Samuel Knight Lewis
Round Top, Fayette County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(January 20, 1807 - November 14, 1867) South Carolina native Samuel K. Lewis married Marshall Ann Moore in 1830 and they settled on his Mississippi plantation. In 1838 the Lewis family was drawn to Texas. Originally a surveyor, Lewis served Austin County in the Republic of Texas House of Representatives in 1844-1845. In 1848 he learned of plans for a stage line to run through this area. He bought 145 acres near this site and settled his family there. The Lewis home became a stopping place for travelers later known as the Winedale Inn. Given to the University of Texas in the 1960s, it became a focal point of the nearby Winedale Historical Center. Recorded - 2000
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Samuel Knight Lewis left a Mississippi plantation to bring his family to Texas in 1838, serving Austin County in the Republic of Texas House of Representatives before settling near Round Top in 1848. Sensing opportunity along a planned stage route, he bought land whose home grew into a welcome stopping place for travelers, later known as the Winedale Inn. Given to the University of Texas in the 1960s, the property became the heart of the Winedale Historical Center.
Why it matters
Lewis's roadside inn marks how the humble stage stops of frontier Texas knit isolated settlements together—and how one such house was preserved as a window into early Anglo-Texan life.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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