PHOTO BY GARY ZUPANCIC/WIMBERLEY VIEW Mike Caldwell peers into the picture of de Cordova, at the Wimberley Valley Museum.
de Cordova exhibit at museum
A forgotten man in Texas history, Jacob de Cordova, was a big part of the development of Texas, and especially the valley and beyond. Founder of many cities, Waco for one, it is rumored that Jacob’s Well was named for you know who.
Alone on his one horse buggy, he mapped out most of Texas back in the years before the Civil War, being an excellent cartographer. His business was land speculation, and in 1858 he owned more than a million acres of land in the state.
Backing the Confederacy and not evicting people from their homes for unpaid mortgages during the war were his downfall. Land rich, cash poor, was a real thing after the war. He is now buried in the Texas State Cemetery.
The exhibit not only has more details about his life, but also his first headstone, rescued when Lake Whitney near Waco was filled. He and his wife were reinterred in Austin but the tombstone was abandoned. But it was rescued by Dr. James Day, a one-time director at the Texas State Archives who gave it to his son, Joe, when Joe moved to Wimberley
“The gift by Joe Day of Jacob’s original headstone to WIC is a treasure we are fortunate to have on display,” Scott Johnson, a member of the Wimberley Institute of Cultures said.
De Cordova promoted Texas throughout the East and even in England. He was much more than just a land promoter or cartographer. He started numerous newspapers, his first in his native Jamaica, and also a few in Texas: the “Texas Herald” out of Houston and the “Southwestern American” out of Austin.
“His original headstone is now part of the Jacob de Cordova Exhibit at the Wimberley Valley Museum located in the historic Winters-Wimberley House. The public open house for the recently completed Jacob de Cordova exhibit will be a great opportunity to learn more about this important Texan,” John Poe, of the WIC Museum Committee said.
The Open House for the exhibit will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday November 2 at the Winters-Wimberley House and Wimberley Valley Museum, located in front of the Community Center at 14068 RR 12, in Wimberley. Refreshments will be served.