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 Alexander Cockrell, Sarah Horton Cockrell
N 32° 46.687 W 096° 48.502
14S E 705265 N 3628815
Texas Historical Marker commemorating the contributions of Alexander and Sarah Cockrell to the early history and rise of Dallas, TX.
Waymark Code: WMCXJZ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2011
Views: 22
The marker text tells the story best, but the marker is located under a tree in front of the Cockrell Colonnade, across the way from the site of the JFK Assassination in Dealey Plaza.
Marker Number: 6654
Marker Text:
Alexander Cockrell came to Dallas area in 1845. After serving in the war with Mexico (1846-47), he filed on 640 acres in the Peters Colony, and married Sarah Horton on Sept. 9, 1847. Cockrell operated a freight line to Houston, Jefferson, and Shreveport until 1852, when he purchased remainder of the Dallas townsite from John Neely Bryan (1810 - 1877), the "Father of Dallas."
Cockrell promoted growth of the village in the mid-1850s by building a brick factory, a sawmill, and a bridge across the Trinity River, replacing a ferry he had bought from Bryan. Cockrell's influence on Dallas' prosperity ended April 3, 1858, when he met an untimely death in an altercation over an unpaid debt.
Sarah Horton Cockrell became the first woman in Dallas to exert economic influence outside the home. She completed the unfinished St. Nicholas Hotel, and rebuilt it after the fire of July 8, 1860; operated the ferry after the bridge collapsed in 1858 until a new span was erected in 1872; and added a flour mill and other businesses to the community. The Cockrells' enterprises played a vital role in the establishment of Dallas as an early regional trade center. (1973)
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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.
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