DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now settle in, because this stretch of Colorado County soil has seen more than most. Robert Robson — born in 1804, one of a wave of Scotsmen who'd caught the scent of fortune drifting off North America — made his way to the Texas Republic in 1839.
And when a man like that plants his boots somewhere, he doesn't just build a house. He builds a castle. A literal, honest-to-goodness castle, right here on land he owned at this very site.
Poured from concrete, mixed with native lime and gravel, which means this thing wasn't some painted-up fantasy — it had weight to it. Real weight. And it had running water, pumped up from the Colorado River itself, lifted into a tank on the roof, then coaxed down through wooden pipes to its many rooms.
Wooden pipes. Running water. In the Texas Republic.
The man had moat, too — an encircling moat, with a drawbridge to cross it, and a roof garden up top for good measure. From Bastrop all the way to Matagorda, people came. Champagne suppers, card parties, balls — Robson's Castle drew guests the way a lit window draws moths on a dark night.
Now here's where the story turns, the way Texas stories tend to. An 1869 flood came along and undermined the whole grand structure. Robson himself died in 1878, and by the 1880s the castle was a ruin, razed when the site was put to new use.
What rose in its place was something altogether different, and yet in its own way just as audacious. The Columbus, Texas, Meat and Ice Company put up a three-story plant right here in 1884. Three stories.
And at that moment, it stood as one of only three packing houses in the entire state of Texas. The whole idea was to process cattle at the place of origin — and the plant could handle a hundred and twenty-five head a day. Some of that beef made it all the way to Queen Victoria's London.
Sit with that a moment. Cattle from Colorado County, Texas, ending up on the other side of the Atlantic. Presiding over this operation was Robert E.
Stafford, born in 1834, a man whose résumé reads like a Texas legend checklist — wealthy trail driver, rancher, veteran of Hood's Texas Brigade, owner of a private bank, holder of extensive Colorado County properties. He was president and major stockholder in the packing house. But Stafford died in 1890, and in the early 1890s, the plant closed.
Two grand enterprises, one remarkable piece of ground — a Scottish castle with a moat and Champagne suppers, and a beef operation shipping to the queen of England. Both of them gone now, but the marker's still standing, and the Colorado River's still running, same as it always was.
What the marker says
Robert Robson (1804-1878), one of many Scotsmen seeking fortune in North America, came to the Texas Republic in 1839. On land he owned at this site, he built a concrete "castle," using native lime and gravel. It had running water, pumped from the Colorado into a tank on th roof, then through wooden pipes to its many rooms. It also had a roof garden and an encircling moat, with drawbridge. From Bastrop to Matagorda, it drew guests to Champagne suppers, card parties, and balls. Undermined by an 1869 flood, it became a ruin and was razed when site was put to new use in 1880s. Columbus, Texas, Meat & Ice Company built its 3-story plant on this site in 1884. It was then one of three packing houses in Texas. Established to process at place of origin, the plant could handle 125 cattle a day. Some of its beef went to Queen Victoria's London. Robert E. Stafford (1834-1890), a wealthy trail driver and rancher, veteran of Civil War service with famous Hood's Texas Brigade, owner of a private bank and extensive Colorado County properties, was president, and major stockholder in the packing house. In the early 1890s, after Stafford died, the plant closed. (1973)