DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Somervell County — and the name alone carries a story worth unpackin. It honors Alexander Somervell, born in Maryland in 1796, a man who managed to pack several lifetimes of Texas history into one.
He stood at the Battle of San Jacinto. He served as secretary of War under Texas President David G. Burnet.
And then, in 1842, his name got stamped onto something even bigger — the Somervell Expedition, a military campaign he commanded with the aim of ending Mexican invasions of the Texas Republic. That's the kind of résumé that gets a county named after you. Somervell lived until 1854, and the land that bears his name kept right on growin long after he was gone.
Now, before any of that, this region sat in the old Brazos Land District, and it was home to the Wacos and other Indian peoples. The first white settler to put down roots here was a man named Charles Barnard, who arrived in 1848. The county seat, Glen Rose, was founded as Barnard's Mill — that name a quiet echo of the man who came first.
The Civil War years, 1861 to 1865, brought change even to this corner of Texas. That's when the first cotton crop was introduced, and the first tannery followed. Hard times have a way of forcin ingenuity.
The county itself was carved from land at the south end of Hood County and officially organized in 1875. It's a small county with a long memory — and now you know exactly whose memory it carries.
What the marker says
Named for Alexander Somervell (1796-1854), native of Maryland, veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, secretary of War under Texas President David G. Burnet; commanded the 1842 Somervell Expedition seeking to end Mexican invasions of Texas Republic. Region was in old Brazos Land District. Home of Wacos and other Indians. First white settler was Charles Barnard, 1848. First cotton crop and first tannery were introduced during Civil War, 1861-1865. Created from land in south end of Hood County and organized in 1875; Glen Rose (founded as Barnard's Mill), county seat. (1965)