Hill County, C.S.A.

The plaque counts what Hill County gave the Confederacy; the Handbook of Texas counts who made it possible. In 1860 the county had 3,653 people, including 650 enslaved, and voters approved secession 376 to 63. Reconstruction brought resistance. In December 1870 residents blocked the arrest of two local men accused of murdering a Black couple and assaulted state police. Governor Edmund Davis declared martial law in January 1871 for two days and fined prominent residents who led the assaults. By 1873 the county was back in Democratic hands, and it introduced a white primary in 1899.

What the plaque says

Hill County, C.S.A. Civil War supply center. Sent into service an infantry and 3 cavalry companies. Flour, shoes, saddles, machinery were made. The county commissioners court equipped and clothed troops. Also furnished medicine, cotton, wool, meat, corn and salt to the families of soldiers. The court raised funds by issuing bonds and script and assessing a tax of 75 cents per $100 taxable property to aid soldier's dependents and 15 cents for military purposes. Located here is a Confederate research center and museum. (1965)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hill County Courthouse — 2.5 mi
  Wesley C. Dodson's limestone Second Empire courthouse of 1890 on the Hillsboro square, gutted by fire on New Year's Day 1993 and rededicated in 1999 after a rebuilding that two Willie Nelson concerts helped pay for.

More markers nearby

• Abbott's Grove — 2.2 mi
• Hillsboro Junior College — 2.2 mi
• Peabody School — 2.4 mi
• James L. Harris — 2.4 mi