Birthplace of Miss Ima Hogg

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. On July 10, 1882, in Wood County, Texas, a baby girl came into the world. Her father was James S.

Hogg, who would go on to be Governor of Texas. Her mother was Sarah Stinson. And they named that little girl Ima.

Ima Hogg. Now, you might pause on that name. The marker doesn't say why, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.

What I will say is that the name Ima Hogg belonged to someone who was going to fill it with more grace and accomplishment than most people manage in a lifetime. She grew up and she studied. Fine arts.

At the University of Texas in Austin, and then she kept going, to New York, and then to Europe. The woman had range. But here's where the story takes one of those turns that Texas seems to specialize in.

In 1918, oil was discovered on the Varner-Hogg Plantation near West Columbia. Oil. And that discovery changed everything.

It gave Miss Hogg the means to devote her life, the whole of it, to the arts, to historic preservation, and to philanthropy. She didn't dabble. She was recognized nationally.

The accolades came. They came for her services to the people of Texas. She gave, and Texas took notice, and so did the rest of the country.

Ima Hogg died on August 19, 1975, in London, and she was brought home and buried in Austin. The woman who was born right here in Wood County, Texas, left a mark on this state that no amount of oil could have bought on its own. It took her to do that.

What the marker says

Born here on July 10, 1882, Ima Hogg was the only daughter of Sarah Stinson and Gov. James S. Hogg. Ima studied fine arts at the University of Texas in Austin, and in New York and Europe. In 1918 oil was discovered on the Varner-Hogg Plantation near West Columbia which enabled Miss Hogg to devote her life to the arts, historic preservation and philanthropy. She was recognized nationally and received many accolades for her services to the people of Texas. She died August 19, 1975, in London and was buried in Austin. (1997)