DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Sometime around 1890, a stately late Victorian house went up in Bexar County — the kind of place that turns heads and holds stories. The architect was a man named M.
T. Eckles, and the builder was T. R.
Hertzberg, a local businessman. They weren't building a simple house. They were building something that combined various influences and styles, the sort of structure that announces itself before you even reach the front door.
Now, for a while it was just a fine house in a fine county. But in 1909, a man walked through that door who would tie the place to something much larger than architecture. His name was Judge Sidney J.
Brooks — noted lawyer, first judge of the 57th District Court. He bought this house, and it became his. Then came the part of the story that settles heavy.
Judge Brooks had a son. Sidney Junior, born in 1895. The world was lurching toward a war that would swallow a generation, and young Sidney was among the first U.S. cadets training for World War I duty.
He never made it to the battlefield. He was one of the first U.S. cadets killed in that training. The year was 1917.
He was gone. But the name Sidney Brooks — that name did not quietly disappear. Brooks Air Force Base was named for him.
A stately house built around 1890, and a son who never came home. Some addresses carry more weight than others.
What the marker says
Built about 1890, this stately late Victorian house combines various influences and styles. The architect was M. T. Eckles, and builder was T. R. Hertzberg, a local businessman. In 1909 Judge Sidney J. Brooks, noted lawyer and first judge of 57th District Court, bought this house. His son Sidney, Jr., (1895-1917), was one of the first U.S. cadets killed training for World War I duty. Brooks Air Force Base was named for him. (1969)