José Antonio Navarro - Richland, TX - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

They're called "Safety Rest Areas" because there are storm shelters to be found, a change from the classical rest stops along the Interstates. They're a little more than just facilities with picnic areas and vending machines, in that there are signs and exhibits for notable attractions in the county that sponsored the rest area. This sign is with several others that are at the back of the exhibit area, reached by going through the main entrance and veering off to the left, and it reads:

When we think of the heroes of the Texas Revolutionary period, we generally think of men who came to Texas from farther east in the United States, men like Steven Austin, Sam Houston, James Bowie or William Travis. But two of the most significant Texas patriots were born in San Antonio, what was then Spanish colonial Mexico. Texas was their home long before the Anglo-Americans came. One was Juan Seguin, the other Jose Antonio Navarro, the man whose name was given to the county where you now stand. Navarro served as a leader of the Texas Revolution and would be one of the original signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Navarro was a lifetime friend of Stephen Austin and was a longtime foe of Mexican General Santa Anna, a position that nearly cost Navarro his life. At one point, as he was trying to persuade the residents of Santa Fe and New Mexico to secede from Mexico and join the Texas Republic, he was arrested and force marched to a dungeon in Mexico where he languished for two years. Santa Anna sentenced him to death as a traitor to his native land. Navarro was offered freedom if he would recant his loyalty to Texas. Navarro refused, saying he would rather die than denounce the Republic of Texas. Expecting to be executed, he escaped and returned to San Antonio where he became an advocate for the annexation of Texas by the United States and was the only Tejano delegate to the Convention of 1845 which accepted the U.S. offer of annexation. He drafted the first state constitution and was elected to the State Senate where he served three terms. After a life of political tumult, he died peacefully at his ranch in San Antonio at the age of seventy-six.

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Inset photos show a bit of the statue of Navarro on the grounds of the Navarro County Courthouse up the road in Corsicana, a photo of Navarro from around 1836, and his signature on the Texas Declaration of Independence: "Delegates of the People of Texas" at the bottom of the sign is from that document.

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Note that they spelled Mr. Austin's name as "Steven" initially, but got it right later.

Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: [Web Link] Location: Navarro County Northbound Safety Rest Area

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