E.S.C. Robertson

E.S.C. Robertson. . Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson was born in Giles County, Tennessee, August 23, 1820. His father, Empresario S.C. Robertson, brought him to Texas to learn Spanish and to help him in his land office translating and copying land grants to Spanish. For this work, he received 14 league (1,107 acres) of land. When the Texas Revolution began in 1836, his father had him take his land documents by ox cart to the United States for safe-keeping., E. S. C. Robertson was a captain in the Texas militia in 1842, when Mexico invaded Texas, and he was a colonel by 1844. At that time, at age 24, he was a dashing cavalryman, comfortable on a horse and an accurate shot. After his first wife, the mother of three children, died, he married Mary E. Dickey in 1852. They became the parents of 12 children (15 children in all). In 1854, he began work on his permanent home near Salado Springs. He first saw this land at age 15 in 1835, when he came through the area fighting Indians in a ranger company formed by his father. His involvement with the founding of Salado College and the town occurred in 1859. During the Civil War, he served on General H. E. McCulloch's staff. After the war, he devoted most of his time to supporting Salado's educational systems and his personal business as a landowner who farmed and ranched. He was a member of the Texas Constitutional Convention in 1875. He died October 8, 1879 and is buried at the Robertson Family Cemetery., E.S.C. Robertson built his home in Salado. About 1854 construction began and was completed several years later. Considered the most complete surviving example of a plantation complex in Texas, it is a true antebellum plantation complex comprising the Greek Revival house, servants quarters, cemetery, and stables. It is framed with 22 rooms, 11 native stone fireplaces, and two staircases. On the front of the house is a "stranger's" room for use by passersby who need a place to sleep. The entrance is from the front porch and does not lead into any other part of the house. The Texas Historical Commision placed a marker in 1936 and 1967, and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983., Captions , Lower Left: The Robertson Plantation is located directly west of your present location on the opposite side of 1-35.