This article is a little different, and a little more personal, than most of the stories I write. And while I certainly don’t want to sound apologetic for that fact, I do want to do a little explaining.

I first visited the town of Burnet in January of 1994, and didn’t move here until the Fourth of July weekend in 1996; but the welcome my family and I received here has helped make me one of this town’s most enthusiastic promoters, and I tell my friends that I "discovered my home town" when I arrived in Burnet. I’ve had opportunities here that I might not have found anywhere else, and the community has supported me tremendously in my publishing endeavors. If you enjoy reading the Texas Hill Country magazine, you have the good people of Burnet to thank!

Samuel Holland was Burnet’s first permanent settler, just 158 years ago. On July 3, 1848, the former Texas Ranger came to visit his brother-in-law, William B. Covington, at a Ranger encampment a few miles south of present-day Burnet. He liked the surroundings so well that he bought 1280 acres and built a home near Hamilton Creek. In 1849, U.S. Army dragoons built Fort Croghan just to the north of Holland’s property and a few more settlers arrived.

An offshoot Mormon group led by Lyman Wight arrived in 1850, and built a mill at a waterfall on Hamilton Creek just south of "Holland Springs." When the Mormon’s moved on in 1853, they sold the "Mormon Mill" to Noah Smithwick, who used it to grind flour for farmers as far away as Gillespie County

Two veterans of the Texas Revolution contributed mightily to the growth of the little town, first called Hamilton Valley: Logan Vandeveer was a large and powerful man known for his courage and daring; Peter Kerr was better known for his business acumen. Vandeveer fought the Indians and supplied the fort (named for Colonel George Croghan, a hero in the War of 1812) with beef and other staples. Kerr bought the land which would eventually become Burnet, leasing the fort ...

Read the entirety of this article in the print edition.

Subscribe online — it's quick and easy