonprofit Infrarrealista Review and underwritten by the Burdine Johnson Foundation.

Glurpo Fest will also be happening on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Triple Six Social, 329 Cheatham Street. For those of you who enjoy clowning around, this is the event for you. Glurpo was the clown who performed in the Aquarena Springs mermaid shows back in the day. There will be clowns, sideshows, magic, juggling, balloons and face painting. They will be showing vintage home videos of Glurpo and the underwater pigs in their event space. There will also be live music by Attic Ted, Kitchen Knives and Bi-Curious George.

While the Meadows Center offers a variety of guided tours from paddle boarding, snorkeling and kayaking, this weekend’s guided tour offers something more unique.

A rare night tour.

Because of the clarity of San Marcos River and Spring Lake, the kayak tours are usually done using see-through kayaks. But when it comes to the night tours, the same kayaks are decorated with special lights, allowing guests to explore both the river and Spring Lake from a different perspective.

The night tours also allow guests to see different types of creatures that are nocturnal and rarely come out during the day, giving a unique experience.

FRIDAY Wake the Dead Coffee House

Free Range Farmers Market Friday, April 3, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Tantra

Gumption and Georgia Parker Trio Friday, April 3, 7 p.m.

Riley’s Tavern

Gus Clark Friday, April 3, 8 p.m.

Cheatham Street Warehouse

Cole Whittlesey Friday, April 3, 8 p.m.

Devils Backbone Tavern

Austin Meade Friday, April 3, 8 p.m.

The Porch

DJ Slyce Latin Night Friday, April 3, 10 p.m.

Senza Maeso

Karaoke Night by Heart of Texas Karaoke Friday, April 3, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.

SATURDAY Wake the Dead Coffee House

Abracadavor Market Saturday, April 4, 5-9 p.m.

Riley’s Tavern

Memphis Kee

Saturday, April 4, 9 p.m.

Cheatham Street Warehouse

Scott Biram

Saturday, April 4, 8 p.m.

Devils Backbone Tavern

The Georges

Saturday, April 4, 1 p.m.

The Porch

Social Dissonance

Saturday, April 4, time TBA

Senza Maeso 2 Year Anniversary Extravaganza

Saturday, April 4, 12 - 11 p.m.

Industry

Michael James Band

Saturday, April 4, 1 p.m.

Historic Hays County Courthouse

San Marcos Farmers Market

Saturday, April 4, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Wonder World Cave

San Marcos Flea Market

Saturday, April 4, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

SUNDAY

Wake the Dead Coffee House

Chief and TheDoomsDayDevice

Sunday, April 5, 11 a.m.

Riley’s Tavern

Pickers Circle with Bo Porter

Sunday, April 5, 4 p.m.

Devils Backbone Tavern

Gonzo Survivors

Sunday, April 5, 1 p.m.

The Porch

Punchlines at The Porch

Sunday, April 5, 7:45 p.m.

Industry

Drew

Sunday, April 5, 1 p.m.

Wonder World Cave

San Marcos Flea Market

Sunday, April 5, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Yet in the spring of ’15, I almost stepped on a Western Diamondback rattlesnake at McKinney Falls State Park, Caprock Canyon State Park, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Big Bend National Park, and even our own little pocket park of St Edwards in North Austin. Walking away bite-free was only by the grace of God, and I vowed after that spring to always add a regular downward glance to my hiking routine. Hence, the first and nearest horizon of hiking in Texas is 5’ ahead and 1’ on each side of the trail.

Texas also changed my heads-up horizon for route finding. Again, I was coming from the East Coast and Southeast, where trails were marked by blazes, colored rectangles painted on trees or rocks at eye level. Many trails in Texas use a blaze or placard system (SMGA’s round colored medallions are especially nice), but many trails do not, particularly in West Texas parks.

I remember being completely disoriented on the Dodson Trail of Big Bend because I could never find the next trail marker. Only after careful study and the shadow of a memory about cairns did I realize my eyes needed to be scanning for stacks of rocks, not swatches of paint.

Cairns usually appear at trail level, but on ascents and descents, they are often stacked on top of existing boulders, so the horizon can range as large as 45 degrees up or down from horizontal, depending on the terrain. A whole new neural mapping shift is required to follow cairns, and it took me almost three years to make it my new default. So, in addition to the snake horizon, the cairn horizon requires more than just looking straight ahead.

The last horizon deals with storms, which are not terribly hard to notice if they form in the direction of your travel, but too often they form behind you, and come sweeping down upon you right before you’re about to summit the highest point in the park. I thought I had learned this lesson on the Barr Trail up Pike’s Peak in Colorado, but I needed a reminder at Davis Mountains State Park last spring. I clocked some fluffy white clouds building beyond McDonald Observatory on my way up the Limpia Creek Trail, but I lost them as I turned onto the Sheep Pen Canyon Loop Trail.

When I reached the Limpia Creek Vista and turned around, those fluffy white cumulus clouds had transformed into a menacing, dark thunderhead, which put me to flight back down the trails and eventually drenched me miles from my vehicle. The final horizon is the sky, and not just the sky up ahead of you, but the sky all around you.

Have fun hiking in Texas this spring, and don’t forget to check your six.

Ginger Leigh, a dynamic musician hailing from the vibrant music scene of Austin, is celebrated for her soulful voice and magnetic stage presence. With a career spanning decades, Ginger has established herself as a powerhouse performer, seamlessly blending rock, blues, and Americana influences into her music.

Her captivating performances and heartfelt songwriting have earned her a devoted following both locally and internationally. Accompanied by John Pointer, the two bring a power-packed performance with sibling-like harmonies, humor and emotion.

“Live at Price” concerts are curated and produced by Price Center light, sound and projection engineer Dave Nicosia with funding assistance from the San Marcos Arts Commission and the support of the Price Center. The concerts are performed in the 1910 Ballroom at 222 W. San Antonio St.

Visit liveatprice.com for tickets and more information. Additional tickets will be available at the door.

On 2 June 1885, the San Marcos town council declared that San Marcos had met the 1,000 population limit and declared that we would now be The City of San Marcos. That population limit brought SB 320 into play.

Because of the dispute about the form of the school question election, Benjamin Moberly Baker’s opinion was solicited. Moberly was Texas’ very first Superintendent of Public Instruction. His opinion on the law was solicited. He was brief. Both parts of the school question should have been on the ballot; therefore, that election was illegal and must be redone. Or maybe not. The city council, under Giesen as mayor, decided to recognize the validity of the former vote [to seize control of the schools] and to appoint school trustees [under SB 320]. They named William Oscar Hutchison, Dr. Edward de Steiguer, Rudolph K. Fromme, Chas. Hutchings, A.C, Mosher, and Squire Rucker. Then the council decided that trustees should be elected rather than appointed.

The name “Squire Rucker” may be unfamiliar to you. He was a Black man, appointed for the colored school. Probably Zachariah “Zack” Rucker.

Giesen called a trustees election for Monday 7 July 1885. Some were nervous about the possibility that a San Marcos free school would negatively impact the Coronal Institute private school. The ballot contained at least 10 names, possibly more because only the higher vote-getters were listed in the paper. The “Regular Ticket” was elected; the same six people that council had appointed. Fromme’s, Hutchings’, and Mosher’s vote was somewhat reduced because of the “Opposition Ticket” votes received by T.C. Johnson, F.J.C. Smith, and R.S. Fortson whose reason for running was to control the board in the interest of Coronal. A Mr. Fortson appears to have been on the ballot “contrary to his express request.”

I.H. Julian, editor of the Free Press, said, “Now let us have peace. Let Coronal Institute and the Free Schools go on and prosper in their respective spheres which are really entirely distinct.”

The new trustees wasted no time. Prof. Williams of Belton was hired as superintendent. The Free Press noted that “the house will be put in order, fitted with furniture, etc.” The house? That was a portion of Coronal, rented to avoid the necessity of erecting a school building. W.J. Spillman was president of Coronal, Prof. Williams was superintendent of the public school. Confined to the same building, Julian’s peace must have broken out; I find no reports of fisticuffs.

Coronal’s main building was partitioned to provide three classrooms. Williams thought that, with some additions, the building would suit San Marcos for some years to come. That must have been a comfort to those who feared additional taxes to build a school. Miss Laura Wilcox taught the girls. Williams taught the boys. Mrs. Mosher had charge of the smaller fry. School began on 5 October 1885. Plans for additions continued. Music rooms were to be erected “forthwith”, work to start on 19 October, furnished with instruments, and to be taught by Misses Sallie Richardson and Janie Poole. Richardson was the music instructor at Coronal. If there was competition between Coronal and the public school, the public school won out. During Stirling Fisher’s term as Coronal president 1903-1916, a new boys’ dormitory was constructed and a new main building with a girls’ dormitory. However, enrollment never justified the cost of maintaining Coronal, and in 1917 it ceased to exist. The building saw several uses over the years but, for lack of maintenance, the buildings began falling down. They were demolished in 1932-1933 to provide employment, at $1/day, to various victims of the Great Depression.

Through all this handling of the “school question” can be seen in the firm hand of Mayor Giesen who took the initiative to travel to Austin to confer with state officials. And then ignored their advice. Who was he?

Even his full name is not known but can be inferred from various records. U.S. census records put his birth in about 1847 in Rhine, Prussia. He migrated to the U.S. about 1866 and made his way almost immediately to New Braunfels, probably to connect with the German community there. He met Louise Ella Marie Wetzel and they married 29 Oct 1870. On that marriage record, he is identified as Wilhelm Giesen, a name easily and commonly anglicized to William. One of his sons is identified on his death certificate as William Walter Giesen.

In William Walter’s early life, he identified as Jr. to distinguish himself from his dad William. That’s reflected in the 1900 census. When “Jr” and wife Mabel had their first son, he became William Walter Jr., 1920 census, and dad became William Walter Sr. If our Mayor Giesen had a middle name, it is not known to me.

With a wife and a family to support, Giesen threw himself into the mercantile business in San Marcos. He would buy/sell anything for a profit. In 1881, the San Marcos newspaper said, “Mr. G. [Giesen] is a genuine, noble German, far-seeing, and can move mountains if there is money under them.”

In 1873, Giesen and Alfred vom Stein formed a mercantile partnership which survived until 1878 when vom Stein withdrew. As San Marcos postmaster, vom Stein, on 19 January 1880, applied for a post office at Wimberley’s Mill on Cypress Creek. He recommended the name Wimberleyville and Robert Moore as first postmaster, but Wimberley was the name granted. Wimberley had begun as Winters’ Mill, then Cude’s Mill, and then Wimberley’s Mill.

Giesen soldiered on. His ads listed his mercantile interests: Dry Goods and Yankee Notions, Clothing, Boots & Shoes, Hats, Hardware, Groceries, Crockery, Wooden and Willow ware, Liquors, Smoking and Chewing tobacco, Cigars, Saddlery, Paints and Oils, Stoves and Tinware, Candies, Fruits, Canned Fruits Soaps, Candles and all other Goods generally kept in a complete Retail Establishment. He also bought, for export, always prepared to pay the highest market price in CASH, for Cotton, Corn, Wool and Hides. Real estate. He could have developed his own empire on the Walmart model.

Giesen did not do all of the work himself, he hired a lot of help and, eventually, recruited his sons into the business. Giesen was the executive, deciding what to do and leaving it to others to make it happen. Thus, it was not long until he was involved in civic affairs. In 1876, he purchased a lot at the city cemetery. In 1877, at a citizens’ meeting, alarmed by fires in neighboring towns, Giesen moved that a meeting be held at Harper’s Hall to devise some means of fire protection for the city. Later, he was elected a director of the cemetery association. He was a member of a Petit Jury in San Marcos and a Grand Jury in Austin. In 1881, Giesen was a member of the city council, learning how local government worked. And it could be worked; also in 1881, the Hays County commissioners sold the old courthouse to Giesen.

In 1884, Giesen was on a committee to travel to Blanco and suggest road work to improve commercial relations between Blanco and San Marcos. The roads, trails, were awful. Muddy where they weren’t rocky. In June 1884, a reporter traveled with a group to Dripping Springs for a Masonic barbecue. They left San Marcos at 4:30 p.m., traveled till 8, then camped on the bank of a creek. At 3 the next morning, they resumed their trip and arrived at 5. Total, 5.5 hours by wagon on a rocky road. Today, we make the trip to Dripping Springs in, maybe 40 minutes, if you don’t count the time to get out of San Marcos.

In 1884, still on the city council, Giesen ran for mayor and was elected. His first task was to settle the “school question” which we covered, above. There was a pause while council approved the fire ordinance that had resulted from Giesen’s motion to devise a fire protection plan. More city ordinances ensued. It now required a license to haul people or freight for hire; license $5/year. Annual licenses for meat markets $6 and public scales $10. Opening a fire hydrant except to fight a fire, fine up to $200 in cash or hard labor on streets at 50 cents/day. Meat market scales to be checked every 3 months. Anyone operating a fraudulent scale could be fined up to $300 in cash or hard labor on streets at 50 cents/day. Large Animals were not allowed to run loose in the streets; fine is $1-3/day/animal or hard labor on streets ... .

In 1886, Giesen was elected to his second term as mayor. In 1887, he lost to Hammett Hardy. In 1888, he de- feated Roger Byrne 62-41 for Third Ward Alderman and was back on the city council. In 1889, Giesen again challenged Hardy for the mayorship and, again, lost by 27 votes. But he’s still on the city council as Third Ward Alderman, a position to which he was re-elected in 1890. In 1899, he is still, or again?, on the city council as Third Ward Alderman.

In 1906, Fergus “Ferg” Kyle died while in office representing Hays County in the Texas House of Representatives. Sensing opportunity, Giesen ran to fill the position, won, and was re-elected for a second term. He served during the full 30th Regular Session 1907-1909. As a freshman legislator, he was given a fairly light load; takes time just to find the coffee shop and the bathroom. So he was assigned to the Appropriations Committee and the Public Grounds and Buildings Committee.

When he returned to Austin for his second term, he served in the 31st RS 12 and was assigned to Appropriations, Municipal Corporations, Penitentiaries, Revenue and Taxation, and State Affairs. The RS appears not to have been long enough to accomplish all their tasks, so there was a Called Session [CS] in which he was assigned to Appropriations, Municipal Corporations, and State Affairs.

He was still in office on 13 August 1909, the day he died. He is buried in the San Marcos City Cemetery findagrave # 105336425.

You already know that Giesen’s successor was Hammett Hardy. Next week.

It’s a state natural area whose facilities are way nicer than most state parks, and it provides true silence in the backcountry punctuated by the occasional C-5 Globemaster military aircraft coming in for a landing.

At only an hour and a half away, Government Canyon offers a great weekend getaway with all of your closest San Antonio friends. I booked a night at the walk-in tent campground, and the parking lot consisted of a who’s who of outdoor enthusiasts: minivans with bike racks, sprinter vans with birding bumper stickers, dirtbag Civics with backseat blinds, and enough Subarus to qualify as an outdoor festival. Whatever your fancy, Government Canyon has something to offer.

For young families: The Frontcountry Trails allow easy walking or beginner biking for little legs, while the Joe Johnston Route provides easy access to the backcountry as children age into adolescence. Throw in some legit dinosaur tracks on a five-mile hike, and you’ve got a great family weekend. The tent campgrounds are spacious and accommodating with their own cedar varmit boxes, but bring a wagon to haul your stuff.

For high adventurers: With over 40 miles of trails, Government Canyon provides challenging climbs, exhilarating descents and enough room to really stretch your legs. The Far Reaches and Sendero Balcones Trails climb high into the sotol-covered peaks via rugged limestone trails where 29-inch tires or maxcushioned trail shoes can be put to the test. Your rise-and-grind attitude pays off as you can bomb down the Wildcat Canyon Trail or flow with the forest single track by connecting to the Twin Oaks Trail. Throw in Caroline’s Loop and the Joe Johnston Route, and an epic 12-mile excursion awaits.

For hikers, birders, herpers, and naturalists: The best time of year is Sep-Feb when the Protected Habitat Area is open and restricted to hiking only. However, if you go now, you can still catch the Mountain Laurel in bloom, and all sorts of creatures beginning to stretch their wings. Butterflies, birds, lizards, and even salamanders greeted me on my journey, and with a few hiking- only trails like Bluff Spurs and the Overlook Trail, you can enjoy the views without the worry of a bike or a runner coming out of nowhere. With Frontcountry, that’s mostly savannah and a backcountry that’s mostly highlands, the chances for diverse wildlife encounters abound.

Have you seen the small rock cottage near the gazebo in downtown San Marcos? That was the home of Charles Stephen Cock and Susana Walker, both born in Alabama. But eventually, as part of the westward expansion, they moved to Yalobusha County, Mississippi, near Water Valley. Susana was the daughter of Israel Walker (1790 Al - 1848 IL) and Melinda Dykes (1789 VA - 1868 IL). Yalobusha County is in north central Mississippi; they both settled near Water Valley in the northeast corner of Yalobusha County.

Susana met Benjamin Jefferson Boydston, whose first wife Elizabeth Jacobs had died in 1843 in Bolivar, TN, perhaps from complications in the birth of their youngest son Martin, who was born in 1843. After Elizabeth’s death, Ben and family relocated to Water Valley, about 100 miles southwest of Bolivar.

On 4 January 1848, Susana married Ben in Water Valley. On 28 August 1848, Ben signed a new will in which he made bequests to Susana: “a certain Negro woman named Fanny and her 15-months-old child Squire … also one cow and calf.” Ben expressed his hope that Susanna, his sister Kiziah, and his children remain together as a family until Ben’s youngest son Martin reached his legal age. Martin was pretty young; he was born 1843 in Tennessee. I speculate that Susana was in the Boydston household before her marriage to Ben. Perhaps she was taken in to help care for young Martin. Ben was 43. Susana was 26.

On 20 September 1848, Ben died; findagrave # 46980221; cause unknown; and that changed everything. Ben’s will had been filed, and MS law prevailed. Ben had several children with his first wife Elizabeth, and Susana, after a marriage of about eight months, was an interloper. Why would she want to stay with the Boydston family; why would they want her to stay?

The solution was to pay her off. Susana made that easy for them. She claimed her bequests under Ben’s will and asserted her dower rights under Mississippi law. Those dower rights gave her one third of the income from the entire estate. For life. That would be intolerable to a potential buyer of any of the land. The solution might have been to buy her out, for which they needed money.

Ben’s sons embarked on a frenzy of selling as much of Ben’s personal property as they could. Livestock, for example. 50 bushels of corn at 41 cents per bushel. And paying off Ben’s debts by collecting money owed to Ben. Susana’s cow and calf brought $10. I find no evidence of a sale of Fanny and Squire, but they were valued at $650.

Susana also got one year’s provisions: 500 lbs pork or bacon, 50 bushels corn, 50 lbs coffee, 100 lbs sugar, 1 sack salt, 1 barrel flour, 1 lb pepper, 1 lb spice, 1 gal vinegar, 1 lb [unreadable]. And a similar list for the children.

Children? That may solve one problem but leave another. On 30 Oct 1849, Charles and Susana married in Water Valley. They were still in Yalobusha County for the 1850 census which, for the Cocks, was enumerated on 28 Oct. Present in the household were C.S. Cock 27 TN [sic] , Susan 28 GA [sic], Mary 2 MS, John 5/12 MS. The birth states for Charles and Susana are wrong, but that is common on census forms. I speculate that Mary and John are the children referred to in the probate records for Ben’s estate and are Ben’s children. Their fate is unknown. I do not find them in the 1860 census for Yalobusha County. One biographer says that they probably died. There were several diseases: yellow fever, malaria, cholera, tb [consumption] due to poor sanitation, contaminated water, and mosquitos.

The other problem is the twins. Cecilia and Cevilia were born 27 September 1850. They were almost one month old at the taking of the 1850 census. They should have been present with Susana, but were not listed. Perhaps they were in bed with Susana, and Charles, the informant, forgot about them. Perhaps the enumerator misunderstood the rules which stated that ALL should be counted; not just those of a certain age. Those ages raise another problem. If John was 5 months old in October 1850, then he was born about May 1850. The twins were born in September 1850? I choose to believe that John was older than 5 months.

Ben’s estate was not settled until 1852, but Charles and Susana continued their westward migration. They joined a wagon train heading for Texas. They probably crossed the Red River on flat boats at Shreveport and, after a brief stop in Bastrop, arrived in San Marcos in 1851. Their other three children were born there: William Calvin Cock in 1852, Charles Wood Cock in 1854, and Lewis Walker Cock in 1860.

Charles was active in the Masons, in the Methodist church, in the schools, and in real estate, but he seemed to have preferred county politics. From August 1865 to January 1867, Charles was a County Commissioner. In January 1867, he was appointed Hays County Clerk. He was also a Justice of the Peace and performed several marriages. On 29 January 1872, Charles took his oath as Hays County Inspector of Hides and Animals. On 20 March 1875, Charles was a [the?] Deputy Sheriff. Charles filled two offices as a result of the 7 November 1882 election when he was elected Justice of the Peace, unopposed. On 4 Apr 1882, he was elected Mayor. Two years later, he called an election for 1 Apr 1884 and was re-elected 148-38.

The duties of a mayor are many and varied. In February 1883, Mayor Cock signed a 12-year contract with C.M. Holmes for a waterworks for fire protection and public and domestic sanitary purposes. The source of the water was, of course, the San Marcos River.

Also in February 1883, there was a smallpox scare. Mayor Cock was asked by the board of health to announce that there had been no new cases, reported only one case, very mild, doing well, well quarantined, and hoped it would not spread.

On the same page the same newspaper referred to “unreasonable panic” and then an “excess of confidence” but the danger was by no means over and there should not be “the least abatement of any possible precaution to ward off the loathsome enemy.” Charlatans took the warning to mind.

Again, on the same page, were several recipes for preventatives and remedies. A mixture of saltpetre and brandy. That’s gunpowder and brandy, a mixture which has probably caused more trouble than it has cured. But nobody was taking chances. Seguin quarantined against San Marcos. Smallpox was a dread disease. Of those who contracted it, 3 of 10 died. Survivors were often scarred, sometimes very severely. We’re slow to catch on. In the late 1700s, Dr. Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids who contracted cowpox did not then contract smallpox. That’s what I got in the 1950s in my small pox inoculation.

Meanwhile, Mayor Cock was business as usual. He purchased a stock of saddlery and harness and moved it to the southwest corner of the public square with Mr. T.J. White employed to oversee sales, if any. On 1 April 1884, Cock was re-elected as mayor.

On 31 August 1884, a body was found on the railroad track between San Marcos and Hunter. Mayor Cock, Sheriff Barber, Marshal Prince, and others headed for the scene on railroad hand cars. Cock, Barber, and Prince were sitting on some scantling at the front of the car. On a downgrade, the brakes were applied, the loose scantling shifted and Cock, Barber, and Prince were thrown in front of the car which then hit them. Cock’s legs were damaged to the point that he had to use crutches for quite a while; it may be that he never fully recovered. In the event, a lawsuit ensued, which was not settled until 1890. After 2 or 3 trips to the state supreme court, Cock and Prince won their lawsuits and collected a total of $5,000 from the I&GN RR. Their lawyer was O.T. Brown who had preceded Cock as San Marcos mayor.

That was not the end of Cock’s troubles. On 7 April 1885, William Giesen opposed Cock in the mayoral election. Giesen won 181-103. In November 1886, Cock did win re-election as Justice of the Peace 218-127. But in November 1888, he lost to R.J. Smith “by a large majority.”

Cock’s loss to Giesen may have been due in part to the free school muddle. Before 1879, education in Texas operated like any other free market enterprise, like grocery stores or blacksmith shops. Coronal Institute offered high school instruction; its faculty maxed out at 12 and student body at 129. Mrs. Mosher, formerly an instructor at Coronal, taught, at her home, a number of little ones under the scholastic age. Major J.H. Bishop, former president of Coronal, opened Mary Henry Academy, a female boarding school.

The Texas legislature got into the act. On 3 April 1979, Gov. Oran M. Roberts approved House Bill 71 which provided that, upon application by at least 50 qualified voters, the mayor shall order an election to determine whether such city or town shall acquire exclusive control of any or all of the free schools and institutions of higher learning within its limits, AND [caps mine] whether they shall be controlled by the town or city council or by a board of 6 elected trustees.

On 14 Apr 1883, Gov. John Ireland approved Senate Bill 320 which provided that the city council of every city or town of 1,000 inhabitants or more, that has or shall assume control of its public free schools, may appoint six persons as a board of trustees. Appointed rather than elected.

City or town? A city had a population of 1,000 or more. A town did not. In either case, the city or town had to be incorporated under the general laws of the State. San Marcos did that in 1877.

In 1885, in response to a valid petition presented in 1884, Cock called for two elections.

1. A special election on Monday March 30 1885, to assume control of all public free schools. But NOT to decide whether the council or a board of trustees should control the schools. Cock and city attorney Sterling Fisher felt that San Marcos’ population, above 1,000, made the council vs. school trustee question superfluous because of SB 320.

2. A regular election on Tuesday 7 April 1885, to elect corporation officers.

Public indignation was high.

1. That the council vs. board of trustees question was not to be decided, and 2. That the time and expense of two elections would have been avoided had the two elections been combined. The vote to take control of the schools passed 166-99. In the town officials election, William Giesen replaced Charles Cock as mayor. Giesen thus inherited the school muddle. I know that you want to know how it turned out. See next week’s story about William Giesen.

Cock had always been a strong advocate of temperance and prohibition. In 1887, Cock was one of seven to call for the selection of delegates to attend the State Prohibition Convention in Waco.

On 15 March 1888, Prince and Cock vs. I&GN RR led to damages of $2,300 for Prince and $1,700 for Cock. The decision was appealed. On 18 Jan 1890, one of Cock’s buildings was destroyed by fire.

On 7 August 1890, after two or three treks to the Texas Supreme Court, the decision in Prince and Cock vs. I&GN RR was affirmed, with damages of more than $5,000 awarded to them. Prince and Cock’s successful attorney was O.T. Brown who had preceded Cock as mayor of San Marcos.

On 13 December 1891, yet another fire destroyed several buildings on the east side of the plaza, where the old courthouse now sits. One of those buildings belonged to Cock; valued at $1,500, it was uninsured.

On 26 January 1897, Cock died intestate and is buried in the San Marcos City Cemetery; see findagrave # 89865876. His five children deeded their share of his estate to their mother Susana. Susana survived until 20 December 1906 when she died; she is also buried in the San Marcos City Cemetery; see findagrave # 89865898. Susana, whose marriage to Ben Boydston had left her with an appreciation of wills, did have one.

The next mayor was William Giesen. Next week.