Crockett

Andrew Edwards Gossett gave the land for the county seat in 1837, and he and his father, Elijah, named it for David Crockett, their former neighbor in Tennessee. County officials chose the site for its closeness to the Old San Antonio Road. The post office opened March 31, 1838, with mail delivered twice a month. In 1865 the courthouse and most of the town burned, and most early county records were lost. The Houston and Great Northern Railroad reached Crockett in 1872, and by 1885 the town had a bank, a hotel and an opera house.

What the plaque says

Crockett Founded 1837. Named for David Crockett, who had visited here on way to the Alamo, 1836. Old fortified log courthouse was often the refuge for settlers during Indian wars. During Civil War had camp of instruction. Telegraph and stagecoach station for South. Forestry, farming and livestock center. (1964)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Caddo Mounds State Historic Site — 27 mi
  Three earthen mounds of an ancestral Caddo village and ceremonial center on the old El Camino Real, settled about A.D. 800 and still sacred to Caddo people, with a grass house and visitor center.

More markers nearby

• Five Courthouses of Houston County — steps away
• Site of the Crockett Hotel — steps away
• First National Bank of Crockett — steps away
• Miller-Spinks-Mayes Property — steps away