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 Thomas Ruckman
N 28° 57.044 W 097° 49.195
14R E 614998 N 3203100
Thomas Ruckman founded the town of Helena, TX with his business associate Dr. Lewis Owings. Helena grew to be the larges town between San Antonio and Goliad. Mr. Ruckman's house is within 0.3 road miles away to the south of this marker.
Waymark Code: WM129PA
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/07/2020
Views: 4
This Texas historical marker tells of the life and times of Thomas Ruckman, an entrepreneur and founder of Helena, TX. He was a graduate of what we now know as Princeton University who moved to Texas to take advantage of the unlimited business opportunities. He located his trading post along the Ox-Cart Road, also known as the Chihuahua Road (or Trail) and eventually founded the town of Helena where he lived. His holdings included a grist mill and a trading post. Ruckman was also the Postmaster for many years, a Mason, a banker and a merchant. He was buried in the nearby Masonic Cemetery of Helena.
Marker Number: 5473
Marker Text:
(November 8, 1826 - December 2, 1914)
Founding father of Karnes County, Ruckman was born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1848 from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and taught in South Carolina for a year. But the lure of Texas - then a frontier state where land was cheap and opportunity boundless - brought him on Christmas morning, 1850, to San Antonio.
In 1851 he started a trading post in the little Mexican settlement of Alamita, located on the Old Ox-Cart Road between San Antonio and Goliad. Other businessmen followed his example, and soon Ruckman was able to build a gristmill near the San Antonio River, enlarge his store, and erect a stately home.
Soon after, Ruckman took as partner Dr. L. S. Owings, and together they foresaw a metropolis arising at this important and inviting roadstop. Their store once stood near the site of this marker.
In 1852, they laid out a new town, which they named "Helena", in honor of Owings' wife. When Karnes County organized in 1854, Helena was chosen county seat.
Ruckman was postmaster here, 1854 to 1857, and he continued nearly 40 years as leading merchant and banker. In 1872, he helped found the Helena Academy. He is buried in the Masonic Cemetery of Helena.
(1968)
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