Frank Augustus Hamer - Navasota, TX - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

Frank Hamer was born in Fairview, Texas, on March 17, 1884, where his father operated a blacksmith shop. He was one of five brothers, four of whom became Texas Rangers.

In his youth, Hamer worked in his father's shop, and as an older teenager worked as a wrangler on a local ranch. He began his career in law enforcement in 1905 while working on the Carr Ranch in West Texas when he captured a horse thief. The local sheriff was so impressed that he recommended that Hamer join the Rangers.

Frank Hamer retired in 1949 and lived in Austin until his death. In 1953 he suffered a heat stroke and though he lived two more years, never regained his health. He was buried near his son in Memorial Park Cemetery in Austin. In his life he was wounded 17 times and left for dead four times. He is credited with having killed over 53 people.

Artist Russell Cushman portrayed Hamer standing with a rifle in his left hand, resting on his shoulder. Hamer is standing with his weight on his left foot and his right leg bent. He is dressed in a Stetson, boots, jeans, shirt and tie. A sheriffs badge rests on his chest and a gunbelt is around his waist.

Text of Marker:

Frank Augustus Hamer became the Navasota City Marshal in 1908, after the Navasota City Council made a plea to the Governor of Texas for help. Grimes County had become a battleground for the decade prior to his arrival plagued with political and racial conflicts tearing the community apart.

Hammer, just 24 years old, was recruited from the Texas Rangers to help end the violence. As Mance Lipscomb, a fellow Navasota historic figure, remembered his days as a buggy driver for Hamer the City Marshal was an integral part of making Navasota safe for all members of society.

At six feet five inches tall, he was often known to put away his guns and use his legs to kick and subdue suspects joking that his "feet were always loaded". Local affluent hardliners challenged him only to learn that he would arrest anyone who broke the law.

After taming Navasota, Frank Hamer left in 1911 and went on to become one of the greatest lawmen of the American West, serving in the Texas Rangers most of his career. He aided Mexican authorities along the Texas border fighting gunrunners, bootleggers, and Mexican banditos.

He is most famous for ending the robbing and killing spree of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, leading a posse in Louisiana that tracked down the two.

Frank Hamer was recognized by J. Edgar Hoover and historian Walter Prescott Webb as one of the outstanding Peace Officers of his time.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/25/2018 WalksfarTX visited it