Richmond Alexander McInnis

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Richmond Alexander McInnis, right here in Llano County. Now, some men arrive in a place and the place just kind of swallows them up. And then there are men like R.

A. McInnis, who arrive and get to work. Richmond Alexander McInnis was born in Mississippi in 1852, and by the time the 1870s rolled around, he had made his way to Llano as a young man.

He wasn't just passin' through. He planted himself. He owned and operated the Llano Furniture Company right on the town square.

Put down roots, you might say, in the most literal sense a furniture man can. But commerce was just the beginning of what this man had going on. In 1880, McInnis took up the badge and served as Llano County sheriff, a post he held through 1882.

That same year, 1882, he married Martha Caroline Bozarth, who had been born in 1865 and who, as it turns out, would live all the way to 1949. And that same year, 1882, this very house was built. So that was quite a year for R.

A. McInnis. He kept building from there.

In 1892 he was elected one of the first city aldermen in Llano. One of the first. That's the kind of distinction that doesn't come along twice.

And as president of the Llano Railroad Commission, he was instrumental in promoting railroad marketing from Llano. The railroad meant commerce, connection, a future, and McInnis was pushing for it. He passed in 1922.

But here's the thing about this house built in 1882. McInnis family members held onto it for a hundred and ten years. A hundred and ten years.

Some legacies are written in ledgers and sheriff's records and city minutes. And some are written in the walls of a house that a family simply refuses to let go.

What the marker says

Mississippi native Richmond Alexander (R. A.) McInnis (1852-1922) moved to Llano as a young man in the 1870s. He owned and operated Llano Furniture Company on the town square, and served as Llano County sheriff from 1880 to 1882. McInnis married Martha Caroline Bozarth (1865-1949) in 1882. In 1892 McInnis was elected one of the first city aldermen in Llano. As president of the Llano Railroad Commission, he was instrumental in promoting railroad marketing from Llano. Built in 1882, this house was owned by McInnis family members for 110 years. (1996)