DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the one tellin' this tale, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Now settle in, because this one's got layers. We're talkin' about a house built about 1846 — hand-hewn timber, every beam shaped by hand — sitting in San Marcos, Hays County, and the man behind it was no ordinary frontier settler.
Dr. Eli T. Merriman.
Yale graduate. Born in 1815. Came to Texas in 1838, which means he was plantin' roots here long before most folks had even heard the word republic.
He was one of only three owners of the San Marcos townsite itself. Three. Not thirty, not a dozen — three.
And on top of that, he was the first physician in the area. The man was building a town and keeping its people alive at the same time. This home near the Town Square was his second home in San Marcos, raised from hand-hewn timber like a monument to everything he was putting down roots for.
But life has a way of scattering even the most settled of men. Merriman eventually moved on — to Brownsville, then Banquete, then Corpus Christi. And then came the Civil War, and here is where the story gets quiet and heavy all at once.
Dr. Merriman joined the Confederate army. He brought two of his sons with him.
But one son — one son went the other direction and served in the Federal army. That family sat on opposite sides of a war, and you don't need me to dress that up to feel the weight of it. Dr.
Eli T. Merriman died in 1867. But the name carried forward.
His son, Eli T. Merriman Jr., founded the Corpus Christi Caller. A newspaper.
A voice. The doctor built a town; his son gave it a page to speak from. That hand-hewn house near the Town Square in San Marcos held the beginning of all of it.
What the marker says
Built about 1846 by Dr. Eli T. Merriman (1815-1867), Yale graduate, 1838 Texas settler. One of 3 San Marcos townsite owners. First physician in area. Later lived in Brownsville, Banquete, Corpus Christi. During Civil War joined Confederate army with 2 sons; one son was in Federal army. Son, Eli T., Jr., founded the Corpus Christi "Caller." Second home in San Marcos. Originally near Town Square. Built of hand-hewn timber. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965