1936 Texas Centennial County Marker - Glen Rose Downtown Historic District - Glen Rose, TX
N 32° 14.098 W 097° 45.338
14S E 617240 N 3567159
The restored 1936 Texas Centennial County Marker stands on the grounds of the historic Somervell County Courthouse at 101 NE Barnard St, and it is a contributing object to the Glen Rose Downtown Historic District.
Waymark Code: WM12248
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/06/2020
Views: 4
The National Register's Registration Form provides some lengthy reading, explaining why there are both 1936 and 1965 dates on the marker:
The 1936 Somervell County historical marker created and installed by the Texas Highway Department during the celebration of the centennial of Texas independence is the same style as others erected by the state during the anniversary observances. It consists of a rounded rectangular block of Texas pink granite 3 feet 3 inches tall at the rear, 2 feet 1 inch thick, and 2 feet 5 inches wide, with a top slope of 6 inches. To the top is attached a bronze plaque measuring 18 by 24 inches. The front of these markers was ornamented with an 18-inch-diameter bronze representation of the Texas Highway Department emblem.
When Texas celebrated its centennial of independence from Mexico, most counties in the state received their own individual county historical marker. Members of the legislature desired to place at least one marker of some type in each county during the centennial, and under its directives the Texas Highway Department erected two hundred twenty roadside markers that summarized county histories. The Somervell County marker was placed in a maintained roadside park about a mile east of Glen Rose on the Cleburne Highway (U. S. Highway 67) at its intersection with the Granbury Highway. This location allowed motorists safely to view the marker on the principal eastern entry into Glen Rose. Then in 1948 the alignment of U.S. Highway 67 shifted to the north in order to avoid the congestion of the courthouse square commercial area. This change left the historical marker standing at the intersection of two county roads, not important highways. In time vandals damaged and eventually stole the plaque and the coat of arms from the granite block. Local citizens in 1964 approached the Texas Historical Survey Committee with a request to restore the marker and to relocate it "to the courthouse lawn" in Glen Rose. The next year the plaque and crest on the marker were replaced and crews from the Texas Highway Department moved the marker to its present location on the south side of the courthouse square in Glen Rose.
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The plaque itself reads:
Somervell County
Named for Alexander Somervell (1796-1854), native of Maryland, veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, secretary of war under Texas President David G. Burnet; commanded the 1842 Somervell Expedition seeking to end Mexican invasions of Texas Republic.
Region was in Old Brazos Land District. Home of Wacos and other Indians. First white settler was Charles Barnard, 1848. First cotton crop and first tannery were introduced during Civil War, 1861-1865.
Created from land in south end of Hood County and organized in 1875; Glen Rose (founded as Barnard's Mill), county seat. (1965)
Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Glen Rose Downtown Historic District
Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link]
Address:
101 NE Barnard St, Glen Rose, TX 76043
How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below)
Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]
NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): Not listed
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