Site of Town of Strickling
Bertram, Burnet County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Once a busy rural community. Named for Mrs. Martha (Webster) Strickling, who settled here in 1853 with husband Marmaduke. As child, she survived killing of some 30 settlers in infamous Webster Massacre near Leander, and months of Indian captivity. Post office opened here, 1857, and Strickling became a mail terminal and stage stop. Tons of lumber and buffalo hides were hauled through here. The town had a school, churches, a doctor's office, and stores. Strickling gradually declined when bypassed by the railroad, 1882. Only the cemetery remains. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Strickling grew up in the 1850s as a rural crossroads on the Central Texas frontier, named for Martha Webster Strickling, who settled here in 1853. As a child she had survived the infamous Webster Massacre near Leander and months of Indian captivity—a harrowing frontier ordeal. With a post office established in 1857, the town became a mail terminal and stage stop where lumber and buffalo hides moved through, supporting a school, churches, a doctor, and stores until the railroad bypassed it in 1882.
Why it matters
Strickling is a classic Texas ghost town—thriving on the stagecoach-and-freight economy, then fading the moment the rails ran elsewhere—and a reminder of the violent frontier struggles its settlers endured.
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Related people
- · Martha Webster Strickling
- · Marmaduke Strickling
Related events
- · Webster Massacre
Themes & tags
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