Judge Edwin Waller

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. Now, some men leave a mark on a place. Edwin Waller left a mark on a whole state — and I mean that about as literally as you can mean anything.

He came into this world on November 4, 1800, born in Virginia. But Virginia, fine as she is, could only hold him so long. Because Texas had plans for Edwin Waller, whether he knew it or not.

When the moment came — that high-stakes, history-hinging moment when men put their names to the Texas Declaration of Independence — Edwin Waller was one of the signers. Think about what that means. That's your name on a document that says, in the plainest terms possible, we are doing this and we are willing to bet everything on it.

Not a small thing. Not a quiet Tuesday. Waller signed it.

And then, as if that weren't enough for one lifetime, the man turned around and laid out the city of Austin. Drew it up. Set it out.

And when Austin needed its first mayor, well — you already know where this is going — Edwin Waller was the one who stepped into that role. First mayor of a city he had a hand in building from the ground up. That's not a résumé.

That's a legend. He lived long enough to see what Texas became. Edwin Waller died on January 3, 1881, in Waller County — the county that bears his name, because Texas was not about to let people forget who this man was.

His wife, Juliet M. De Shields Waller, born in 1801, stood beside him through the years this state was being hammered into shape. She died on May 13, 1867, in that same Texas she had helped make a home.

The State of Texas erected this marker in 1936, because some stories need to be told out loud, on the side of the road, where anyone passing through can stop and reckon with what it took to build the ground they're standing on. You're in Waller County right now. The name is not an accident.

It never was.

What the marker says

--- front side --- Born in Virginia, November 4, 1800 * Died in Waller County, Texas, January 3, 1881 His Wife Juliet M. De Shields Waller Born in 1801 * Died May 13, 1867 Erected by the State of Texas 1936 --- back side --- Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence * Laid out the City of Austin and was its first Mayor * * Waller County was named in his honor