Capt. Milton Wesley Damron

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, in my own words. Milton Wesley Damron came into this world in Tennessee in 1825, and by the time the 1840s rolled around he was making his way to Texas as part of the Mercer Colony. Not long after he arrived, he married Sarah Pennington, and it seemed like a man with a plan.

Then the original settlement plans in the colony failed to materialize. Just like that, the ground shifted under him. So Damron did what Texans have always done: he picked up and moved on.

He landed in the Milam District, in what is now Bell County, and he got to work. The county needed a tax assessor, and Damron became its first. That's the kind of man he was.

You want something done, you find the fellow who showed up early. When the War Between the States came calling, he joined the Confederate Army and rose to the rank of captain, leading a cavalry unit that served in the Indian Territory and Arkansas. After the war, he made his way back to Salado, and he kept right on serving.

He worked as a postmaster, stayed active in civic affairs, and the people elected him as a Legislator. Here's the thing, though. Because he had served as a Confederate, he was unable to take that seat.

Elected and still turned away. He died in 1887, and the marker doesn't dress that up. A man who arrived with a colony, built a county, rode with a cavalry, delivered the mail, and won an election he couldn't use.

Milton Wesley Damron showed up for Texas every single time Texas let him.

What the marker says

Milton Wesley Damron (1825-1887), an early settler and Salado public servant, was born in Tennessee and came to Texas as part of the Mercer Colony. He arrived in the 1840s and shortly afterwards married Sarah Pennington. When original settlement plans in the colony failed to materialize, he moved to the Milam District in what is now Bell County. Damron served as the county's first tax assessor and joined the Confederate Army. As a captain, he led a cavalry unit that served in the Indian Territory and Arkansas. He continued to be active in civic affairs after returning to Salado, working as a postmaster. He was also elected as a Legislator, although as a former Confederate he was unable to serve. (2006)