Greenleaf Fisk

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it — Greenleaf Fisk, Brown County, Texas. Now, most towns just kind of happen — a crossroads, a creek, a stubborn man who wouldn't move his wagon. Brownwood, though, had something rarer: a man who mapped the land, fell in love with it, and eventually just gave a good chunk of it away.

That man was Greenleaf Fisk, and the marker calls him, plain as you please, the Father of Brownwood. Fisk was born in 1807, the son of English parents, though he first drew breath in New York. Even as a boy, he had something about him.

While other children were runnin' out to recess, young Greenleaf was voluntarily stayin' inside to read. Voluntarily. That detail right there tells you everything about the kind of man he was growin' up to be.

He spent some years preparing for the Presbyterian ministry — a serious pursuit for a serious young man. But in 1834, something shifted. He abandoned that path, got together with a friend, and the two of them climbed into a skiff and embarked down the Ohio River.

Headed for the Texas frontier. Now, a skiff on the Ohio toward Texas wasn't exactly a gentle Sunday float. That was a decision.

A declaration, even. He settled at Mina — present-day Bastrop — and didn't wait long before history came knocking. In 1836, Greenleaf Fisk fought in the Battle of San Jacinto.

After that, he stayed busy: serving in various county offices in Bastrop and Williamson counties, and rising to serve as a senator in the Republic of Texas. Soldier, public servant — the man was collectin' titles the way some folks collect debts. And then came the work that would quietly seal his fate with this particular patch of Texas.

As a government surveyor, Fisk mapped this region — these very rolling hills and draws of Brown County. And somewhere out there with his instruments and his notes, he made up his mind. He liked it.

He liked it so well he determined to settle here. In 1846, for his service in the Texas Revolution, he received a large land grant in this vicinity. That's the Revolution paying him back in acres.

Still, he didn't rush. It wasn't until 1860 that he finally moved here — a man who'd seen the land on paper, held it in memory for years, and at last came to live on it. Out here he taught school.

He served as county judge. He kept servin', the way some men simply can't help but do. Then came the difficulty over where exactly the county seat ought to sit.

These disputes had a way of gettin' contentious in early Texas — towns rising and falling on the outcome. Fisk's solution was not to argue. It was to donate.

He gave sixty acres for the town itself, and another hundred acres for county purposes. One hundred and sixty acres, offered up to settle the matter and plant a community on solid ground. And then, to make sure it actually took, he went out and persuaded many citizens to move here from the old townsite.

He didn't just give the land — he filled it. Greenleaf Fisk married twice and had fifteen children. He lived until 1888, and at his death he was buried in Greenleaf Cemetery.

A man who gave up recess to read. Who paddled down the Ohio on a skiff toward an uncertain frontier. Who mapped a land, waited, and then gave it away so a town could stand.

They named the cemetery after him, and the town calls him its father. Seems like the least they could do.

What the marker says

"Father of Brownwood" (1807-1888) Donor of present townsite of Brownwood, Fisk was noted as a soldier, public servant, surveyor, and businessman. The son of English parents, he was born in New York. As a boy he was so studious that he voluntarily gave up recess periods to read. In 1834 he abandoned his preparation for the Presbyterian ministry and, with a friend, embarked down the Ohio River on a skiff to brave the Texas frontier. Settling at Mina (present Bastrop), he fought in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. He later served in various county offices in Bastrop and Williamson counties and was a senator in the Republic of Texas. As a government surveyor in this period, he mapped this region and like it so well he determined to settle here. Having received in 1846, for his service in the Texas Revolution, a large land grant in this vicinity, he moved here in 1860. Besides teaching, he also served as county judge and in other offices. When difficulties arose over the location of the county seat, he donated 60 acres for the town and 100 acres for county purposes. He then persuaded many citizens to move here from the old townsite. At his death in 1888, Fisk was buried in Greenleaf Cemetery. He married twice and had 15 children. (1968)