By Bill Young
December 13, 2008 08:05 pm
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Members of the Navarro County Historical Commission discovered recently one of our county’s historical markers has been stolen. This marker was for the James A. Megarity home located in Oak Valley. The house was built in 1876 by Mr. Megarity and his wife Narcissa C. (Hardman), whom he wed in 1859. The Megaritys came to Texas in 1872 but he decided to rent land for a few years prior to his purchasing 187 acres of land where he built his home.
This marker was attached to the house in 1983 after the application was approved and the marker manufactured. The costs for historical markers has risen significantly over the years and a replacement will cost $1,100. We hope the marker will somehow be returned to the site in the near future so we don’t have to try to raise the funds for the replacement. The Megarity marker is not the first marker to be stolen in Navarro County. Many years ago, the historical marker placed at the Battle Creek site west of Dawson was stolen. Eventually this marker was found in a college dormitory at San Marcos, and returned to the site at Dawson. Not long after being reinstalled, the marker was stolen again and it has not been seen since.
Last week when I called the marker division of the Texas Historical Commission, Bob Brinkman, the head of the marker department, told me McLennan County recently had a marker stolen. Not long after the theft, a scrap metal company in San Antonio called the Texas Historical Commission and informed them someone had sold them the marker for scrap metal. The company saw the State of Texas seal on the marker and decided to notify the state. Mr. Brinkman said someone with the McLennan County Historical Commission is supposed to go to San Antonio to retrieve their marker.
Historical markers not only identify places of historical interest but some also add protection for a site depending on what type marker was erected. Registered Texas Historical Landmark (RTHL) markers help to preserve the original exterior of a site by requiring the owners to notify the State Historical Commission 60 days in advance before doing any painting or changes to the exterior. State Archeological Landmarks (SAL) offer the highest protection for a site whether it is a Native American archeological site, a historical building or a historical house. Anyone who should happen to dig into a SAL site and gets caught might face a huge fine and a prison tern depending on the amount of destruction caused by the individual. Here in Navarro County there are three State Archeological Landmarks (SAL). Two are Native American sites located in the Richland/Chambers Reservoir and the third SAL is the Temple Beth-El located on South 15th Street in Corsicana. There are approximately 20 Registered Texas Historical Landmarks in Navarro County. Anyone looking at a marker can tell if it is a RTHL by looking in the lower right-hand corner of the marker where it will state it is a Registered Historical Texas Landmark. Other markers which do not carry either a SAL or a RTHL designation are subject markers. These markers do not provide any protection for a site but each one becomes part of the site from now on. Realtors need to know this anytime they are showing a site which has any type of historical marker. The marker designation stays with the structure regardless of who the current owner is. One other item which needs to be mentioned is the fact each and every marker is the property of the State of Texas. For the past few weeks I have been writing about the proper methods for cleaning and preserving tombstones, mainly ones made out of several types of stones. However, not all tombstones were manufactured out of one or another type of stone. Some were made out of cast concrete and cleaning these presents a particular problem. Concrete is more porous, especially around the lettering, than limestone, marble or granite and therefore is subjected to the elements of nature at a more rapid pace. Another problem with concrete tombstones is the surface of a concrete tombstone is not polished which allows moisture to enter the concrete more rapidly. If water enters the concrete tombstone and a freeze episode happens simultaneously, the concrete will start peeling away little by little. My cemetery partner and I have seen several concrete tombstones where the lettering has been removed during freezes. I am aware of several good sealants which might help to prevent spoiling but like most sealants, it must be reapplied occasionally.
In several of the cemeteries in Navarro County, we have seen examples where a family member has taken the small funeral home marker and attached it to a blank piece of tombstone. The funeral home markers made out of brass seem to be holding up to the elements quite well so far but exactly how long one of these markers will last is not known. Other funeral home markers made out of a metal, usually aluminum, are not standing the test of time. These little markers have slots cut into the marker where individual letters are inserted with the deceased person’s name, birth date and death date. The most common problem we have seen with these markers is the aluminum back plate gets bent and some of the lettering starts to fall out. Eventually all of the lettering is gone leaving only a blank aluminum plate with no information.
From time to time over the years, I have picked up a magazine or a book where someone wrote an article about collecting coins. Occasionally I see a program on one of the television history channels where Mel Fisher is showing off some of his finds from the Spanish galleon he found off the coast of Florida. Always without exception each article dealing with old coins makes the statement not to try to clean an old coin yourself. Leave this for the experts! I remember reading one sentence where it stated it took 100 or possibly 200 years for an old coin to acquire an oxide on its surfaces; don’t try to remove this oxide in a few minutes because your endeavor will be doomed to disaster. Improper cleaning of tombstones will face the same fate!
Next week: Some more Early Archaic from Central Texas
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