Red River County Historical Markers

Part of our in-depth series exploring Texas Forest Trail Region Forts

Topics (click on a topic to jump to that section).

Becknell Family, House of the | Bowman, Jesse B. | Confederate Congresses, Members of | Garland Home, Roy L. | Garner Home, John Nance | Gill, Jane Chandler | Houston, Sam | Jonesboro | Early Protestant Preaching | Ringo Ferry and Ringo Cemetery | Roitsch Archeological Site, Arnold E.A. | Stagecoach Stand, C.S.A. | Stevenson, Rev. William | Tippit, J.D.

Becknell Family, House of the

Marker Title: A House of the William Becknell Family
City: Clarksville
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1978
Marker Location: US 82, 1 mi. west of Clarksville
Marker Text: William Becknell (1788-1856) of Missouri is renowned for opening the Santa Fe Trail from the United States into Spain's New World Empire in 1821. He and his wife Mary settled in 1835 near here, on Becknell's Prairie, with a daughter and two sons. On the way to the Alamo, David Crockett visited them. Becknell himself fought in 1836 in the Texas War for Independence. After milled lumber became available, he or his family built the earliest portion of this house. It was later enlarged and relocated. Restored by Ella Ruth and Harold Wallace in 1968.

Bowman, Jesse B.

Marker Title: Jesse B. Bowman
City: Clarksville
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1999
Marker Location: 101 S. Delaware St.
Marker Text: Alamo defender Jesse B. Bowman was born in Tennessee about 1785. By 1811 he was living in Illinois where his son Joseph T. Bowman was born that year. Bowman and his family settled in Ouichita County, Arkansas, until it became more populated and they moved to Hempstead County. In the 1830s Jesse B. Bowman and his family moved with his brother and other family members to this area of Texas, where they soon qualified for a league and labor of land. On February 23, 1836, Bowman answered the roll call at the Alamo garrison in Bexar. He was listed as a private and permanent volunteer under the command of Jim Bowie. On March 6, Jesse Bowman lost his life at the fall of the Alamo. His body and those of the other Alamo defenders were burned by the Mexican Army under General Santa Anna. (1999)

Confederate Congresses, Members of

Marker Title: Members of Confederate Congresses
Address: Town Square, Main St.
City: Clarksville
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1965
Marker Text: (Texas in the Civil War) During the 4 years, 4 months after secession, Texas sent 18 lawmakers to the Confederate capitols. Her delegates to the Provisional Congress, Feb. 1861 to Feb. 1862, were John R. Gregg, Freestone County; John Hemphill, Travis County; Wm. B. Ochiltree, Nacogdoches County; Williamson S. Oldham, Washington County; John H. Reagan, Anderson County; Thomas N. Waul, Gonzales County; and Louis T. Wigfall, Harrison County. Texans in the first Confederate States Congress, Feb. 1862-Feb. 1864, were B. H. Epperson of Red River County; M. D. Graham, Rusk County; Peter W. Gray, Harris County; Claiborne C. Herbert, Colorado County; Frank B. Sexton, San Augustine County; John A. Wilcox, Bexar County; and Wm. B. Wright, Lamar County. Oldham and Wigfall served as senators, 1862-1865. Herbert and Sexton were re-elected to the Second Confederate Congress, in 1864. Their colleagues were Gen. John R. Baylor, Parker County; Anthony M. Branch, Walker County; Stephen H. Darden, Gonzales County; and Simpson H. Morgan, Red River County. Several congressmen left the legislative branch of the government for the battlefield, two becoming generals. Others left for presidential assignments-- one, Reagan, to be postmaster-general in the cabinet.

Garland Home, Roy L.

Marker Title: Roy L. Garland Home
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1966
Marker Text: Main part, of logs, built in the 1840s by slaves. Served as stagecoach stop on Jefferson Road. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966

Garner Home, John Nance

Marker Title: John Nance Garner Home
Address: 200 S. Main
City: Detroit
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1971
Marker Text: (1868-1967) As a young lawyer lived, 1889-92, in this house owned by his parents. He rose from Uvalde County Judge (1893-96), to Texas Legislature (1898-1902), to U. S. Congress (1904-32), with a term as Speaker, House of Representatives), to Vice President of the United States, 1933-41. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971

Gill, Jane Chandler

Marker Title: Jane Chandler Gill
City: Clarksville
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1973
Marker Location: FM 410 about 8 mi. north of Woodland
Marker Text: (January 1, 1782 - September 20, 1816) An Englishwoman who died soon after settling in Jonesboro. Her grave is one of Texas' oldest Caucasian burials.

Houston, Sam

Marker Title: Sam Houston
City: Woodland
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: FM 410, 8 mi. north of Woodland
Marker Text: Near here at the Old Jonesboro Crossing, Sam Houston, an envoy of President Andrew Jackson first set foot on Texas soil, December 2, 1832.

Jonesboro

Marker Title: Jonesboro
City: Jonesboro
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1973
Marker Location: Sam Houston Park on FM 410, about 25 mi. NW of Clarksville
Marker Text: (19th century town) One of first ports of entry into Texas for Anglo-Americans. Opened early as 1814; heavily used by 1817. Named for 1819-21 ferry owner Henry Jones (1789-1861). Claimed by both Mexico and the United States, town was 1828-37 county seat of Miller County, Ark. Community had 2,350 people by 1834. At this crossing Sam Houston (1832) and David Crockett (1835) entered Texas. A well-known road led southeastward to other colonies by way of Nacogdoches. In 1836, Clarksville became Red River District's capital. By 1840 Jonesboro had lots its trade and many settlers to other areas.

Early Protestant Preaching

Marker Title: Early Protestant Preaching
City: New Boston
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1970
Marker Text: The Rev. William Stevenson (Oct. 4, 1678 - March 5, 1857), a Missourian, friend of Stephen F. Austin, preached in 1815 at Pecan Point on the Red River, north of here. Records indicate that his were the first Protestant sermons ever given in Texas, then part of Catholic "New Spain." Many settlers also entered Texas through Red River County.

Ringo Ferry and Ringo Cemetery

Marker Title: Ringo Ferry and Ringo Cemetery
City: Bogata
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 2000
Marker Location: 5 mi. S of Bogata on SH 37; 3.5 mi. W on FM 196
Marker Text: Peter and Edy (Jones) Ringo came to Texas from Missouri with their nine children in 1840. The family established a ferry on the Sulphur River which became a local landmark and provided for travel, shipping and communication between the Red River and central Texas areas. Peter and Edy Ringo's son Abraham acquired land on the north and south sides of the ferry in 1842. The ferry ceased operations in 1900, when it was replaced by the Ringo Bridge. The bridge was retired from use in the 1930s, but the area continued to be referred to as Ringo's Crossing. The family cemetery was established about two miles northeast of the crossing and 650 feet south of this site. The resting place of sixteen people, it was destroyed sometime before 1961. Restoration efforts later recovered half the grave markers. (2000)

Roitsch Archeological Site, Arnold E.A.

Marker Title: Arnold E.A. Roitsch Archeological Site
City: Blakeney
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1992
Marker Location: FM 410 about 6.1 mi. NW of Blakeney
Marker Text: In this vicinity archeologists have located a large village and ceremonial center occupied between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1700 by ancestors of the Caddo Indians. Sedentary farmers, the Caddos built villages and farms on alluvial terraces of the Red River. Evidence from the site has revealed a number of scattered farmsteads and two earthen mounds which served as religious or ceremonial centers. The site also has yielded Caddo ceramics, plus glass beads, and metal weapons and tools, indicating the tribes in this area traded with European explorers.

Stagecoach Stand, C.S.A.

Marker Title: Stagecoach Stand, C.S.A.
Address: Town Square
City: Clarksville
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: Main St. (US 82)
Marker Text: Across the street from this site, and facing the County Courthouse which was later (1885) torn down, the Donoho Hotel and stage stand operated during the Civil War, 1861-65. Travel in those years was heavy. Soldiers arriving in Texas from Arkansas, Indian Territory or elsewhere would catch the stage here for home. Many called by to give news to the Clarksville "Standard," one of fewer than 20 Texas papers to be published throughout the war. The "Standard's" emphasis on personal news from camps was valued by soldiers' families. Stagecoach passengers for Marshall left at 4 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, going by Daingerfield and Jefferson, where steamer connections could be made. Railroad and stage connections were made at Marshall, 42 hours after the coach left here. The stage to Waco every second day went by Paris, Bonham, McKinney, Dallas, Waxahachie and Hillsboro, arriving in 4 days, 14 hours. Connections made in Waco included Henderson, Hempstead, Nacogdoches and San Antonio. 31 stage lines in Confederate Texas hauled mail, soldiers, civilians. 26 made connections with railroads or steamships, expediting travel.

Stevenson, Rev. William

Marker Title: The Rev. William Stevenson
City: Clarksville
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 1972
Marker Location: Town Square on US 82, Main St.
Marker Text: (October 4, 1768 - March 5, 1857) Frontier minister; friend of Stephen F. Austin, father of Texas. A circuit rider in Missouri Conference, Methodist Church, Mr. Stevenson in 1815 made a pastoral trip to Pecan Point, home of Claiborne Wright, member of newly-arrived Anglo-American colony on Texas side of the Red River. Records indicate that his preaching to Wright and friends in 1815 constituted the first Protestant sermons ever given in Texas, then part of Catholic "New Spain." He thus established a beachhead for religious freedom in Texas at this point of entry.

Tippit, J.D.

Marker Title: J.D. Tippit
City: Clarksville vicinity
County: Red River
Year Marker Erected: 2001
Marker Location: 6 miles southwest of Clarksville on SH 37 at CR 1280
Marker Text: Slain in the line of duty while on alert for President John F. Kennedy's assassin, J. D. Tippit (1924-1963) grew up on his family's farm near this site. He served as a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division during World War II and received the Bronze Star. J.D. married his high school sweetheart in 1946 and started a family in Red River County. He joined the Dallas Police Department in 1952 and later was honored for his quick thinking and outstanding judgment. On November 22, 1963, Tippit was working a beat in central Oak Cliff when he stopped Lee Harvey Oswald for questioning. Oswald shot and killed him. J.D. Tippit, who left a wife and three children, is buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Dallas. (2001)