George Edward Smith

Smith served in two of the regiments Congress authorized in 1866, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, the Black units Plains peoples named buffalo soldiers. Their troops patrolled the frontier, built roads, escorted mail and met prejudice from the army and from the towns near their posts. The school he began in Brownwood outgrew its first rooms. Rufus Hardin arrived in 1896, the district built a stone school in 1917 from the stone of the burned Coggin School, and in 1934 it took Hardin's name.

What the plaque says

George Edward Smith Born into slavery sometime between 1845-1852 in Stafford County, Virginia, George Edward Smith enlisted in the Army's 9th Calvary in 1869. The Ninth Calvary, along with other units of African American soldiers, is popularly known as the "Buffalo Soldiers". Smith came to Texas when his unit was dispatched to Fort Davis. While at Fort Davis, the Ninth Cavalry's main concern was protecting travelers and the mail. There, the soldiers contended with the formidable Comanche and Apache peoples. He mustered out in 1874 and returned to Virginia, where he reenlisted in 1879. He was assigned to the Tenth Cavalry and stationed at Fort Concho in Tom Green County. While there, Smith became active in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, ordained as a deacon in 1883. After being discharged in 1881, Smith stayed in San Angelo. There, he began his first foray into public service. In 1885, the AME Church chose Smith to establish a church in Brownwood. Upon arrival in Brownwood, he noticed there was no African American school, and thus started one. He served as teacher and principal. In 1888, he organized and led Lee Chapel AME Church. The Reverend Smith held services under a brush arbor at his home. That same year, he married Virginia Love (1875-1962). The couple would have fourteen children. He resigned as teacher and principal of the school in 1890. Six years later, the school would hire Rufus Hardin, after whom the school is now named. Smith died in 1913. Because of his work to improve housing in the African American community, in 1951 the city housing authority named its newest public housing units "George Smith Apartments." A Brownwood pioneer during his lifetime, the Reverend George Edward Smith contributed significantly to both the spheres of education and religion. (2022)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Brownwood State Park — 9.5 mi
  A CCC park on a reservoir that filled in a single flood before its dam was done, with stone cabins, a hilltop dance pavilion and a grand staircase climbed by dancers arriving by boat.

More markers nearby

• Lee Chapel A.M.E. Church — steps away
• Howard Payne University — 0.6 mi
• Veda Wells Hodge — 0.6 mi
• The Rev. Dr. John David Robnett — 0.6 mi