Fayette County Historical Markers
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NUMBER OF MARKERS IN COUNTY- 172
Have -160 Need-12
Fayette County is named for Marquis de la Fayette who was a French aristocrat and close friend of George Washington who was a military officer in the American Revolutionary War. The county seat is La Grange.
When I think of Fayette County, I think of green fields, blue bonnets and Round Top. La Grange is a much bigger town and has more markers but it is Round Top that comes to mind when I think of Fayette County. It could be because its a quaint country town or because of the annual Antique Fair (which I have yet to visit but badly want to) or the excellent dinner we had a Royers Round Top Cafe which I'm going to take a minute to talk about because I have never experienced anything quite like it. We planned our visit to Fayette County on this day, around dinner at Royers because it was something we wanted to do for a while and they are only open Thursday- Saturday for dinner. So at the end of the day we were really hungry and anticipation had been building all day, we sat and ordered entrees but were brought two complimentary starters one was shrimp jalapeno poppers which were delicious. It didn't stop there, I was trying quail for the first time and was brought not only the stuffed quail I ordered but also the grilled quail because the chef wanted me to experience it both ways again the second quail serving was complimentary, both awesome. Everything was great, I felt like I'd been mistaken for a food critic. I also ordered a glass of wine which was a very generous pour and pie to go (because there was no fitting it in after dinner, they are famous for their pies) which again was on the house. I would encourage anyone to visit Royers because regardless of whether you get any freebies or not, you will leave feeling like you ate a friends house rather than a restaurant. On our first visit we stayed at the Olle Hotel in Flatonia, we had the place to our selves and the owner said to make ourselves at home and it sort felt like an old house rather than a hotel. The only complaint Steve had was that he was awoken very early in the morning by the trains, I slept through them it so they couldn't have been that loud. I would have no trouble staying there again. |
The hardest thing about marker hunting in Fayette County is they do have several markers on private property but every time we visit we seem to be able access another of these, it's just been slow going. There are few missing markers Flatonia City Hospital and Opera House is missing its medallion & plate. The First Roadside Park in Texas and the Original Site of First Oil Mill in Texas subject markers have been missing for many years. I have written to the Fayette County Historical Commission to see if there are any plans to replace them. Rabb House burnt down in 1999. The Earthman Farm had their marker stolen and the owner wanted to replace it but the Historical Commission denied the application due to the text on the marker text being unsubstantiated (I think it's just not politically correct, but that's just my opinion). The original Lyons Lodge No. 195, A. F.& A. M. is now an auto parts store and almost unrecognizable from the original building the medallion & plate is no longer on the building. In this county there can also be a difference of several years between when the marker appears in the atlas and when its actually is erected.
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7th December, 2019 - On review, all the old private property markers still prove to be difficult, the Texas Historical Commission lists markers for several markers for cemeteries that were added many years ago but I'm unable to confirm these have been placed, there are some new markers that I believe have been stalled due to lack of foundry.
31st August, 2024- Fayette County is active and have added several new markers, not all have been dedicated. The markers for the First Roadside Park in Texas, the first marker for Lyon's Lodge No. 195, A.M. & A.F. and Original Site of First Oil Mill in Texas are missing without any plans to replace. The Travis Street Church and the Joseph Biegel House once had markers, so that is why they are listed here, but due to relocation their markers have been removed. The Hamilton Ledbetter House, John Vogt House, Ludwig and Caroline Giese House and Rocky Creek Farm are on private property. As are Stephen Williams, Gresser Family Cemetery, and John Henry Moore.
All this to say this is a difficult county to complete though I am proud to say this last visit got us closer and with every review I do learn something new.
All this to say this is a difficult county to complete though I am proud to say this last visit got us closer and with every review I do learn something new.
11th January, 2025 - We have popped in and out of Fayette County several times since August 2024 and added several of the new markers and we are getter closer to completing the Fayette County set. There are two maybe three new sites yet to receive and dedicate their plaques. There are a couple of missing markers that would require visits to local museums to see if any photos of the sites and/or the markers still exist and at least five on private property that we are still hoping to access. There are also a couple of sites, the Travis Street Methodist Church for one that I would like to capture and include here. The church was de-designated due to being relocated and altered and is sometimes though not always the case the Joseph Biegel Home was relocated to preserve it and thus lost its designation. For me this makes them make of the counties rich history and therefore I like to include them even though they no longer have their designation or marker. So all in all still some work to do but the county is more complete than it was. 😊