First State Meeting of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas
Lampasas, Lampasas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On April 20, 1892, thirteen members of the Daughters of the Lone Star Republic met in joint session with the Texas Veterans Association in Lampasas. Having been organized the previous November in Houston, the Daughters had been at work in the interim preparing a constitution and by-laws. Guy M. Bryan, vice president of the Texas Veterans Association, presided at the 1892 annual convention in the Lampasas County Courthouse. Mrs. Willie Ashe of Houston, representing her grandmother, Mrs. Anson Jones, President of the Daughters, addressed the gathering and eloquently stated the goals and objectives of the new organization. Following the adjournment of the Texas Veterans' meeting on April 21, the Daughters of the Lone Star Republic reconvened at the Lampasas Methodist Church (2 blocks east). With Mrs. Anson Jones presiding, the members changed the name of the association to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and adopted a constitution. The first state meeting of the DRT solidified the members' desire to organize and inaugurated a Texas institution dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of the Republic era.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On April 20, 1892, thirteen members of the newly formed Daughters of the Lone Star Republic met in Lampasas alongside the Texas Veterans Association, gathering in the county courthouse where Mrs. Willie Ashe spoke for her grandmother, Mrs. Anson Jones, the organization's president. The next day the women reconvened at the Lampasas Methodist Church, and with Mrs. Anson Jones presiding they renamed the group the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and adopted a constitution. This first state meeting launched an enduring institution devoted to preserving the heritage of the Republic era.
Why it matters
This gathering founded one of Texas's most influential heritage organizations, an early example of women organizing to shape how the nation's history would be remembered and preserved.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Mrs. Anson Jones
- · Guy M. Bryan
- · Willie Ashe
Related events
- · Founding of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Pierian Club
Lampasas, TX
In 1902 twenty civic-minded women chartered the Pierian Club of Lampasas, naming it for the mythical spring of the Muses and joining the state and national federations of women's clubs that same year. Focused on literature, art and philanthropy, the club helped launch a book collection in 1903 that became the Lampasas Public Library.
Oak Hill Cemetery
Lampasas, TX
Hartwell Fountain sold ten acres to the City of Lampasas in 1872 to create what was first called City Cemetery, renamed Oak Hill in 1908. For more than half a century the ground was tended by the Ladies Cemetery Association, a group of local women who cared for it from 1891 until the city took over in 1948. Buried here are pioneers, prominent citizens, and veterans reaching back through the Civil War to the Texas Revolution.
Centenary College and St. Dominic's Villa
Lampasas, TX
Founded in 1883 on the centennial of American Methodism, Centenary College was Lampasas's first coeducational college, opening with 174 students and a 36-hour Christmas break. After the school closed in the 1890s, the Dominican Sisters reopened the buildings in 1900 as St. Dominic's Villa, a Catholic boarding academy for girls that former students remembered fondly. Anti-Catholic agitation by the Ku Klux Klan helped force the villa to close in 1925.
Wednesday Review Club
Killeen, TX
Twelve women founded the Ladies Literary Society of Killeen in September 1906, renaming it the Wednesday Review Club a month later and devoting themselves to the study of history and literature. Beyond their reading, the members became civic leaders, helping establish one of the town's first lending libraries and donating books to local schools. Their weekly meetings have continued across generations of Killeen women.