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Taken for Granite LbNA #51733

Owner:Lone Star Quilter
Plant date:Dec 2, 2009
Location:
City:Llano
County:Llano
State:Texas
Boxes:1
Found by: Fantastic Mrs. Fox
Last found:Jan 19, 2018
Status:FFFFFFF
Last edited:Dec 2, 2009
Letterboxing has been an education and somewhat of a revelation in many ways for us, especially as it relates to Texas, where we live and ply our hobby. As we traveled around the state, visiting public places like cemeteries and courthouses, we gradually became aware of the vast amount of public art that exists, mostly in the form of monuments and memorials, and how much of it we take for granted (or granite, if you’ll pardon the pun). Eventually, the quest for this public sculpture led us to the small Hill Country town of Llano, which was the adopted home of a talented and prolific sculptor and stonecutter from Germany named Frank Teich (pronounced “Tike”). He was responsible for finding and developing the fine gray Texas granite, eliminating the need to haul cut granite from Vermont. He began his career in Texas as supervisor of the cutting and setting of stone for the Texas State Capitol building in Austin. He somehow managed to place the cast zinc “Goddess of Liberty” atop the dome in February of 1888. The statue was 16 feet tall and weighed 3000 pounds and stands 311 feet above the ground. He used a derrick system to do the job. When the statue was replaced with an aluminum replica in 1986, the placing proved to be a more difficult task. The renovation contractors eventually had to request help from the Mississippi National Guard, which had the special “skycrane” helicopter needed to do the job. Many of the Confederate memorial statues on the capitol grounds, as well as on courthouse squares around the state, were the work of sculptor Frank Teich. Private memorial statues adorn cemeteries around the state as well. My favorite is located in the Scottsville Cemetery east of Marshall, on the grave of Scott Youree, entitled “Grief”. I placed a letterbox there by the same name and decided I needed to find the resting place of the sculptor. We had a hard time finding out much about him on the Internet, but at the local library, we finally got to know the man, whom we found possessed warmth, charm and a sense of humor. If you’re ever out that way, stop and pay your respects. You can find him at the Llano City Cemetery in Llano, Texas.

Directions:
From the courthouse, go south on Highway 16 (Ford St.), cross the bridge over the river and turn left on E. College St. Turn right on Hickory St. and enter the cemetery on your left. As soon as you go through the gate, turn right and drive along the fence to the next-to-last road, where you’ll turn left. Look for the large stone on the right for the Teich-Foster family and park there.

To the box:
Facing the large stone, look down and to the left for the flat marker designating Frank Teich’s last resting place. To the right, at the corner of the plot, is a large bush. The box is under rocks between the bush and the curb.