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History
in a Pecan Shell
Settlers from Fredericksburg
moved here around 1877 in search of greener pastures for their livestock.
The town was originally named Martinsburg and was on the
Blanco-Fredericksburg stage line.
Martinsburg had a post office from 1877 to 1886, when the mail was
rerouted through Hye in Blanco
County. But when Albert Luckenbach, (see Luckenbach,
Texas) moved here after selling his store there, he applied
for a post office under his first name. It was approved in 1892.
In a rare switch of priorities, Albert got its post office five
years before it opened its first store (1897).
A new school replaced an earlier building in 1900. Lyndon Baines
Johnson was a student here, albeit for only one year. From 50 residents
in 1925, it reached rock-bottom in the mid 1960s with only four
residents. In the early 1970s when Luckenbach
was finally being appreciated as an endangered Hill
Country “lifestyle,” Albert, Texas had increased its population
to 25. The store was demolished in the 1980s, and the old school
put to another use.
The population figure of 25 has been in use ever since and the 13-acre
town became a single property. In November of 2007, the town was
put up for auction with a minimum acceptance price of 2.5 million.
On November 24th, 2007, it was reported that "someone in Italy"
had won the town with a bid of $3.8 million.
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Drinking
Beer Under the Trees at Albert by Michael Barr
A hot summer day in the Texas Hill Country can give Lucifer a heat
rash, but in Albert, where the beer is cold, the music is lively and
a gentle breeze stirs the air under the giant oak trees behind the
Albert icehouse, even a sultry Texas afternoon can be downright pleasant....
more |
The Williams
Creek School, aka the Albert School, was once attended by a young
Lyndon B. Johnson
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
-
Terry
Jeanson, November 2007 photo
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Historical Marker:
5501 South RR 1623
Williams Creek
School
Established to
serve the rural Albert community, the Williams Creek School, also
known as the Albert School, began in 1890-91 near the creek. In 1897,
trustees approved construction of a stone schoolhouse at this site.
They enlarged the school to two rooms in 1922, constructing a frame
addition clad in brick-faced metal siding. A dogtrot separates the
two main rooms, and the original bell tower became a central feature.
For one year, the young Lyndon Baines Johnson, an area native, attended
the school, which merged with Stonewall
in 1950, and the building has since provided space for a community
club, which meets regularly, as well as other local events.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2002 |
Riders of beast
and machine congregate in Albert most weekends.
- Terry
Jeanson, November 2007 photo |
Historical Marker:
6141 South Ranch Road
Wilke Cemetery
at Albert, Texas
This burial ground
served the rural community of Albert (originally Martinsburg), which
was named for Albert Luckenbach, who opened a new post office in the
town in 1892. Blacksmith and rancher Friedrich August Wilke, Sr.,
a native of Germany, conveyed this property for cemetery use in 1907.
The first burial was of Constantine A. Kleinert (1892 - 1894), who
was reinterred from a ranch that year. Cemetery features include interior
fencing, Masonic gravestones and extensive curbing. In 1980, the Wilke
Cemetery of Albert, Texas Association formed. Today, the cemetery
association continues to maintain the burial ground, which as a vestige
of the Albert Community, serves as a reminder of the area’s early
pioneers.
2010
More Texas Cemeteries |
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
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