Hardscramble

Duane's take

The official marker is my guide here, and this one's got a name worth saying twice — Hardscramble. Now, a place called Hardscramble — you don't need to be told that life there came with rough edges. This was Guadalupe County, Texas, and the ground here held the homes of men whose names still carry weight in the story of this state.

From 1841 to 1853, this was home to Henry and Ben McCulloch. Brothers. Texas Rangers, both of them, and veterans of the Texas Revolution.

Just sit with that combination for a moment — Rangers and revolutionaries, under the same roof, on land they called Hardscramble. Then in 1858, Nathaniel Benton made his home here. Another Texas Ranger.

Another veteran of the Revolution. The pattern is not a coincidence — this place had a way of drawing men of that particular stripe. And in 1871, Elijah V.

Dale settled here. Ranger. Revolutionary veteran.

Same measure of man. Now, the marker is careful to say this plainly, and I'll honor that plainness: bravery, skill, and courage were common attributes of men who dared the wilderness of Texas. Common.

Meaning it wasn't exactly rare to find a tough, capable man on the Texas frontier. But then it says something that stops you — no patriots of Texas ever offered greater service than did the McCullochs, Benton, and Dale. Not many.

Not few. None greater. The State of Texas put that on a marker in 1936, and Hardscramble earned every letter of it.

What the marker says

Home of Henry and Ben McCulloch, 1841-1853; of Nathaniel Benton, 1858; of Elijah V. Dale, 1871; famous Texas Rangers and veterans all of the Texas Revolution; bravery, skill and courage, were common attributes of men who dared the wilderness of Texas, but no patriots of Texas ever offered greater service than did the McCullochs, Benton and Dale. Erected by the State of Texas 1936