John Berry, Williamson County pioneer and frontiersman

John Berry, Williamson County pioneer and frontiersman

By Chris Dyer Friday, 10 July 2009

After the Williamson County Courthouse renovations were completed in 2008, some of the monuments seemed to have vanished, two of which were dedicated to early Williamson County pioneer and frontiersman John Berry. They included the original millstone from Berry’s Mill, placed on the courthouse lawn in 1967 by the Daughters of 1812, and the John Berry, Frontiersman historical marker installed by the Texas Historical Commission in 1978.

Berry, born in Kentucky in 1786, was one of the earliest settlers in Williamson County. Previously, he participated in the War of 1812, later moving to Texas around 1827 to settle the southeastern Texas Atascosito District. In his lifetime Berry had three wives. His progeny includes 18 children and 100 grandchildren. His oldest sons were all Texas Rangers and veterans of the Republic of Texas and Battle of Plum Creek. Five of his sons served in the Confederate Army, and Berry family descendents have served in every major Texas and American conflict. One notable descendent was Audie Murphy, America’s most decorated soldier and Berry’s great-grandson.

The Texas Historical Commission, Williamson County, The Williamson Museum and the John Berry Chapter of the DAR came to the consensus that a more appropriate home with context was necessary for the Berry markers. The obvious home for them was the recently opened 300-acre Berry Springs Park and Preserve off of CR 152 in Georgetown. This site is where Berry and his family settled in 1846, two years before Williamson County was established. The property served as their home and farm, included a blacksmith and gun shop, and a spring-driven mill where the creek, springs and park got their name. The spring at the site pours into the original mill pond created for Berry’s mill. The Berry Family Cemetery, where Berry was interred in 1866, is one of the many unique elements of the park. The park is also home to the The Williamson Museum’s annual archeology day event, where a historical tour of the park is a central focus.

The county hired Stasswender Memorials to transport the monuments to their new home at the park. Stasswender is a family-owned monument company in Austin and serves as the on-call keepers of the monuments at the State Cemetery. The millstone, weighing in at nearly a ton, was a challenge. Using a crane, it was plucked from its base without damage and relocated to the park, where it now rests under a covered stone shelter that overlooks the mill pond. The John Berry, Frontiersman marker was pulled out of the ground in the same manner. It is now located at the pecan tree-lined front entrance of Berry Springs Park on CR 152.

Author’s note: The Williamson Museum has copies of the book “John Berry & His Children,” edited by Berry family descendent Judge Jack Pope.

Chris Dyer is the director of The Williamson Museum 716 S. Austin Ave., Georgetown