William W. Moon

Duane's take

The marker's the one doin' the talkin' here — I'm just the voice it rides in on. Now, two days. Two days after William W.

Moon came into this world on March 25, 1814, he was an orphan. Sit with that a moment. He hadn't even had time to learn what a family was before he lost one.

He grew up in Alabama with two uncles, and if that beginning sounds hard, well — it turns out William W. Moon was the kind of man hardship had trouble sticking to. He married Sophronia Elizabeth Sublett in 1834.

She was born in 1819, and together they built a life. By 1838, that life had moved to Bastrop, Texas. And then in 1843, Moon joined the Texas Rangers, and the Rangers sent him somewhere that would change everything — San Marcos Springs, first visited during a running Indian battle.

Not exactly a peaceful introduction to a place. But Moon saw something in that countryside, something that got under his skin and stayed there. Enchanted is the word the marker uses, and I believe it.

Two years later, 1845, he packed up his family and came back. Built a cabin right here. And with that, William and Sophronia Moon became the first permanent Anglo-American settlers in what is now Hays County.

First. In the whole county. But then — April 21, 1846.

Sophronia Moon died. Born in 1819, gone at twenty-six, leaving behind a husband and four daughters in a cabin at the edge of what was still very much a frontier. The marker doesn't linger on the grief, and maybe that's fitting.

What it tells us is what happened next: other pioneers came. They decided to make their homes here too, drawn to the same springs, the same countryside that had enchanted Moon. And Moon — he didn't retreat.

That cabin of his became the beating heart of a brand new community. The first sermon ever preached in Hays County happened inside those walls. The first school held in Hays County happened there too.

In 1846, Moon helped build a log church-schoolhouse, and when Hays County was organized in 1848, that same building stepped up to serve as a courthouse. One humble structure wearing three different hats. In 1853, Moon and his family were among the charter members of the Presbyterian church formed that year.

The man didn't slow down. He ranched. He operated a hotel and stage stop.

A blacksmith shop. A freight line. He was elected county sheriff.

He served in the Mexican War, 1846 to 1847. Then, when the Civil War came, he served again, 1862 to 1863. A man born two days before he became an orphan, who had already outlived a wife on the frontier, suiting up twice for two different wars.

William W. Moon died in 1897 — January 7th, to be precise — at the age of eighty-two. He's buried in Wimberley Cemetery, not far from the springs that enchanted him more than half a century before.

First settler. First sermon. First school.

Sheriff. Soldier. Twice over.

Some men just come into a place and become the place. William W. Moon was one of those men.

What the marker says

(March 25, 1814 - Jan. 7, 1897) Orphaned two days after his birth, William W. Moon grew up with two uncles in his native Alabama. He married Sophronia Elizabeth Sublett (1819-46) in 1834 and moved to Bastrop, Texas in 1838. Moon joined the texas Rangers and first visited San Marcos Springs during a running Indian battle in 1843. Enchanted by the countryside, he brought his family here in 1845 and built a cabin at this site. The Moons were the first permanent Anglo-American settlers in what is now Hays County. Sophronia Moon died April 21, 1846, but her husband and four daughters were soon joined by other pioneers who decided to make their homes here. William W. Moon made many contributions to the growing settlement. His cabin was the site of the first sermon preached and the first school held in Hays County. In 1846 he helped build the log church-schoolhouse which became a courthouse when Hays County was organized (1848). Moon and his family were charter members of the Presbyterian church formed in 1853. In addition to ranching, Moon operated a hotel and stage stop, blacksmith shop, and freight line. He was elected county sheriff and served, 1846-47, in the Mexican War, and 1862-63, in the Civil War. He died in 1897 and is buried in Wimberley Cemetery.