Robert Eanes

Duane's take

Here's the marker's own account, the way Duane tells it. Robert Eanes was born in South Carolina in 1805, and if you trace his path to this corner of Travis County, you find a man who took the long way around. He came up through Mississippi, and it wasn't until 1872 that he and his family finally made their way to Travis County.

Now, he wasn't arriving somewhere strange. His brother Alexander had already been here since 1845, putting down roots while Robert was still making his way. That's a long time to hold a place warm for someone.

The very next year, 1873, Robert purchased a ranch from his brother Alexander, and that's when things started to take shape. On that ranch, Robert Eanes built the first school in the area. And the area, and the school both, took on the Eanes name.

Simple as that. The man built a school, and the land remembered him for it. His wife, Eliza Howell Eanes, born in 1825, passed in 1882, and when Robert himself died in 1895, he was buried right here, next to her.

Born in South Carolina in 1805, laid to rest in Travis County in 1895, with the land around him still carrying his name. Some legacies are written in courthouses. Robert Eanes wrote his in a schoolhouse.

What the marker says

(1805-1895) South Carolina native Robert Eanes and his family came to Travis County from Mississippi in 1872. They joined his brother, Alexander Eanes, who had arrived in 1845. Robert Eanes purchased a ranch from his brother in 1873, on which he built the first area school. The area and school both assumed the Eanes name. upon his death in 1895, Robert Eanes was buried here next to his wife, Eliza Howell Eanes (1825-1882). (1987)