Home of Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson
Salado, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This house was built 1856-1860 by Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson 1820 . . . 1879 Texas pioneer, patriot, soldier and jurist, and one of the founders of Salado College. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson (1820–1879) built this house between 1856 and 1860 in Salado, then a rising community in central Texas. Remembered as a pioneer, soldier, and jurist, Robertson also helped found Salado College, an early educational venture on the Texas frontier. The State of Texas erected the marker in 1936 to honor his role in the region's settlement.
Why it matters
Figures like Robertson bridged the Republic of Texas and the Civil War era, planting law, learning, and permanent settlement in a still-frontier landscape.
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Related people
- · Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
First Baptist Church of Salado
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Baptist revivals were held on the banks of Salado Creek as early as 1854, and in 1864 eleven men and women organized a congregation in the chapel of Salado College. The church grew quickly, built a two-story sanctuary shared with a Masonic hall in 1878, and sent missionaries as far as Brazil. Among its notable members was pastor George W. Baines — great-grandfather of President Lyndon B. Johnson — who later led Mary Hardin-Baylor College.
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Home of Wellborn Barton
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Old Salado Graveyard
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This burial ground came into use around 1852, about the time a post office opened at Salado Springs. In 1854 Col. Elijah Sterling C. Robertson bought a large tract that included the graveyard, part of the 100 acres he had donated to create Salado College and the town of Salado itself. Enlarged over the years through purchase and gift, and now supported by a permanent endowment, it has served generations of Salado's citizens.