Smith, Samuel Theodore

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, as best as Duane can carry the tale. Samuel Theodore Smith. The name on the stone, the name in the records, and if Ozona's early walls could talk, probably the name they'd say first.

Smith was a Confederate veteran, rode with the 18th Louisiana Cavalry Battalion through the Civil War. Born in Louisiana, and Louisiana held him for a good while after the war ended. He came to Texas in 1872, which means he made his move while the state was still finding its footing, still deciding what it was going to be.

Smart timing, or brave timing. Maybe both. He didn't rush straight to Ozona, though.

That came later, in 1891. And when Samuel Theodore Smith arrived in Ozona, Ozona felt it. The man built the city's first school.

He built the first courthouse. He raised a Baptist church. And those were just the landmarks.

The marker says he built other structures too, which is the kind of quiet line that hints at a man who simply did not stop working. Now, before all that building began, before Ozona even entered the picture, Smith had already laid a different kind of foundation. He married Alice Crimm on March 1st, 1876.

Together they had three children. A family, a hammer, and a purpose. That's the shape of a life that leaves a town standing long after the man himself is gone.

Next time you're passing through Ozona, maybe look up at what's around you and think about who first put it there.

What the marker says

A Confederate veteran, of 18th La. Cav. Bn., Civil War. Born in Louisiana. Came to Texas in 1872; to Ozona, 1891. Built city's first school, first courthouse, Baptist church, other structures. Married Alice Crimm, March 1, 1876. Had three children. Recorded-1970