Milton Wesley Damron (1825-1887), an early settler and Salado public servant, was born in Tennessee and came to Texas as part of the Mercer Colony. He arrived in the 1840s and shortly afterwards married Sarah Pennington. When original settlement plans in the colony failed to materialize, he moved to the Milam District in what is now Bell County. Damron served as the county's first tax assessor and joined the Confederate Army. As a captain, he led a cavalry unit that served in the Indian Territory and Arkansas. He continued to be active in civic affairs after returning to Salado, working as a postmaster. He was also elected as a Legislator, although as a former Confederate he was unable to serve. (2006)