George Washington Savage

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about George Washington Savage, right there in Hill County, Texas. Now, some men pass through a place and leave barely a footprint. George Washington Savage was not that kind of man.

Born on March 14, 1826, in Tennessee, Savage made his way to Texas in 1847, bringing his first wife Sarah along with him, and the two of them got right to work. They established a farm, and not just any farm. They were breeding race horses.

That tells you something about the man's ambitions right there. He didn't just want to get by. He wanted to win.

And by all accounts, he was a successful horse trainer. He also served as a Confederate cavalry soldier, which means he knew horses not just as a business, but as a way of life. Now, after the war and the hard years that followed, Hill County was growing.

German immigrants were comin' into the area, lookin' for land, lookin' for a start. Savage helped them. He sold parcels of land and helped those settlers get their farms going.

Then in 1885, he went a step further and donated land for Savage School No. 1, the first school in the area. A man who breeds fast horses and then builds a school. There's layers to George Savage.

And he wasn't done. In the late 1880s, he donated land for a second school as that burgeoning community kept growing. George Washington Savage died on April 11, 1899, leaving behind his second wife Annie and ten children.

The marker says he is remembered for helping populate Hill County and providing opportunities for German settlers. A race horse farm, two schools, parcels of land passed to families who needed them. That is not a footprint.

That is a foundation.

What the marker says

GEORGE WASHINGTON SAVAGE BORN ON MARCH 14, 1826, IN TENNESSEE, GEORGE SAVAGE WAS AN EARLY PIONEER IN HILL COUNTY. AFTER MOVING TO TEXAS IN 1847 WITH HIS FIRST WIFE SARAH, THEY ESTABLISHED A FARM TO BREED RACE HORSES. HE WAS A SUCCESSFUL HORSE TRAINER AND A CONFEDERATE CAVALRY SOLDIER. HE ASSISTED GERMAN IMMIGRANTS BY SELLING PARCELS OF LAND AND HELPING THEM START FARMS. IN 1885 SAVAGE DONATED LAND FOR SAVAGE SCHOOL NO. 1, THE FIRST SCHOOL IN THE AREA. IN THE LATE 1880s, HE DONATED LAND FOR A SECOND SCHOOL IN THE BURGEONING COMMUNITY. UPON HIS DEATH ON APRIL 11, 1899, HE LEFT BEHIND HIS SECOND WIFE ANNIE AND TEN CHILDREN. GEORGE SAVAGE IS REMEMBERED FOR HELPING POPULATE HILL COUNTY AND PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GERMAN SETTLERS.