The Barnwell Anderson Chapter of the Walter Prescott Webb Society at Jacksonville College recently attended the Fall Conference sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association. Cheyenne Fink, Ella Frisinger, Itzeel Chaparro, Lakisha Jones, Cody Johnson, Josiah Cordero, Jamarion Lydia, Collin Small, and Dr. Patricia Richey traveled to Georgetown for the meeting.
The first stop for the group was the Williamson Museum, where students became familiar with “Three Legged Willie”–Robert McAlpin Williamson for whom the county was named. Then students toured the historic Georgetown courthouse. The ornamental detailing of the building makes it one of the best examples of Beaux Arts design in the state. The three-story courthouse features terra cotta and limestone elements and has an impressive dome of patinated copper with a statue of Themis, goddess of divine law. The Williamson County Courthouse Historic District is one of the state’s best collections of intact Victorian commercial design.
The students also visited the Distinctive Collections at Southwestern University to view a special exhibit of items important in Texas and American history.
The second day, students visited the Inner Space Cavern, which was hidden for thousands of years. In 1963, the Texas Highway Department core drilling team discovered the cavern. It was opened to the public in 1966. The students enjoyed seeing beautiful formations, large rooms, and prehistoric animal bones.
As they traveled back to Jacksonville, the students visited the gravesites for President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush in College Station.
Webb Society students are looking forward to the spring conference which will be held in Irving.
