DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the marker at Mahomet-Sycamore Springs tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Settlement in this part of Burnet County began in the 1850s, and right from the start, two little communities took root — Mahomet and Sycamore Springs, planted eight miles apart from one another out here in what was still very much the frontier. The pioneers of Mahomet were George Ater, William G.
Hall, and a Mr. Sanford. Over at Sycamore Springs, it was the Smart, Stewart, and Williams families putting down stakes.
Now, Sycamore Springs, at its height, was no small operation — three gins running, a general store, a school, and two churches. That's a real community. And yet, today, little evidence of it remains.
The land has a way of taking things back out here. Mahomet, though — Mahomet held on. And people have been scratching their heads for years over that name.
Mahomet. In the Texas Hill Country. Where did that come from?
Well, there's been no shortage of speculation over the years, but research now indicates the town was probably named by its first postmaster, George Ater — the very same George Ater who helped pioneer the place — and he came to Texas from Mahomet, Illinois. A man carries his home with him, it seems, even when he's building a new one. Ater's home served double duty too: both the original Mahomet Post Office and an Austin-Lampasas Stage stop were located right there under his roof.
Now here's a detail worth savoring. The Mahomet Christian Church actually got its start over in Sycamore Springs, and in 1899 it was moved — moved whole — and it continues to worship near this very site to this day. And the Mt.
Horeb Masonic Lodge came to Mahomet as well, relocated from nearby Williamson County in 1915. This community has a way of gathering things to itself and keeping them. Half a mile to the southwest, the community burial ground dates all the way back to the early 1850s — the very beginning of settlement here.
The oldest stories in any community are always out there in the quiet. Two towns, eight miles apart, one of them nearly vanished, the other still standing — and both of them woven together into Burnet County's heritage in ways that a name on a map barely begins to tell.
What the marker says
Settlement in this part of Burnet County began in the 1850s. Two early communities were Mahomet and Sycamore Springs, originally located 8 miles from each other. Pioneers of Mahomet were George Ater, William G. Hall, and Mr. Sanford, while Sycamore Springs was settled by the Smart, Stewart, and Williams families. Although Sycamore Springs once had 3 gins, a general store, a school, and 2 churches, little evidence of the community now remains. Much speculation has taken place over the years concerning the origin of the unusual name of the Mahomet settlement. Research now indicates that the town was probably named by first postmaster George Ater, who came to Texas from Mahomet, Illinois. both the original Mahomet Post Office and an Austin-Lampasas Stage stop were located at his home. The Mahomet Christian Church, moved from Sycamore Springs in 1899, continues to worship near this site. Mahomet is also the home of the Mt. Horeb Masonic Lodge, which was relocated from nearby Williamson County in 1915. The community burial ground (.5 mi. SW dates from the early 1850s. The history of these two related settlements is an important part of Burnet County's heritage.