DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some families just pass land down. The Fagans passed down a whole legacy — starting with a man who came to Texas before Texas was even Texas.
Nicholas Fagan arrived in 1829. That's not a typo. Eighteen twenty-nine.
He obtained this particular piece of ground through an 1834 land grant, and when the War for Independence came calling, he answered it. Fought for Texas. And he died about 1850, leaving behind this land — and a son.
That son was Peter Henry Fagan, born in 1834. And here's where the story gets some miles on it. Peter Henry went off to fight in the Civil War — a Confederate soldier who saw service in New Mexico, Galveston, and other sections.
You want to talk about covering ground, that man covered ground. And when it was over, in 1865, he came home. Back to his inheritance.
Back to this land his father had held since that 1834 grant. He married Laura Dubois. And then, in 1868, he did something that speaks to a man who intends to stay put.
He hired a carpenter named M. O'Keefe and had him erect a house. Not just any house.
This house was built of cypress, oak, and Florida pine — three different woods, each one chosen, each one hauled in. That's not a man throwing something together. That's a man building something meant to outlast him.
And the location? Well, that turned out to matter quite a bit. Sit this house exactly halfway between Refugio and Victoria, exactly halfway between Refugio and Indianola, and what do you have?
A way-station for travelers. Folks moving between those towns had themselves a landmark, a stopping point, a place to catch their breath. Visiting priests held neighborhood masses right here on this property.
The year this marker was recorded was 1976. And the inscription notes — almost as a quiet point of pride — that Fagan heirs still own the property. Nicholas Fagan came in 1829 with nothing but intention.
The house his son built in 1868 is still in family hands. Some stories don't need an ending. They just keep going.
What the marker says
Nicholas Fagan came to Texas in 1829, obtained this land in an 1834 grant, fought for Texas in the War for Independence, and died about 1850. His son, Peter Henry Fagan (1834-1929), a Confederate soldier in New Mexico, Galveston and other sections in the Civil War, returned to his inheritance in 1865, married Laura Dubois, and in 1868 had carpenter M. O'Keefe erect this house of cypress, oak and Florida pine. Halfway from Refugio to Victoria or Indianola, it became a way-station for travelers. Here visiting priests held neighborhood masses. Fagan heirs still own the property. (1976)