On this site in 1861-65, the William R. Alexander Distillery met a wartime need in Texas.
May 28, 1862, Governor Francis R. Lubbock closed all Texas distilleries, to save grain. Army calls for medicinal liquor (for opiate and stimulant purposes) . . . — — Map (db m29344) HM
Alice Gray Hamblen, born March 14, 1846, in Mississippi, and her husband, William Kroger Hamblen (1817-1902), moved to Salado in 1868 and quickly became involved with the local private school, Salado College. Alice was passionate about the . . . — — Map (db m203306) HM
Dr. David H. Armstrong, who served as one of the first trustees of the Salado public free schools, and his wife, Julia, built this home between 1869 and 1872. It later became the residence of a succession of Salado doctors, including Dr. D.G. Adams . . . — — Map (db m29257) HM
Great-granddaughter of builders. Daughter of Thomas S. and Mary Elizabeth (Robertson) Sutherland.
First woman vice president of student body, University of Texas. Married Leslie Carpenter; has 2 children. In 1954 was president Women's National . . . — — Map (db m29311) HM
The cabin discovered in 1986 inside a house being torn down on Center Circle in Salado may have been a stage stop, a resting place for drivers and horses, a post office, a school, before becoming hidden walls in a residence. Research led by Salado . . . — — Map (db m203298) HM
Milton Wesley Damron (1825-1887), an early settler and Salado public servant, was born in Tennessee and came to Texas as part of the Mercer Colony. He arrived in the 1840s and shortly afterwards married Sarah Pennington. When original settlement . . . — — Map (db m29350) HM
Church Bell Purchased in 1879
1864 - Salado Baptist Church Organized.
1878 - Original Church Building Erected.
1879 - Bell Placed in Cupola of Original Building.
1962 - Original Building Torn Down.
1964 - Bell Tower . . . — — Map (db m203296) HM
One of many patented truss designs developed by American inventors and engineers in the mid- to late-19th century, this 87-foot lenticular truss bridge represents an unusual truss type in the United States. The lenticular design features a curved . . . — — Map (db m29256) HM
Educators Samuel Jackson (1858-1918) and Charlotte Hallaran (d. 1904) Jones taught at Salado College in 1884-1885. In 1890, the Joneses opened Thomas Arnold High School in the former Salado College buildings. Charlotte died in 1904, leaving five . . . — — Map (db m29375) HM
A graduate of the medical department of Kentucky's Transylvania University, South Carolina native Dr. Welborn Barton (1821-1883) came to Texas in the late 1840s. After two years of practicing medicine in Bastrop County, he returned to South . . . — — Map (db m29349) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m212459) HM
To understand the settlement of Salado we begin with the time when empresarios, such as Stephen F. Austin and Sterling C. Robertson, obtained land grants from Mexico to colonize Texas. Empresarios contracted with Mexico to bring settlers to Texas in . . . — — Map (db m212460) HM
A Baptist revival was held on the banks of Salado Creek as early as 1854. By about 1860, members of area Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Church of Christ denominations were meeting in an ecumenical house of worship. Each group held an all-day . . . — — Map (db m29083) HM
Built 1872 by Josiah Fowler, a settler from Tennessee, Confederate veteran, co-editor of "Fowler's Arithmetic", and a college teacher. — — Map (db m29307) HM
In 1890, the Salado College Board of Trustees leased its building to Dr. S.J. Jones who established a private high school. Dr. Jones named the school Thomas Arnold High School, after the well-known headmaster of a prestigious school in England. The . . . — — Map (db m212178) HM
Reverend George Washington Baines is buried at this site with his second wife, Cynthia Williams, and one of his sons, Taliaferro. Reverend Baines was born in North Carolina Dec 29, 1809. Educated in Alabama and ordained a minister in 1836. A . . . — — Map (db m203271) HM
Built in the 1860s, this house was the residence of the Rev. George Washington Baines (1809-83) from 1870 to 1883. A pioneer Baptist preacher, missionary, editor, and educator, the Rev. Baines was the great-grandfather of United States President . . . — — Map (db m29313) HM
This cemetery is the final resting place for members of the William K. and Alice Gray Hamblen family.
On May 7, 1867, William K. Hamblen and his brother, John W. Hamblen purchased 5 acres of land adjacent to the town of Salado from E.S.C. . . . — — Map (db m203304) HM
New Hampshire native Hermon (Herman) Aiken worked in Illinois and Tennessee before moving to New Orleans. There, he served as a ship’s captain taking supplies to Galveston in support of the Texas Revolution. He lived in Texas by 1840. In 1846, . . . — — Map (db m29351) HM
This house was built 1856-1860 by Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson
1820-1879 Texas pioneer, patriot, soldier and jurist, and one of the founders of Salado College. — — Map (db m29312) HM
Home of Wellborn Barton 1821-1883; Pioneer physician of this region. For many years a trustee of Salado College, built 1866. (John Hendrickson, Contractor)
Old military road and Chisholm cattle trail passed here. — — Map (db m29255) HM
All Gave Some Some Gave All
Jesse Cecil Knight Charles Edward Evans John Wallace Porter Curtis Edward Reue Dallas Allen Bayer Bill Morriss — — Map (db m203308) WM
James Anderson and his wife, Elizabeth Caroline Barnard, natives of Buncombe County, North Carolina, married there in 1821 The couple had 15 children. Anderson was a farmer and in 1835 migrated to Missouri. He joined the Mercer Colony and migrated . . . — — Map (db m203268) HM
Salado College professor and principal James Lowry Smith was a progressive leader in education. He received degrees at Baylor and served in the Civil War before beginning his tenure at Salado College in 1863. Despite challenges including low . . . — — Map (db m203270) HM
Paine Bush, son of Fanny White and Tandy Bush, was born in Salado and graduated from Thomas Arnold High School and the University of Texas Law School. He moved to Dallas in 1918, where he reared his family and enjoyed an outstanding legal career, . . . — — Map (db m212514) HM
The Taylors were among the earliest Baptist missionaries to Brazil. Zachary Clay Taylor (b. 1851) was a pastor preparing for missions when he met Kate Crawford (b. 1862), a Salado school teacher. They wed Christmas Day 1881 at the then named Salado . . . — — Map (db m203294) HM
Mary Elizabeth "Liz" Sutherland Carpenter was a nationally known White House official, writer, and speaker. Her choice of Salado College Hill, where her parents met, for the scattering of her ashes completed full circle her remarkable life journey. . . . — — Map (db m212454) HM
At one time, this log cabin, built in the 1800s, sat on the Claude and Bernice Hodge Ranch, which was about two miles west of Salado on Thomas Arnold Road. In about 1934 Claude Hodge gave the cabin to Charles and Eva Stevens who owned the Stagecoach . . . — — Map (db m203272) HM
When Addie Barton (1858-1921) was seven years old, her parents, Dr. Welborn and Louisa Barton, moved to Salado so their children could attend Salado College. Upon graduation, Addie became a teacher. She felt called to become a missionary in 1883 . . . — — Map (db m29249) HM
M.H. Denman built cabin 1867 (15 mi. NW), of handhewn, square cedar logs joined by wooden pegs; has fireplace of native stone; restored 1955. — — Map (db m29259) HM
A number of bridges have been built over Salado Creek on Main Street since 1870. After the town of Salado was laid out in 1859, citizens crossed the creek using various combinations of rocks and logs. When local citizens and students at Salado . . . — — Map (db m29081) HM
Before migrating to Texas, A. J. Rose made a fortune in the 1849 California Gold Rush. In 1857 he and his wife Sallie (Austin) brought their family from Missouri to Travis County, Texas. Later they settled in San Saba County, where Rose ran a mill . . . — — Map (db m29345) HM
Built about 1872 by Edward R.A. Buckles, this I-plan vernacular house exhibits Classical and Victorian detailing. Its two-story gallery features Doric columns on the ground level, which contrast with the Victorian turned wood columns and balusters . . . — — Map (db m29254) HM
Built 1860 at edge of an old Indian campground, by James B. Anderson, one of town’s founders and a school trustee in Salado. Community leaders, lawyers and doctors have lived here.
Boarding here in 1883 while a student at Old Salado College was . . . — — Map (db m29252) HM
When Salado College opened its doors in 1860, the Church of Christ began meeting in the chapel alternating Sundays with the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. The congregation cooperated with these groups in having a union, or . . . — — Map (db m212177) HM
This burial ground was likely in use about the time a U.S. Post Office was established in Salado Springs in 1852. In 1854 Col. Elijah Sterling C. Robertson purchased a large tract of land north and south of the springs that included the cemetery. . . . — — Map (db m29348) HM
Rev. Denman was born in Gumlock Creek, Franklin Co., Georgia on May 8, 1803 and moved to Cherokee County, Texas with his first wife, Elizabeth Randle (1805-1861), in 1849. There he established a large plantation and ran a general store with the help . . . — — Map (db m203301) HM
A native of Georgia, Robert B. Halley brought his family to this area about 1853. With partner T.J. Eubanks, he operated a liquor distillery and a flour and grist mill on the Lampasas River. Halley served as Bell County Commissioner in 1859 and as . . . — — Map (db m29374) HM
Built by Col. E.S.C. Robertson and wife, Mary Elizabeth (Dickey).
Rare ante-bellum plantation complex, comprising home, servant quarters, land, family cemetery, stables. Still a working ranch.
The house, occupied by fifth generation of . . . — — Map (db m29310) HM
Salado was officially establish in 1859 when Col. E.S.C Robertson donated land for a townsite and for a college. Col. Hermon Aiken drew a plat for the town, which developed along its main street. However, there had been activity here long before . . . — — Map (db m79922) HM
Salado's founding and the establishment of Salado College occurred simultaneously. During the 1850s, only a few families lived at nearby Sulphur Springs. Because schools were few, some of these families began discussing the need for a school near . . . — — Map (db m212186) HM
Established 1856 on 2.5-acre site given by E.S.C. Robertson.
Distinguished Texans interred here include the Rev. G.W. Baines, great-grandfather of President Lyndon B. Johnson; the Rev. and Mrs. J.E. Ferguson, parents of Governor James E. . . . — — Map (db m29376) HM
Founded in March 1859, this congregation first met in a brush arbor on the north bank of Salado Creek. The first two elders were James Anderson and J.W. Vickrey, both of whom were instrumental in the organization of Salado College. A frame . . . — — Map (db m29258) HM
There were no public schools in Texas at the time Salado College opened. Some towns had local private schools, but colleges then in existence were as much cultural institutions as educational centers.
Typical first courses of instruction and . . . — — Map (db m212183) HM
Gushing limestone springs, abundant fish, flowers, and trees have long made the banks of Salado Creek a good home site.
Indians camped beside stream; Spanish explorers named it; the first Anglo-American settler was Archibald Willingham, 1851. . . . — — Map (db m29082) HM
In 1854, the Rev. Thomas Gilmore, a Methodist circuit rider, led a revival at Pecan Grove on the north side of Salado Creek. He organized a Methodist church and a Union Sunday school in a small frame building. During the next decades, the . . . — — Map (db m29347) HM
Founded 1856 with a gift by Col. E.S.C. Robertson of 100 acres of land the "Athens of Texas" from 1858 to 1884. This marker rests on ground where the college building stood. — — Map (db m242482) HM
Dr. Samuel J. Jones (1857-1918) and his wife, Charlotte Hallaran Jones (d. 1904), established Thomas Arnold High School on this site in 1890. The school, which was actually a private academy, occupied the stone buildings vacated by Salado College, . . . — — Map (db m35242) HM
Constructed during the 1860s, the Stagecoach Inn was known as Salado Hotel and as Shady Villa before the current name was adopted in 1943. Military figures George Armstrong Custer and Robert E. Lee, and cattle baron Shanghai Pierce are among those . . . — — Map (db m29080) HM
Salado College grew from 74 students in 1860 to 307 in 1865, its peak enrollment. Undoubtedly, the talented professors the college employed spurred this growth. A.J. Harris, Otto Fuchs, L.H. Davis and wife Amanda, and James Lowery Smith, who also . . . — — Map (db m212181) HM
Built in 1864 by William A. Davis First stone mill with carding machine in this vicinity. A sawmill and gin were added in 1866. French burrs, Leffel water wheel and silk bolt brought from Galveston by wagon in 1871. Made flour for Central Texas . . . — — Map (db m29251) HM
A Texas native plant garden
Texas native plants are hardy, less susceptible to pests and diseases and unlikely to escape and become invasive. North American native plants, defined as those that existed here without human introduction, are . . . — — Map (db m212452) HM
E.M. Hutchens married Ruby Vickrey December 31, 1917. Prior to their marriage, Hutchens had attended Salado College from 1913-1917. At that time "Miss Ruby" was head of the piano department. Hutchens had even signed up as a piano student. Later, he . . . — — Map (db m212173) HM
Part of an old Spanish land grant, this property was owned by Clara D. and C.B. Baird, conveyed to J.W. Walkup, and later sold to Mrs. M.J. Wheaton in 1906. Mrs. Wheaton built her home, consisting of a large kitchen and a large bedroom, on the . . . — — Map (db m212176) HM
Built in 1870-72, this structure typifies the Greek Revival style with its symmetrical facade. The residence was constructed for former Confederate officer Archibald Johnson Rose (1830-1903) and his large family. A prosperous farmer, Rose . . . — — Map (db m29346) HM
Alabama native James Ferguson (1824-1876) became a Methodist preacher in Arkansas before moving to Texas in 1847. As a circuit rider for the next 20 years, he served Methodists in numerous parts of central and southeast Texas. Ferguson wed native . . . — — Map (db m29373) HM
Under the sheltering trees on this hill, Mary E. Robertson and Thomas S. Sutherland met and studied at Thomas Arnold High School graduating in 1906 and 1910, married in the Robertson Homeplace uniting two families whose ancestors settled in Texas . . . — — Map (db m212453) HM
A pedestrian safety project by
the Texas Department of Transportation
Lenticular truss-Patented 1878
Designer: William O. Douglass
Manufacturer: East Berlin Iron Bridge Company, East Berlin, Connecticut
Constructed in 1889 across Cowhouse . . . — — Map (db m198746) HM
Eustace Maurice Hutchens was born in 1893 near Bartlett, Texas and attended school through the sixth grade at Indian Creek School. As with most families during the early twentieth century, who relied on farming to support themselves and feed the . . . — — Map (db m203302) HM
Twelve Oaks, 1867-69. Greek Revival mansion built of stone from adjacent land, for B.D. McKie, Texas doctor who fought and was wounded in Mexican and Civil wars.
Restoration by parents of Lt. Henry Clay DeGrummond, Jr. World War II combat hero, . . . — — Map (db m29343) HM
This big red barn was built by W.R. Berry circa 1908. The extensions on each side give the barn a distinctive look. Berry's granddaughter, Ruth Berry Brown, referred to the structure as a carriage house rather than a barn, with good reason. The . . . — — Map (db m203309) HM
What You Will See
The ruins at the top of the hill represent an institution key to the founding and development of Salado. The property went unused after its destruction by fire in 1924. In 1973, the Robertson Colony-Salado College Foundation . . . — — Map (db m212502) HM
Located in an area populated by former slaves following the Civil War, this cemetery dates to the 1870s. The earliest documented grave is that of Jozie Fulbright, who died in 1877, although according to local oral tradition there may be earlier . . . — — Map (db m29308) HM
Willingham Spring Baptist Church was organized in 1911 with the aid of Brother Cullam, pastor of Prairie Dell Methodist Church. Local farmer Wilson Willingham deeded property on this site. Oral history relates that Hanna Elizabeth "Grandma" Kidd . . . — — Map (db m178533) HM
