Henry V. and Rebecca Robertson Homestead

Duane's take

The way the marker in Washington County tells it, here's the story I've got for you. Henry Villars Robertson was a Tennessee man, born in 1803, and Texas called to him early. He first came out here in 1826, riding alongside his cousin, the Empresario Sterling Clack Robertson.

But Henry didn't stay. He turned back around, went home to Tennessee, and in 1828 he married a woman named Rebecca Oldham, born in 1805. Now, some men marry and settle in.

Henry Robertson was not quite that kind of man. Ten years passed after that wedding, and then Henry and Rebecca packed up their children, gathered their slaves, and made the long journey to Texas. They put down roots right here and established a plantation at this very site.

In the 1850s, they built their home from native materials, and it had a feature you don't hear much about anymore: a dogtrot, an open breezeway running between the two main rooms. That design let the Texas air move through, and you have to appreciate a man who respected a Texas summer enough to build around it. Rebecca outlived Henry, who died in 1856, by a good many years, living on until 1881.

And that homestead they raised together still stands as what the marker calls an important reminder of the early colonization efforts in Texas. One family, one plantation, one dogtrot house built from the land itself, and a piece of this state's story nailed right into the timber.

What the marker says

Tennessee native Henry Villars Robertson (1803-1856) first came to Texas in 1826 with his cousin, the Empresario Sterling Clack Robertson. He returned to Tennessee, where he married Rebecca Oldham (1805-1881) in 1828. Ten years later the couple, with their children and slaves, came to Texas and established a plantation at this site. Their home, which originally featured a dogtrot between the two main rooms, was built in the 1850s from native materials. The homestead is an important reminder of early colonization efforts in Texas.