Fort Croghan Museum & Grounds
Plaza of Honor Biographies
The Terracotta Bricks
LEWIS EDWIN and GLADYS V. DOTSON
ALEXANDER 1925
Lewis and Gladys Dotson Alexander met at Normal School in San Marcos, Texas. She studied Home Economics; he took Shop courses.
Lewis was born in 1901 to Ed and Alice Alexander on the ranch in Pebble Mound Community. The Samuel Alexander family had moved to Burnet County from Arkansas after Texas became a state.
Gladys was born in Oklahoma, in 1900. Her ancestor George Washington Smith fought at San Jacinto in 1836.
Brick donated by Dr. Jane A. Knapik
SAMUEL STEVENSON
ALEXANDER
1804 – 1863
Samuel Stevenson Alexander was born in North Carolina and died in Burnet County, Texas at age fifty-eight. He eloped/married Thurzy Ross in Crawford County, AR, in 1826. She was born in April, 1810 in Warren County, TN. They had eleven children. They lived in Washington County, AR in 1829. Samuel was very active in civic affairs. He was JP in the township of Cane Hill, Washington County, AR in 1829. In 1830, Samuel was commissioned as 2nd Lt., 3rd Co., 2nd Btn, in the Washington County, AR territorial and state militia.
Samuel was a member of the Friendly Society, Inc. He had a certificate givng him the right to prepare and use in his family--The Medicine & System of Practice secured by Samuel Stevenson Alexander by Letters of Patent from the President of the USA dated 1-28-1823. He was an entrepreneur in Arkansas and Tennessee. They helped organize the Christian Church in AR.
They tried three times to come to Texas and finally did in 1848 to Williamson County, TX with nine of their children. Samuel was partners with a man named Davis, and they mined salt on the Colorado River in Llano County, TX. He was the 1st Treasurer of Williamson County, TX. In 1853, Samuel’s family settled by Mesquite Creek, Burnet County, TX with a 200 acre deed by a patented land grant. They built a home, rock granary, rock fences and established the Alexander Cemetery on their land.
Samuel died in 1863 in Burnet County, TX from an accident with a wagon. He was buried in the Alexander Cemetery. Thurzy died in 1889 in Burnet County, TX and was buried in the Alexander Cemetery.
NOTE: Thurzy’s sister was China Ross, who married a man whose last name was Black who had Black’s Fort in Burnet County, TX.
-submitted and donated by Betty Chaney
ALTMAN CABIN
on FORT GROUNDS
Since 1993
The Altman cabin was reportedly built by Lonthan Jordan Altman (1825-1862). The initials “LJA” and the date “1861” are carved into rock on the chimney. Altman was a soldier in the Confederate Army and died in action in 1863 during battle in Loiusiana.
The Altman cabin remained as the land changed hands and eventually was abandoned for a larger modern house. In 1193, The log cabin was donated to Fort Croghan by Norma Brown Wrubel and her brother Lee Phillips. According to Doris Glimp Lewis, relative of Mr. Altman, the Wrubels “were not kin to the Altmans”. They just owned the property at the time it was donated.
The cabin is a “dog run” or“dog trot” style which is really two cabins (one for cooking, one for sleeping) built side by side with a common roof over both structures. The open area between served as a shelter for animals, equipment or wagons. Visitors could bed down in the wagon for “guest room” accommodations.
According to an October 7, 1993 article by Sara Wartes, when the Wrubel and Phillips donated the cabin, “one side of the cabin had fallen down, its cedar logs piled haphazardly.” Tommy Glimp and Doug Newton carefully rebuilt the cabin on Fort Croghan grounds. A city “cherrypicker” was called in to raise the topmost logs.
NOTE:
Lonthan Jordan Altman was the brother of Doris Glimp Lewis’s great-grandfather, John Israel Altman,.(1841-1911).
References:
Fort Croghan Museum Files --docent notes
Lewis, Doris Glimp Interview August, 19,2021
Wartes, Sara, Dog-Run Cabin is Reconstructed , October 7, 1993
-information compiled by Cheryl J. Henderson
-donated by the Burnet County Heritage Society
BURNET ANTIQUE MALL
This brick honors the oldest antique store in Burnet County.
-donated by John and Carol Will
BALADEZ FAMILY
BURNET RESIDENTS
-over 100 years
The history of the Hispanic people in Burnet County is a hard one to track down, as most families at the time were migrant workers. These families would scatter across Texas chasing the annual crops or hop from ranch to ranch shearing sheep for the thriving wool market.
The Baladez family was one of these families. For over 100 years, this family has called Burnet County home. Working local farms and ranches, they settled in the Bertram area.
Donated by John Baladez
Alex Smith
A well-respected member of the Fort Croghan Museum & Grounds team, Alex Smith is one of our founding members and has played a vital role in shaping our vision and programs. They bring years of experience in making Fort Croghan Museum & Grounds a household name.
Max Johnson
Experienced, trustworthy and driven. These are just a few of the ways that coworkers describe this invaluable member of our team. Max Johnson is truly inspirational and makes it a pleasure to come to work.