Local DRT chapters go to jail

A tour of the historic Burnet County Jail will be included in a special meeting of two chapters of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) on Saturday, April 2.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas are descendants of people who lived in Texas before it became a state in 1846. They perpetuate the memory of those who achieved Texas independence, encourage historical research and promote celebration of Texas Honor Days.

The Burnet County DRT chapter, the Jane Wells Woods Chapter, is named for one of those early forebears who was brought to settle in Texas by her father, Martin Wells, in 1830. The Round Rock Chapter of DRT is named after him. These father-daughter chapters will meet together in the hand-hewn limestone jail built in 1884 at Washington and Pierce Streets on the northeast corner of the Burnet County Courthouse Square.

The Martin Wells Chapter will arrive by train at mid-day to be greeted by Burnet members for a walk to the jail. The guide for their tour will be Lela Goar, a Burnet County member who promises inside stories from her acquaintance with Pat Riddell, a schoolmate who was raised in the jail. His father was longtime Burnet County Sheriff Wallace Riddell, an historic figure in his own right as Texas' longest serving sheriff, and the family had apartments in the jail.

Ladies interested in becoming members of the DRT are invited to visit the Jane Wells Woods Chapter website at www.janewellswoodsdrt.org.