Jared Ellison Groce

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's what you need to know about this piece of Grimes County ground. Jared Ellison Groce was born in 1782, and by 1833 he had built himself a home right here on this very site. People generally knew the place as Groce's Retreat, and that name carries a certain weight to it, doesn't it.

Not a hiding place, not a fortress. A retreat. Somewhere a man could settle into the land and call it his.

Groce lived in that house, and on November 20, 1836, he died there. Born 1782, gone 1836, right here on the ground where he built. When the house was eventually torn down, you might think the name would go with it.

But Texas has a way of holding onto things. Two miles to the east, a post office and a village took up the name Retreat and carried it forward. The house is gone.

The man is gone. But somewhere just down the road, that name is still out there, doing its quiet work.

What the marker says

Site of the home built in 1833 by Jared Ellison Groce (1782-1836) Generally known as "Groce's Retreat." Here he died November 20, 1836. The name "Retreat" was continued for a post office and village two miles to the east after the house was torn down.