Staggers Point - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

In 1915 the Texas branch of the Daughters of the American Revolution decided to mark the historic route of the King's Highway, also called the El Camino Real or the Old Spanish (or San Antonio) Road, from its beginning in Natchitoches LA to its end in San Antonio TX. They placed squat pink granite markers every 5 miles along the route in 1918.

Later, the state chose this place to erect two more historic markers, one on each side of the old DAR marker. The waymarked historic marker is located to the right of the DAR marker on the OSR.

Marker Number: 10948 Marker Text: About a mile to the north was the old Irish settlement of STAGGERS POINT Earliest large community in Robertson's colony. Settled by Irishmen who came to America in 1821; lived in South Carolina and then in Alabama; and in 1829 sent west an emissary, Robert Henry, to find a permanent location. In 1833, their ox-wagon train arrived, and log cabins were built. By 1836, kinsmen had joined early arrivals to strengthen settlement. Community name, meaning "Strivers' Point" in dialect, was probably given for rugged zeal of settlers in face of hardships. James Dunn built a fort, to give neighborhood a refuge during Indian raids. In War for Independence, 1835-36, Staggers Point men fought in major actions, including the April 21, 1836, Battle of San Jacinto, which freed Texas from Mexico. In 1830s and 40s, the Irish were compelled to keep up their defenses against the Indians. Women as well as men earned respect for skill with "long guns." In time their village had a church, stores, cotton gin, race track, and taverns, and was invaded by gamblers and ruffians drawn to the races. Until the settlers subdued the lawless, duels and gunplay were common. This remained a progressive community until 1868, when Houston & Texas Central Railway bypassed it, and business waned. Descendants still honor the settlers. (1973) See other side: ORIGINAL SETTLERS: WILLIAM HENRY MARY F. HENRY DIXON JAMES M. DIXON ANN McMILLAN HENRY AND SARAH FULLERTON ROBERT AND ELIZABETH HENRY GEORGE H. FULLERTON JOHN R. AND SARAH PEYTON JIMMIE HENRY RICE WILLIAM FULLERTON HUGH AND ELIZABETH HENRY JAMES A. HENRY BRADFORD AND MARY HENRY SEALE COLUMBUS AND ELIZABETH HENRY SEALE JAMES AND ISABELLA DUNN

Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   07/20/2015 WayBetterFinder visited it 04/26/2015 Benchmark Blasterz visited it

View all visits/logs