DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just along for the ride. Now, there's a piece of ground in Travis County with a story layered so deep you'd need to dig a while just to reach the interesting parts — and friend, it goes pretty far down. The place is known as the Governor Horton Place, and the name alone ought to raise a question or two.
Let me explain. Albert C. Horton — born 1798, died 1865 — was a veteran of the Texas War for Independence, which is already a fine credential to hang on any man's wall.
He owned this property from 1841 to 1852, and somewhere in that stretch of years, life handed him one of the stranger job descriptions in the young state's history. See, Texas had just joined the Union, and Horton became the first man elected lieutenant governor after that happened. Now, lieutenant governor is a dignified office, sure — but it's not the top chair.
Except. There's always an except in a good story. From May 19 to November 13, 1846, Governor J.
Pinckney Henderson left the state to go serve on duty with the U.S. Army in the Mexican War. And that made Albert C.
Horton, right here on this very property, chief of state. The man wasn't just a landowner passing the seasons — he was running Texas while the actual governor was off fighting a war. That's not a footnote.
That's the whole chapter. After Horton's time, the property passed to Judge Thomas H. Duval, who lived from 1813 to 1880, and the place kept on carrying its weight through the years.
Then in the 1960s, Mr. and Mrs. W. O.
Karcher restored it, enlarged it, and gave it a future worth having. One piece of land — a revolution veteran, a lieutenant governor who became governor by circumstance, a judge, and a restoration that brought it all back. Texas has a way of packing a whole lot of history into one address.
What the marker says
Albert C. Horton (1798-1865), a veteran of the Texas War for Independence, owned this property 1841-1852. The first man elected lieutenant governor after Texas joined the Union, he lived here while serving as chief of state May 19 - Nov. 13, 1846, when Gov. J. Pinckney Henderson was on duty with the U.S. Army in the Mexican War. A later owner was Judge Thomas H. Duval (1813-1880). House was restored and enlarged by Mr. and Mrs. W.O. Karcher, 1960s. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972