William O. Spencer

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. William O. Spencer.

Born September 2, 1810, in Illinois. And if you give a man eighty-six years on this earth, there's no telling how much ground he can cover. He died September 20, 1896, but let's back up, because the story starts moving long before that.

In 1847, Spencer packed up and came to Texas, settling in Bastrop County with his wife, Amy Wilcoxen. Now, that could have been the whole story. Bastrop County, a quiet life, done.

But then 1853 came, and Amy died. And a man who has lost someone has two choices: stay still, or go further. Spencer went further.

He pushed out to the frontier. Williamson County. The kind of place that didn't have much yet, and that meant it needed building.

Spencer was an ordained minister, so he got to work serving Baptist congregations across several counties, riding that frontier circuit the way a preacher does when the work is bigger than any one town. But here's where it gets interesting. Spencer wanted a post office for his community, and wanting one and getting one are two very different things.

So he went and persuaded United States Senator Thomas J. Rusk to make it happen. The senator came through, the post office was established, and Spencer himself served as its first postmaster.

And the name of that post office? Liberty Hill. He named it.

Then his own home in Liberty Hill, that same frontier ground he'd staked out after loss, started operating as the Spencer Hotel. From the early 1870s until 1884, travelers coming through had a place to stop. William O.

Spencer, Illinois native, Texas frontier man, minister, postmaster, hotelier. One life, a lot of ground covered.

What the marker says

(September 2, 1810 - September 20, 1896) Illinois native William O. Spencer moved to Bastrop County, Texas, with his wife, Amy Wilcoxen, in 1847. In 1853, Amy died and Spencer settled on the frontier in Williamson County. He named the Liberty Hill post office he had persuaded U. S. Senator Thomas J. Rusk to establish and served as its first postmaster. As an ordained minister he served Baptist congregations in several counties. His home in Liberty Hill operated as the Spencer Hotel from the early 1870s until 1884. Recorded - 1994