Alma Ward Hamrick
San Saba, San Saba County, Texas
Marker Inscription
ALMA WARD HAMRICK (1896-1974) BORN IN PEARL (CORYELL CO.), ALMA WARD GRADUATED IN GOLDTHWAITE AND ATTENDED COLLEGE IN DENTON, EARNING A TEACHING CERTIFICATE c. 1916. SHE MARRIED JAMES L. HAMRICK IN 1919; THE COUPLE HAD TWO DAUGHTERS. ALMA TAUGHT IN EASTLAND, McCULLOCH AND SAN SABA COUNTIES FOR 15 YEARS AND HAD A LONG CAREER AS A WRITER. HER ARTICLES WERE PUBLISHED IN NEWSPAPERS AND INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS. IN 1936 SHE HELPED FOUND THE SAN SABA GARDEN CLUB, AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN SAVING SAN SABA’S HISTORIC MILL. SHE CHAIRED THE COUNTY’S CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE (1956) AND HISTORICAL SURVEY COMMITTEE (1962) AND RESEARCHED 19 STATE HISTORICAL MARKERS. HER BOOK THE CALL OF THE SAN SABA (1940) REMAINS A SEMINAL WORK IN LOCAL HISTORY. 175 YEARS OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE * 1836-2011
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Coryell County in 1896, Alma Ward Hamrick earned a teaching certificate and taught for fifteen years across three Central Texas counties before building a long career as a writer published in newspapers and international outlets. She helped found the San Saba Garden Club, worked to save the town's historic mill, and chaired the county's centennial and historical survey committees, researching nineteen state historical markers. Her 1940 book The Call of the San Saba remains a foundational work of local history.
Why it matters
Hamrick exemplifies the women who preserved American local history in the early 20th century, whose research and civic energy safeguarded the very markers and landmarks communities rely on today.
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Related people
- · Alma Ward Hamrick
- · James L. Hamrick
Themes & tags
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