W. T. Chapman

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about W. T. Chapman, out there in Hays County.

Now, if you want to talk about a man who showed up to a place and then basically built the place, let me tell you about William Thomas Chapman. Born in Georgia in 1835, Chapman came to Texas after the Civil War, and that war had not been kind to him. He was wounded.

He was incarcerated. He took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States and was released. Whatever he carried out of that war, he carried it west.

By 1872, he was in the Dripping Springs area. And before long, he married a widow named Martha, Martha Box Marshall, born the same year as Chapman, 1835. Her husband, Burrell J.

Marshall, had recently passed. Chapman stepped in and raised Martha's five children alongside two of their own. Seven children.

A full house, a full life, and, as it turned out, a full career ahead of him. He became the postmaster. He ran the stagecoach station.

He was likely helping build the first school in the 1870s and was a founding trustee of Hays County School District Number Ten. In July of 1872, Chapman provided land for the First Baptist Church. That church later burned.

He wasn't finished. In 1881, he donated two acres for the construction of Dripping Springs Academy, which served as both school and church. Then he built a boarding house and a hotel to go along with it.

The man was not in the habit of doing things halfway. And then came the move that planted a town on the map. In 1881, Chapman used Martha's two hundred and sixty acres, inherited from the Marshall estate, to lay out twelve blocks and six streets.

That grid of land would become Dripping Springs. He named the main street after their son, Mercer. Homes went up.

New businesses came in. Chapman filed for additional plats in the years that followed as the settlement kept growing. Partnering with A.

L. Davis Senior and A. L.

Davis Junior at different points, Chapman became a prominent merchant. He helped found Camp Ben McCullouch and served as its adjutant, staying active in Confederate veterans' affairs even as he was building a future town block by block. William Thomas Chapman died in 1917.

Martha, that remarkable woman, lived on until 1924. He lies buried in Wallace Mountain Cemetery, a place he and A. L.

Davis Senior established themselves. Of course they did. Some men pass through a place.

W. T. Chapman made a place.

And that place still carries the streets he laid out, including one named for his son.

What the marker says

Born in Georgia, William Thomas Chapman (1835-1917) came to Texas after the Civil War during which he was wounded, incarcerated and released after taking the Oath of Allegiance to the United States. By 1872, he was in the Dripping Springs area. He married widow Martha (Box) Marshall (1835-1924) shortly after the passing of her husband, Burrell J. Marshall. Chapman raised Martha's five children and two of their own. He became the postmaster and stagecoach station operator for the area. Chapman was integral to bringing about the first public works in the settlement. In the 1870s, Chapman likely helped build the first school and was a founding trustee of Hays County School District #10. In July 1872, Chapman provided land for the First Baptist Church, which later burned. Chapman donated two acres in 1881 for the construction of Dripping Springs Academy, which doubled as a school and a church. He built a boarding house and hotel to supplement the complex. Partnering with both A.L. Davis Sr. and Jr., Chapman became a prominent merchant. In 1881, Chapman used Martha's 260 acres inherited from the Marshall estate to create twelve blocks and six streets that would be known as Dripping Springs. He named the main street after their son, Mercer. Homes and new businesses sprouted, leading Chapman to file for additional plats of land in subsequent years. Also active in Confederate veterans' affairs, Chapman helped found Camp Ben McCullouch, serving as adjutant. W.T. Chapman played an active role in the creation and subsequent success of Dripping Springs. He lies buried in Wallace Mountain Cemetery which he and A.L. Davis Sr. established. (2018)