Seeking out San Saba

The first question Dave asked when we rolled into town was, ‘What does

Big horn sheep

San Saba mean?’ Of course I didn’t know (it’s not French or Italian – maybe Spanish?), so we asked the oracle (Google) and here’s what we got: First, there is no translation from Spanish to English for Saba, but San can mean saint. So going with our guess of Saint Saba, our second bit of information told us that Saint Sabas was, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a ‘Christian Palestinian monk, champion of orthodoxy in the 5th-century controversies over the nature of Christ. He founded the monastery known as the Great Laura of Mar Saba, a renowned community of contemplative monks in the Judean desert near Jerusalem. This community became a prototype for the subsequent development of Eastern Orthodox monasticism.’ The Catholic Encyclopedia pretty much agrees, ‘Basilian monk, hermit, founded the monastery at Mar Saba near Jerusalem. Died 532.’ And if you were wondering, Mar Saba is ‘Old Man’ in Aramaic. There are at least five other saints named San Sabas.  So how did Texas get a river, a county, and a town named after a 5^th century monk? I haven’t uncovered that piece of information, yet!



San Saba, the town, is located in Central Texas and has about 3,000 people. It’s the seat of San Saba County, and sits on the San Saba River. It came into being between 1854 and 1855 as a farming community with both ranchers and cotton growers. A year later the Texas legislature

San Saba County Police Staiton

created San Saba County; San Saba won the election as the county seat. A two story frame courthouse (1857-1878) was erected, and later a stone courthouse (1878-1910) served the county and provided space for public gatherings. The court building also served as a school until the 1880s. Baptist and Methodist congregations were the first to hold services in the community. And by 1857 a post office had been opened. But things weren’t always rosy for San Saba. This area of Texas was plagued by cattle rustlers, robbers, and thieves.  Since it was difficult to get to major roads and railways, early San Saba County residents had limited access to law enforcement and government. About the mid-1850s, vigilante groups were formed to mete out justice. Originally formed for protection, these mobs evolved into organized gangs, preying on the residents they were supposed to protect. By the 1880s the San Saba Mob, also known as the Assembly, had killed several area settlers. The Mob was believed to have included religious leaders and elected officials. Operating under strict ritual and secrecy, with secret signs and gestures to identify membership, they met in undisclosed places to plan their attacks. The enforcers wore black masks or hoods to ambush their victims; a grouping of nine bullet holes was their trademark. In 1896 the state sent Texas Rangers to investigate; with Ranger support, San Saba County News editor Uluth M. Sanderson began running editorials against the mob. Working with district attorney W. C. Linden, the Rangers began to expose as many Mob members as possible. Important trials were moved to Austin and Llano to avoid interference from local officials believed to be tied to the Mob. By 1900 the Texas Rangers and Linden had broken the mob’s control over county residents, but few members were actually brought to justice.

Of course with the coming of settlers, there was also a need for final resting places. Although it’s not the oldest cemetery, San Saba Cemetery, previously The Odd Fellows Cemetery, is the resting place of many of the original settlers to the area. The San Saba chapter of the Independent

San Saba Cemetery

Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) purchased 10 acres of this land from J.J. Stockbridge to establish a cemetery on April 18, 1883; they maintained for this graveyard for 45 years. In 1929, the San Saba Cemetery Association took over, and also purchased seven additional acres from Mrs. May Holman. In 1935 this additional land proved necessary. The San Saba Armadillos needed a place to play football, and the city’s earliest cemetery was smack in the middle of the land it wanted to use. So since there was space in the new San Saba Cemetery, the folks were unearthed and reinterred. However, Rogan Field may still have an early resident or two; and more than a few people think they’ve seen these early settlers in and about the filed.

Cattle drives, sheep ranching, and cotton cultivation continued to sustained the town's steady growth as did the arrival of Edmond E. Risien. Born in Dover, England, he came to Texas with his family in the 1870s. One of his contributions to the town was the installation of the first

Left: 'From the people to the people'
Right: Proposed restoration

water works. However, his biggest impact on the San Saba economy was his study of pecans. Risien spent his lifetime upbreeding native San Saba pecans, creating the Onliwon, San Saba Improved, and the Western Schley. He was cited by 42^nd Texas Legislature and the public as a world leader in pecan industry; San Saba calls itself the ‘Pecan Capital of the World’. By the 1890s San Saba was a business and marketing center for farmers and ranchers. Other services, such as legal, banking, and medical, were also used by the locals. The San Saba County News, possibly the first newspaper in West Texas, began publication in 1873 and carried on through the years. A branch line of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway came through San Saba in 1911 spurred authorized a new courthouse. Architect Walter Chamberlain designed this Texas Renaissance building (and also the Deaf Smith County courthouse), faced in pressed brick and rusticated sandstone; the courthouse has the statement ‘From the people to the people’ carved over its entrances. Right now it is under restoration; it should be a beautiful building once they have finished. Since World War II the economy has moved toward cultivation of wheat, pecans, peanuts, fruit, wine, and grain sorghum, and on cattle, sheep, and goat ranching. Industry has continued to spur the growth of San Saba; there are now several manufacturers of machines to harvest the crops grown in the area.

Old Man Scary Cellars sign

©2018 NearNormal Design and Production Studio - All rights including copyright of photographs and designs, as well as intellectual rights are reserved.