Martins Mill, Van Zandt County
Educator and noted poet, Lexie Dean Robertson, was the first native born Texan to be named Poet Laureate of Texas (1939-41). Born in Lindale (Smith co.) to educators Alexander Green and Lena (Ansley) Dean, Lexie and her family moved to Martin’s Mill shortly after her birth. Her father opened a school here, naming it Lexie Academy after his eldest daughter. Lexie spent much of her formative years in Martin’s Mill, before living in Grand Saline and various other communities. She graduated from Canton High School at the age of 15 and began attending North Texas State Normal College (now the University of North Texas), where she met her future husband, James Franklin Robertson. The couple taught in Texas and Oklahoma, before settling in Rising Star (Eastland Co.), where Lexie worked as a school principal. By the mid-1920s, Robertson left the education field to focus on her writing career. Known for her homespun poetry, Robertson was published in various publications nationwide and released her first volume of poetry, Red Heels, in 1928. She followed the popular anthology by releasing I Keep a Rainbow (1932), Acorns on the Roof (1939), and Answer in the Night (1948). In 1939, a special Texas State Legislative Committee named Robertson Texas Poet Laureate. She also participated in literary clubs and in 1944, was named Poet Laureate of the Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs. Lexie Dean Robertson died unexpectedly in Abilene (Taylor Co.) in 1954. She left behind a legacy of literature through the poems read by Texas schoolchildren of all ages and by readers throughout the nation and world. (2010)