Albert, Texas, Gillespie County. (original) (raw)
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.
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
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
Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.