Joshua D. Brown - Founder of Kerrville - Kerrville, TX 78028
N 30° 02.837 W 099° 08.434
14R E 486449 N 3324033
Inside a large arch built as an entrance into the grounds of the Kerrville City Hall is a metal plaque telling how Joshua D. Brown came about founding the City of Kerrville, TX.
Waymark Code: WM13D6T
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/12/2020
Views: 5
The Kerrville City Hall is found at the corner of Main Street (TX-27) and Sidney Baker Street (TX-16) in downtown Kerrville, TX. It is on the south side of Main Street from the Kerr County Courthouse Square to the north and one block north of the Guadalupe River. This corner's archway into the grounds of the City Hall has engraved across the top of the arch the text: KERRVILLE EST. 1889. Inside the archway are two plaques, one of which tell a brief history of how Joshua D. Brown started a small village composed mostly of workmen who cut shingles from cypress logs growing along the nearby Guadalupe River, Although Brown and his crew were driven off by Indian attacks, they eventually returned and successfully established their town as the Kerr County seat. Mr. Brown originally named the tiny village after himself, but changed the name of the city to honor his friend, Major James Kerr, when this location was chosen as the county seat.
The plaque reads as follows:
"Joshua D. Brown
Kerrville began when Joshua D. Brown (1816-1876) convinced nine men from Gonzales, Texas, to join him making shingles from the plentiful cypress trees along the Guadalupe River. They first arrived in 1846, though the local Indian tribes soon proved troublesome and drove them away. When Brown and the others returned two years later his shingle camp thrived, growing into the tiny village of Brownsborough. In 1856, Brown persuaded the first county commissioners to make the village the county seat, which he renamed "Kerrville," in honor of his friend and fellow Kentucky native Major James Kerr (1790-1850). Brown fought for Texas Independence at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, he was a Civil War veteran, a family man, and the founder of Kerrville."
Group that erected the marker: The City Of Kerrville, Texas
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
701 Main Street
Kerrville, TX USA
78028
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