DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. Picture yourself standing in front of the oldest commercial building in Burnet County, and let me spin you the story of the man who built it. Now, Logan Vandeveer is the kind of name that deserves to be said out loud, slowly.
Born in 1815. And before we get to the building — before the stone and the mortar and the store — you've got to know that this man stood on the field at San Jacinto in 1836. That battle.
The one. A hero of it, the marker says, and we're going to take that word at face value. Fast forward to about 1849.
Vandeveer came to this part of Texas as a beef supplier for Fort Croghan. That was his foot in the door. And it wasn't long before this veteran of San Jacinto was also serving as the first United States Postmaster in Burnet.
First one. Ever. The town was young, and Logan Vandeveer was shaping it.
Then comes 1854. The year Vandeveer built this very structure — native stone, pulled from the land right here. He took on a partner named Taylor, and together they ran a store on the ground floor.
Commerce on the bottom. But the story has a second floor, and that's where things get interesting. A fraternal lodge — Valley Lodge No. 175, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons — took up residence on that top floor starting in 1855.
Now, Vandeveer wasn't just a landlord to these men. He was a charter member. He helped bring that lodge into existence.
The same year the Lodge moved in, 1855, is the same year the marker gives as his death. Logan Vandeveer, 1815 to 1855. He didn't get to see what he'd set in motion.
But here's the thing about a building made of native stone — it endures. Valley Lodge No. 175 occupied that top floor from 1855 all the way to 1969. And even after that, the Lodge never let go.
They still own the building today. The oldest commercial building in Burnet County. Built by a hero of San Jacinto.
Still standing. Still belonging to the Lodge he helped charter. Some legacies are written in stone — and Logan Vandeveer meant that literally.
What the marker says
Logan Vandeveer (1815-55), a hero of the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, came here about 1849 as a Fort Croghan beef supplier. He became first United States Postmaster in Burnet and in 1854 built this native stone structure. With a partner named Taylor, he had a store on the ground floor. Vandeveer was a charter member of Valley Lodge No. 175, A. F. & A. M., which occupied the top floor from 1855 to 1969. The Lodge still owns the building. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966