Courthouses and River Crossings

May 26, 2024

This is the third in a series of posts about our explorations in the Texas Hill Country in late May 2024.

Today, we retraced some of our steps from a previous adventure that we had to abort due to mechanical issues with the truck. (You can read about that trip and what happened to the truck in Cows of Unusual Size.)

Route: Courthouses and River Crossings, Part I

Very little planning went into this adventure, though, as there were multiple possible routes we could have ended up taking. But there were four places we wanted to visit, for certain, before venturing into the unknown.

First up was the recently restored Mason County Courthouse. Construction of the courthouse was completed in 1910. Features included a clock mechanism that predated the courthouse, itself, and 16 two-story Doric columns. The columns were constructed in Fort Worth, Texas, then shipped to Brady, 30 miles north of Mason. Each was then strapped to two wagons and hauled to Mason by mule teams. Block and tackle systems, powered by mules and manpower, were used to lift each of the columns into place. (Source: Lindsay, Deloris Haley. Good Times – Second Edition, pp. 50, 51)

On February 4, 2021, an arsonist set fire to the 110-year-old building. The fire destroyed everything except the exterior walls. It was determined, though, that the walls were still sound, and thus the decision was made to rebuild the rest of the courthouse. It is scheduled to be open to the public in July 2024!

Our next stop was the M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library, located on the south side of town a few blocks away from the courthouse. There resides the Old Yeller statue, in commemoration of Mason native Fred Gipson‘s famous book, Old Yeller.

Our third objective was to see the Cows of Unusual Size (C.O.U.S.) that we had discovered a while back in a pasture off of Old Mill Creek Road. Sadly, no cows were in the pasture, so we continued on. I swear we’re not crazy.

Our last planned stop was White’s Crossing, a popular swimming and canoe access point along the Llano River. The last time we were here, construction was nearly finished on the new bridge that replaced the low water crossing.

For all of its usual peace and beauty, the Llano River, like all Hill Country rivers, becomes a dangerous place during heavy storms. The water rises quickly, and the low water crossings become impassible. The new bridge allows traffic to continue even during heavy floods. (Although I’m still skeptical of bridges over Hill Country rivers during major flood events.)

Continuing along Ranch to Market Road 1871, we stopped at a historical marker that marks the site of the John L. Jones Ranch. Jones played an important role in eliminating cattle rustlers and outlaws, including remnants of the notorious Dalton Gang, who had caused local ranchers and townspeople a great deal of grief.

RR 1871 ended at RR 385. We turned right and headed to a second Llano River crossing:

A short distance past the historical marker, RR 385 crosses the Llano River at a low water crossing. This appears to be a popular swimming spot for the locals. There were several people there as we passed, but we managed to keep them out of the photos below.

Driving up the far side of the river crossing, we came to the junction of RR 385 and FM 3480. Yes, the sign said “Farm Road.” Most of the state roads in this area are “ranch” roads, but this one was an exception! We turned left and then passed over another low water crossing at Red Creek, which was dry. Red Creek joins the Llano River near the Old Beef Trail Crossing.

FM 3480 is short and ends at U.S. 377. We turned right and passed through Reichenau Gap, just south of London, Texas. The gap was visible for quite some distance before we reached it. A marker provides a little history:

And then we came to the small town of London. I wish we had stopped and taken some pictures. It was kind of a neat little town, with several old buildings, a combination grocery store and grill, another restaurant, and a convenience store.

A little past London we turned left onto RR 1221 (yes, we were back to Ranch Roads), then left onto RR 1773. That took us to U.S. 83, which led us into Menard, Texas.

Menard, located along the San Saba River, was established in 1858. It is the county seat of Menard County. It was originally named Menardville, after Michel Branamour Menard, one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The name was shortened to Menard around 1910 to 1911 when the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway was planning to build a line through town. Railway officials made the request in order to make sign painting easier!

But long before Menard existed, the area had been home to several tribes of Native Americans. Franciscan missionaries established Santa Cruz de San Saba Mission in 1757. Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas protected the mission and area colonists, but the mission was destroyed in 1758 by natives. San Luis de las Amarillas was replaced by Presidio de San Saba in 1761, which remained in operation until the Spanish crown shut it down in 1770. Local settlers used the stones for various construction projects, but the original site of the presidio was partially reconstructed in 1936. Visitors may explore the grounds of the presidio for free. However, when Kristi and I visited, the temperature was over 100F, so we “explored” by taking pictures from inside our air-conditioned truck.

From the presidio, we drove into town to see the county courthouse.

Route: Courthouses and River Crossings, Part II

The Menard County Courthouse was completed in 1932. It was designed by Elmer G. Withers in the Art Deco style that was popular at the time. It originally housed a jail on the fourth floor, and the county library. The jail has since moved to a building next door, and the county library is now located a block away.

The pretty building below caught our attention. At first, we thought it was an active church, but it is only used as a wedding venue.

This building is a church, however, and was dedicated in memory of the missionaries who were killed at Santa Cruz de San Saba.

And I don’t know what this little building is, but I thought it was cute. Considering how hot it gets in these parts, the public drinking fountain is a good thing.

Menard is an interesting town with a lot of history. Someday, we hope to go back and explore some more, including nearby Fort McKavett.

We left Menard, heading south on U.S. 83, then continued back toward Mason on TX-29. Along the way we stopped at the historical marker for Pegleg Crossing, a former crossing point on the San Saba River. The actual crossing is on private property, though, but the marker is near the spot.

But before we got to the crossing, we explored a short dirt road named Crabb Lane. Crabb is Kristi’s maiden name, so we decided to go see what there was to see. Frankly, there wasn’t much. The road dead-ends at the entrances to some private properties. However, importantly, we saw this heart-shaped tree on our way back to the highway.

Kristi is my sweetie pie, ya know.