Fayetteville

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Fayetteville, out on the Old San Felipe Trail. Now, some towns come into this world quiet and slow. Fayetteville was not one of them.

From the very beginning, this place was a gathering point, a waystation, a crossroads for men who had already seen more of Texas history than most people ever read about in a book. It started as a stage station on the Old San Felipe Trail, founded by three members of Austin's first colony. James J.

Ross, John Crier, and James Cummins. You don't get much closer to the roots of Texas than that. These were men who came early, when the idea of Texas was still more of a promise than a place.

And the neighbors they attracted, well, that's where this story starts to roll. Nearby resided William J. Russell, a man who had been a participant in the Battle of Velasco.

Then there were the San Jacinto veterans, the men who had stood on that field when the question of Texas was decided in a matter of minutes. Jerome B. Alexander, Fidelie S.

Breeding, and James Monroe Hill, all veterans of San Jacinto, all living in the shadow of this little stage station on the trail. And it doesn't stop there. Andrew Crier, William Hill, and Dr.

William P. Smith served in the San Jacinto Campaign as well. So when the old-timers gathered around in Fayetteville, there was no shortage of men who had been present for the making of a republic.

But then came the Mier Expedition, and that name carries weight. Asa Hill, Jeffery B. Hill, and John C.

C. Hill were members of that expedition. If you know what the Mier Expedition was, you understand why the marker says their names carefully and moves on.

Some stories demand a moment of quiet. Battle of Velasco. San Jacinto.

The Mier Expedition. All of that history, and it's concentrated right here, around a stage station on the Old San Felipe Trail, founded by three men from Austin's first colony. Fayetteville didn't just sit on the road.

It collected the people who built the road.

What the marker says

Stage station on the Old San Felipe Trail founded by James J. Ross, John Crier, James Cummins - members of Austin's first colony. Nearby resided William J. Russell, participant of the Battle of Velasco. Jerome B. Alexander, Fidelie S. Breeding, James Monroe Hill - veterans of San Jacinto. Andrew Crier, William Hill, Dr. William P. Smith of the San Jacinto Campaign. Asa Hill, Jeffery B. Hill, John C. C. Hill - members of the Mier Expedition.