Cora

By the 1860 census Cora held 136 people in twenty-five houses, nearly a fifth of the county. Twelve were farmers or stock raisers, and the rest included four mechanics, three merchants, two wagonmakers, two blacksmiths, two wagoners, two millers, a carpenter, a teacher and a trader. James M. Cross opened the first store in 1857, and within a year the town had two stores and a steam saw and grist mill. After the county seat left, Cora faded. Its post office closed in 1867, and by 1900 only the cemetery remained, now on private land.

What the plaque says

Cora First County Seat of Comanche County: Cora (about 4 miles south) Founded 1854, as Troy. Later renamed in honor of a Miss Beeman of Bell County. In 1856 organization of Comanche County -- then extending farther south and east than today's boundaries -- Cora became county seat. A log cabin residence in Cora was the first Comanche County Courthouse, serving until the county seat was relocated in 1859 in new town of Comanche. That first courthouse and all the other buildings are gone from site of Old Cora. Only a cemetery -- the oldest in Comanche County -- remains. Thus Cora is an example of the many early, important towns no longer existent in Texas. In the 254 counties of Texas, there have been 126 cases of redesignation of county seats. (Two counties have had five county seats each.) Boundary changes (as in Comanche County), shifts in travel routes (as when railroads were built), changes from agrarian to industrial economy have caused counties to move their county seats to new locations. Old courthouses have found later usefulness as ranch headquarters, municipal buildings, or private homes. The first log cabin courthouse of Comanche County reverted to use as a residence, but later was restored and used -- as are many former courthouses -- as part of a museum. (1968)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Dublin Bottling Works — 17 mi
  The Erath County plant that bottled Dr Pepper with cane sugar from 1891 until a 2012 settlement ended its Dr Pepper license, and that still makes its own sodas the same way.
• Hamilton County Courthouse — 19 mi
  A limestone courthouse of 1886-87 on the Hamilton square, built after the county's 1878 courthouse burned, enlarged in the early 1930s and rededicated in 2012 after restoration.

More markers nearby

• Gustine — steps away
• Site of Swann Hill School — 4.0 mi
• Union Primitive Baptist Church — 8.3 mi
• Hasse Community — 8.4 mi