Deaf Smith County

Erastus Smith lost his hearing to a childhood illness and settled near San Antonio in 1821 and the next year married Guadalupe Ruiz Durán, a widow. Scouting for the Texan army, he was wounded on top of the Veramendi Palace on December 8, 1835, as Ben Milam fell at its door. After the Alamo fell he brought Susanna and Angelina Dickinson back to Houston's army, and before San Jacinto he cut down Vince's Bridge on Houston's order. He died at Richmond in November 1837, and Houston mourned him as his "stay in darkest hour."

What the plaque says

Deaf Smith County Formed from Young and Bexar territories. Created August 21, 1876. Organized October 3, 1890. Named in honor of Erastus "Deaf" Smith, 1787-1837. Came to Texas in 1821. Rendered valuable service as a scout and spy during the Texas Revolution and was conspicuous for his bravery in the Battle of San Jacinto. County Seat, La Plata, frequently called Grenada, 1890-1898. Hereford, since 1899.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Deaf Smith County Historical Museum — steps away
  Hereford's county museum in an early Catholic school: the Windmill City's pioneers, a half-dugout and caboose outside, and work by the Italian prisoners held south of town in the war.
• Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge — 18 mi
  A 1938 Depression-era lake on Tierra Blanca Creek that has gone dry, now 7,664 acres of shortgrass, cottonwood canyon and a prairie dog town on the High Plains south of Umbarger.

More markers nearby

• Two-Wheel Fire Hose Reel — steps away
• Pioneer Windmill — steps away
• Mothers Park — 0.4 mi
• Town Without a Toothache — 0.4 mi