Williamson County’s namesake a Texas hero

Williamson County’s namesake a Texas hero

Written by Jim Dawson Monday, 07 November 2005

Robert McAlpin Williamson served Texas as a lawyer, newspaper editor, major in the Texas Rangers, and judge. He also served as a legislator for the Republic of Texas as well as the State of Texas.

Because Williamson used a wooden leg, he was known affectionately as Three-legged Willie. Following a serious illness (probably polio) when he was 15, one leg could no longer bear weight. He began using a wooden leg for support, leaving the lower part of his right leg sticking out behind him.

Williamson passed the bar to become a lawyer before he was 19. He went on to live a vigorous life as a buffalo hunter, Texas Ranger, cavalryman, and circuit-riding judge.

In 1832, he led a posse to rescue his friend, William Barrett Travis, and others at Ft. Anahuac. The confrontation sparked some of the first bloodshed of the Texas Revolution. Williamson also fought in the cavalry at the Battle of San Jacinto.

Citizens of western Milam County petitioned the legislature in 1848 to form a new county. The original petition proposed the new county be named San Gabriel, but the lawmakers chose to honor one of their own, naming the new county Williamson.

On San Jacinto Day, 1891, a life-sized portrait of Williamson was dedicated in the State Senate Chamber and can still be seen there today. During its unveiling, George Clark of Waco declared that “Rome, even in the palmiest days of her evolution, never had such a man” as Robert McAlpin Williamson. Lt. Gov. George C. Pendleton recalled Williamson as “an idol of the people....an upright and honest judge who unflinchingly administered the law.”

For more information, visit the Williamson County Historical Museum’s exhibit of Three-legged Willie, 716 S. Austin Ave., Georgetown, or www.wchm-tx.org.

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