S.D. Myres

Duane's take

Here's how the marker on S.D. Myres tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. Samuel Dale Myres began the way most great craftsmen do, at the bottom, learning the trade as an apprentice saddle-maker in Cleburne.

But apprentice was never going to be the last word on Samuel Dale Myres. In 1898, he moved to Sweetwater, and it didn't take long before word started getting around. His workmanship wasn't just good, it was superior, and folks in that part of Texas took notice.

Now here's where the story gets interesting, because Myres wasn't content to be just the best saddle-maker in town. He served as mayor of Sweetwater from 1908 to 1911, and during that stretch he was instrumental in many city improvements. Think about that.

The man who could put together a saddle that would outlast the horse was also the man helping shape the city around him. Then came the fire. His first shop burned, and Myres did what any craftsman worth his leather would do.

He kept going. In 1919, he relocated his saddlery business to a new building and got back to work. He ran that Sweetwater operation for years more, until 1937, when he closed up and made one final move, out to El Paso.

He died there in 1953. The apprentice from Cleburne, the mayor, the master craftsman. One life, stitched together just as tight as anything that ever came off his workbench.

What the marker says

Samuel Dale Myres began his career as an apprentice saddle-maker in Cleburne. He moved to Sweetwater in 1898. A highly skilled craftsman, Myres was soon know for his superior workmanship. He served as mayor of Sweetwater from 1908 to 1911, and was instrumental in many city improvements. His saddlery business was relocated to this building in 1919 after a fire destroyed his first shop. Myres closed his Sweetwater business in 1937 and moved to El Paso, where he died in 1953. (1989)