DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says, just outside Navarro County, about a man who wore more hats than most men have coat hooks. Now, some folks leave a mark on the land. George Washington Hill left a mark on the land, on the law, on the medicine bag, and on the map itself.
Born in Tennessee in 1814, he took his medical degree from Transylvania University — and yes, that name alone ought to tell you something about the kind of man who'd walk out of that place ready to take on the Texas frontier. He came to Texas in 1836, and he didn't ease into it. He went straight to work as a surgeon for Fort Houston — that was the opening of what the marker calls his lifelong practice.
A year later, 1837, he was named medical censor for Milam County. Then he moved on to newly created Robertson County, where he married Miss Matilda Slaughter, and began putting down roots. But roots, for George Washington Hill, had a way of spreading wide.
By 1838 he was reported operating a trading post near this very spot. That same year he entered the Congress of the Republic as Robertson County Representative, a post he'd hold from 1838 to 1841, and again from 1842 to 1843. His home, called Spring Hill, became the first settlement in Navarro County.
And here's where the story darkens. Later that same year, Spring Hill was connected with a tragedy. A few days after a party of men spent the night at Hill's place, twenty-one surveyors — twenty-one of them, including Hill's own brother — were virtually annihilated by several hundred Kickapoos.
The marker doesn't dwell on it, and neither will I, but that detail about his brother sits heavy. That kind of loss has a weight to it that doesn't lift. Yet Hill kept going.
In 1841 he was named Indian agent for the Republic. In 1843 he became secretary of war. When Texas joined the Union, he went right on serving in the Legislature.
And through all of it — through the politics, the appointments, the grief — he kept practicing medicine, facing, as the marker puts it, many dangers in order to render aid. In 1853, Hill County was named in his honor. George Washington Hill died in 1860.
Physician, public servant, frontier settler, congressman, Indian agent, secretary of war. The man didn't live one life. He lived about six of them — and every single one of them was in service to something bigger than himself.
That trading post is long gone, but the county bearing his name is still right there on the map, holding his place.
What the marker says
(1814-1860) Dedicated frontier physician and public servant to the Republic and State of Texas. Born in Tennessee, Hill received his medical degree from Transylvania University. He came to Texas in 1836, where he was a surgeon for Fort Houston at the opening of his lifelong practice. In 1837 Hill became the medical censor for Milam County. Later that year, he moved to newly created Robertson County, where he married Miss Matilda Slaughter. He entered public office as Robertson County Representative in the Congress of the Republic, 1838-41 and 1842-43. In 1838 Hill was reported operating a trading post near here. His home, called Spring Hill, became the first settlement in Navarro County. Later that year, however, it was connected with a tragedy. A few days after spending the night at Hill's place twenty-one surveyors (including Hill's brother) were virtually annihilated by several hundred Kickapoos. Hill was named Indian agent for the Republic in 1841, and in 1843 he became secretary of war. After Texas joined the Union he served in the Legislature. Throughout these years he continued to practice medicine, facing many dangers in order to render aid. In 1853 Hill County was named in his honor. (1970)