Jackson Massacre

The Jacksons were among the earliest settlers of what became Mills County. Dick Jenkins, the first permanent settler, arrived in 1852, followed by D. S. and Sam Hanna, W. Lee Brooks, B. F. Gholson, John Williams, R. D. Forsythe and the Jacksons. A Methodist circuit rider held the area's first service in Charles Mullin's cabin in 1857. Like the Indians before them, the first settlers lived mostly by hunting. Some were German immigrants; one called the place heaven for men and dogs but hell for women and oxen.

What the plaque says

Jackson Massacre Settlers Moses and Lydia Jackson set out one morning in October of 1858 with four of their seven children to spend the day with friends. As they neared their destination they encountered a small party of Indians, possibly Comanches. Louis and I. J. Jackson and their parents were killed immediately. The two middle children, Joshua and Rebecca, were abducted, only to be abandoned after almost two weeks. They walked for two days before being recovered by a search party of settlers and Texas Rangers near Sweetwater. The Jackson family was buried where they fell, a short distance from this site. (1998)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Brownwood State Park — 29 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

• Site of Chesser Valley Community — 2.7 mi
• Rural Communities of Western Mills County — 3.1 mi
• Ratler, Texas and the Renfro Dam — 3.5 mi
• John Williams — 5.7 mi