While Spanish exploration had begun as early as 1732, only a few brave souls had seen the beautiful landscape of San Saba County when Texas became an independent republic. Populated mainly by “bear and buffalo,” the county was frequented by Comanches and other tribes who had sided with the Mexican army in the revolution and continued to resist Texan expansion.

One of the first Texan explorers was surveyor Robert D. McAnelly, who (in 1837) carved his initials and the date on a large rock where the as-yet-unnamed Cherokee Creek emptied into the Colorado River. The creek got its name two years later, when Colonel Edward Burleson defeated an army of Cherokee Indians nearby.

McAnelly settled on the other (Lampasas County) side of the Colorado River in the late 1840s, but it wasn’t until 1854 that the first permanent settlers put down roots in the future San Saba County. The small community of Chappell grew up along the banks of Cherokee Creek, followed by settlements such as Rough Creek, Rock Shoals, Simpson Creek, Wallace Creek, Broyles Valley and Holland Hill.

The first store and blacksmith shop were built in 1855, and San Saba County was organized in 1856. A 100-acre townsite was chosen and a courthouse, clerk’s office and post office were built in the town of San Saba in 1857 (the courthouse also served as a school and meetinghouse). Also that year, Nathaniel Burden built the town’s first rock structure, the Burden Hotel.

In the meantime, James Baker Jr. and his brother, George, had brought six thousand cattle to land given to their father for his service in the Texas Revolution. With the help of the Sloan brothers, John and Tom, the Bakers soon greatly multiplied the size of their herd in “Baker Valley,” and (despite regular Comanche raids) San Saba County became a center for the cattle business. Cattle drives sent large herds to surrounding counties before the Civil War.

While the war and frequent raids ...

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