Bed and Breakfast Getaway:
Liberty Hall
by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers

Though his name may only be familiar to those well versed in Texas history, Adam Rankin Johnson certainly deserves a place of honor among the state's many frontier heroes.

As a young man working as a surveyor in the 1850s, Johnson traveled through treacherous territory in Central Texas, marking off land and transporting goods to isolated supply stations. By his own cunning and courage, Johnson survived countless Indian attacks, an every day part of life on the untamed frontier.

Years later, as a Confederate officer, Johnson earned a respected reputation for his daring exploits on the battleground. Tragically, one of his own men accident shot and blinded him in 1864. Despite his blindness, Johnson returned to Texas and became a successful businessman. In 1887, he founded the city of Marble Falls in the Hill Country and built a three-story home, which he christened Liberty Hall.

Today history buffs and bed-and-breakfast fans alike can stay overnight in the Victorian beauty that Johnson once called home. Restored in 1983 and opened in 1995 as a B&B inn, the Liberty Hall Historic Guest Haus regally perches on a bluff that overlooks Lake Marble Falls.

Indeed, history permeates throughout the rooms and common areas of the century-old home. In the parlor on the second floor, you'll see a large portrait of a somber-faced Johnson, just one of Liberty Hall's many vintage photographs that hang in gilded frames on walls and perch on tables adorned with lacy doilies.

Some of the photos also preserve the history of a modern-day Texas family.

"When you walk through the house, you'll see a lot of love and affection here," says owner Wilburn Wall, who grew up in Liberty Hall. "To me, the house reflects the love my parents had for each other, their family, and America."

As a young married couple, Wall's parents, Bill and Eunice Wall, moved often and lived in primitive tents at remote dam sites where Bill labored as a iron worker. In fact, a black-and-white photo that hangs in a hallway documents that rugged part of the Walls' life. After saving enough money from Bill's wages, the couple purchased Liberty Hall in 1946 with one purpose in mind.

"Liberty Hall didn't belong to us but to the American people," Wilburn Wall explains. "We were merely taking care of it. That's the one thing my parents always emphasized."

"The goal was to preserve something that my parents considered to be part of our American heritage," he adds. "They believed the house reflected the best of America -- the people who settled America and possessed great intelligence, determination, fortitude, and a great drive to live free and be free."

Besides Johnson's legacy, the Walls also wanted to preserve another page of local history earned by a previous owner of the home, Orphelia "Birdie" Harwood and her husband, Dr. George Harwood. Two years before purchasing Liberty Hall, Mrs. Harwood in 1917 won a place in U.S. history by becoming the first woman mayor in the nation to be elected by an all-male voting population, quite a feminine feat for those days. A large photograph of Birdie on horseback hangs in another hallway at Liberty Hall.

In addition to personal family photos of the Walls, many framed pictures pay homage to relatives who served in past wars.

"I'm very proud of my family," says Wall, a Vietnam War veteran himself. "Both sides were very large. By World War II, we had 20 men from our family involved in the war effort. That's why you see a lot of military photographs in the home."

In addition to its fascinating history and photographs, an elegant yet comfortable decor graces Liberty Hall. Antique furniture and family heirlooms furnish the home's six guest rooms and rambling third-floor suite. Lacy curtains, brass beds, and crocheted tablecloths add to the home's nostalgic ambience.

Two rooms on the first floor have private bathrooms while two rooms and two spacious suites on the second floor share separate men's and women's bathrooms.

Upstairs, the sprawling "Third Floor" (so named by the Wall family) sleeps up to eight people with four twin beds, one double bed, and a day bed with a hidden trundle. Angled, bead- board ceilings create a cozy atmosphere that includes a sitting area, a dining table, and a library nook with hundreds of books. Two separate alcoves (one with a bathroom and the other a secluded bedroom) provide private sleeping areas. There's even a door to a tree-shaded balcony that offers a view of the lake.

Each room is outfitted with a large-screened television, a VCR, a stereo, a coffee maker, and a small refrigerator stocked with sodas, beer, juice, and milk. Breakfast fixings include fruit, boxed cereals, muffins, and a basket of coffees and teas.

Outside on ground level, a lush, green jungle of plants entices guests to the covered veranda, where they can relax in a chair and watch the birds congregate at a number of feeders.

While in Marble Falls, be sure to visit Michel's Drug Store downtown and treat yourself to an authentic malt at the old-time soda fountain. In addition to cherry Cokes and malts, the drug store (which claims to be the longest, continuously-operated family drug store in Texas) also serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A menu, handwritten on a Coca-Cola chalk board, lists the day's offerings of sandwiches and salads plus a fruit plate and a hot entree. Shopping urges can be satisfied by the store's selection of antiques, jewelry, toiletries, cards, and other gift items.

Getting there: Marble Falls is 80 miles north of San Antonio on U.S. 281. Liberty Hall Historic Guest Haus is located just north of the lake on Avenue G (turn east from U.S. 281).

For reservations and more information: Contact Liberty Hall, 119 Ave. G #103, Marble Falls 78654; 830/693-4518 or 800/232-4469. Contact the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce, 801 Highway 281, Marble Falls 78654; 800/759-8178.

For more on Liberty Hall and Marble Falls, see http://www.marblefallstexas.com