Menard County

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Menard County. Formed from Bexar County, created on January 22, 1858, and organized on June 25, 1866. But before you can understand a county, you need to understand the man it was named for.

And this one was named for Michel Branamour Menard. Born in 1805, gone by 1856. Now that's a life worth talking about, because Michel Branamour Menard packed a considerable amount of history into it.

He signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Let that settle in for a moment. He put his name on that document alongside the other men who were telling the world that Texas intended to be its own republic.

And he didn't stop there. He served as a member of the Texas Congress. He founded Galveston.

The man founded a whole city. So when the time came to give this county a name, the people who made that decision reached for someone who had already left fingerprints all over the story of Texas. Menard County, carved out of Bexar County, named in honor of Michel Branamour Menard, with Menard itself sitting at the heart of it all as the county seat.

Some names on the map are just names. This one carries the weight of a Declaration.

What the marker says

Formed from Bexar county Created: January 22, 1858 Organized: June 25, 1866 Named in honor of Michel Branamour Menard 1805-1856. Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, member of the Texas Congress, founder of Galveston. Menard, the county seat.