C.A.D. Clamp

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, in my own words. Now, most towns got built by folks nobody remembers. Georgetown, Texas got lucky, because one of its builders left enough of a mark that his name ended up on a plaque.

That man was Christian Augustus Daniel Clamp, and before you ask, yes, he used all four of those names. Born in 1827 in Thorn, Prussia, the place the world now calls Torun, Poland. That's a long way from Williamson County, and Clamp crossed every mile of that distance to get here.

He came to Texas in 1846, and by 1851 he had settled in Georgetown, a year after marrying Asenath C. Davis. So he arrived in a new town with a new wife and, as it turned out, a set of hands that Georgetown was going to need badly.

Clamp was a carpenter and cabinetmaker, a skilled one, and in a city still finding its footing, that combination was about as close to a superpower as a man could have. He built residences. He built commercial buildings.

He built religious buildings, governmental buildings. If Georgetown needed something constructed, there's a reasonable chance Clamp had a hand in raising it. And when he wasn't swinging a hammer, he was running a furniture business right here on this block, for many years.

Now, the man didn't stop at buildings and furniture. He was an active Presbyterian, a civic leader, and from 1878 to 1880 he served as mayor of Georgetown. By the time Christian Augustus Daniel Clamp left this world in 1915, Asenath, who outlived him, was still here.

She wouldn't pass until 1917. He's buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

Born in Prussia, built in Texas. Some men pass through a place. Clamp built it.

What the marker says

(1827-1915) Christian Augustus Daniel Clamp was born in Thorn, Prussia (now Torun, Poland). He came to Texas in 1846 and moved to Georgetown in 1851, a year after his marriage to Asenath C. Davis (d. 1917). A skilled carpenter and cabinetmaker, Clamp became one of the city's earliest builders and developers. His work included residences as well as commercial, religious, and governmental buildings. He also owned a furniture business in this block for many years. An active Presbyterian and civic leader, Clamp served as mayor of the city from 1878 to 1880. He is buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery. (1990)