Major Archibald Johnson Rose

(1830-1903) Before migrating to Texas, A. J. Rose made a fortune in the 1849 California Gold Rush. In 1857 he and his wife Sallie (Austin) brought their family from Missouri to Travis County, Texas. Later they settled in San Saba County, where Rose ran a mill and started a school. He served in the local militia, took part in frontier Indian battles, and was a Confederate Army Major. In 1870 Rose moved to Salado. At this site he built a two-story home where his 11 children grew up. A successful and progressive farmer, Rose sought ways to improve farming methods. When the first local Grange in Texas began in Salado in 1873, he joined the farmers' group. Later that year he helped organize the statewide Grange which became a strong legislative lobby for land and tax laws protecting farmers and for improved schools. As Worthy Master of the Grange, Rose led in beginning cooperatives, textile mills, and a fire insurance company. An advocate for better schools and teachers, Rose served on local school boards, as a trustee of Salado College, and present Mary Hardin-Baylor College in Belton. He was appointed to the Board of Directors at Texas A&M University in 1887 and served as president of the board. He was buried in Salado Cemetery. (1979)

Major Archibald Johnson Rose is a historical marker in Salado, Bell County, dedicated in 1979. It is one of 226 historical markers documented in Bell County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 411 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.9404, -97.5298 near Salado. The nearest cataloged historic site is Major A.J. Rose House (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Salado Methodist Church, Salado United Methodist Church, and George Washington Baines House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5027004348. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.