Edwards County

Haden Edwards was a Virginian, born in 1771, who made his money in Kentucky land and a Mississippi plantation. From 1823 he spent three years in Mexico City with Stephen F. Austin, pressing for the colonization laws and often paying Austin's way. His own grant near Nacogdoches allowed 800 families, but in 1825 he posted notices that older settlers must prove their titles or lose their land to him, and they turned against him. When the Fredonians dispersed in 1827 he fled to Louisiana. He came back during the Texas Revolution and died in Nacogdoches in 1849.

What the plaque says

Edwards County Formed from Bexar County; created February 1, 1858. Organized September 10, 1883. Named in honor of Haden Edwards 1771-1849. Empresario leader of the Fredonian War in 1827. County seat, Leakey 1883 Rocksprings, since 1890.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area — 1.6 mi
  A 140-foot shaft into a cavern outside Rocksprings, seen only on guided tours from a platform at the rim as some three million bats spiral out on summer evenings.
• Real County Historical Museum — 34 mi
  A small county museum in Leakey, at the head of the Frio Canyon, with a log-cabin parlor, an 1880s horse-drawn hearse, a wool and mohair shearing machine and 1910s jail cells.

More markers nearby

• Rocksprings Cemetery — 1.0 mi
• The Rock Spring — 1.1 mi
• Gilmer Hotel — 1.6 mi
• Rocksprings Telephone Company — 1.6 mi