Marker Inscription
San Benito was a "paper" town with no Anglo-American residents when Albanus Clemens Purvis (1850-1919) came here from Ohio to seek health. He became first Justice of the Peace, sold real estate, and farmed. His daughter Kate (later Mrs. J. Scott Brown) taught first school in 1907; daughter Emma (later Mrs. Asa Agar) was an early Postmaster, in 1911. A former mill owner and a skilled craftsman, Purvis in 1911 built this house for himself, his wife Margaret Ann (householder), and the two youngest of their nine children. The property still remains in the ownership of a descendant. (1974)
About this site
Purvis, Albanus Clemens is a historical marker in Cameron County, Texas, dedicated in 1973. It is one of 116 historical markers documented in Cameron County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 194 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 26.1338, -97.6286. The nearest cataloged historic site is First Methodist Church of San Benito (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include San Benito Post Office, Robertson, Col. Sam, Home of, and First Presbyterian Church of San Benito.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5061000050. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
