Brandt Badger House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along to you straight. Now, Brandt Badger, he's the kind of man who leaves a mark on a place. Born in 1839, a veteran of the Confederate Army, he made his way to Burnet County from Gonzales in 1885.

Two years later, in 1887, he helped found Marble Falls. Just let that sit a moment. The man helped put a town on the map.

But he wasn't done. In 1888, Badger built himself a house, and he didn't cut any corners, literally or figuratively. He built it out of granite from nearby Granite Mountain.

Now here's the part that'll raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Those stones weren't fresh-quarried blocks. They were cut from the quarry rubble left over after the granite was shaped for the State Capitol building.

Think about that. The same mountain that gave Texas its Capitol gave Brandt Badger his home. The house came out to eight rooms and six fireplaces.

Six. That's a fireplace for a cold night, a fireplace for a rainy night, and four more just because a man who helped found a town has earned the warmth. Badger lived in that house for the rest of his days, right up until his death in 1920.

The family held onto it all the way until 1943. Granite walls, six fires burning, one man's whole life inside. Some houses are just buildings.

This one is a biography.

What the marker says

Brandt Badger (1839-1920), a veteran of the Confederate Army, moved to Burnet from Gonzales in 1885, and in 1887, helped found Marble Falls. He built this house in 1888 of granite from nearby "Granite Mountain". The stones were cut from quarry rubble remaining after the "shaping" of the blocks for the State Capitol building. The structure has 8 rooms and 6 fireplaces. Badger lived in the house until his death, and it was owned by the family until 1943. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1974