James Menees Lindsay

Two towns in Cooke County carry his imprint. The Handbook of Texas says Lindsay was named in 1887 for Judge J. M. Lindsay, and that in 1891 he signed contracts with the Flusche brothers' German Catholic colony, then gave nearly eight acres to the Diocese of Dallas for a church, school and cemetery. A frame church cost $800, raised partly by him. The Handbook's Era entry credits a Judge J. M. Lindsay's 1878 gift of six acres for a school with starting Era. The plaque gives his Tennessee law degree and Gainesville offices.

What the plaque says

James Menees Lindsay (Dec. 31, 1835 - May 3, 1919) J. M. Lindsay graduated from Cumberland Law School in his native Tennessee in 1857 and arrived in Gainesville on his 22nd birthday. His political and legal career included the following offices: state legislator, member of Gainesville's first city council, delegate to the 1866 State Constitutional Convention, and judge of the 16th Judicial District. One of Gainesville's largest landowners in his day, Judge Lindsay helped bring the railroad to town, donated land for churches and schools, and developed numerous businesses, resulting in his legacy as a significant civic leader. Recorded - 2001

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Great Hanging Memorial — 0.9 mi
  Two granite monuments in a Gainesville park, dedicated in 2014, for the Cooke County men the Confederate militia hanged in October 1862 on suspicion of Unionism.
• Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge — 23 mi
  A 1946 refuge on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma, laid over land bought for Denison Dam and the site of the vanished railroad town of Hagerman, now a winter stop for geese.
• Stonewall Saloon Museum — 23 mi
  Saint Jo's first permanent building, a stone saloon of 1873 with rooms upstairs for trail drovers, in a town named, the story goes, as a joke on a founder who did not drink.

More markers nearby

• Fairview Cemetery — steps away
• Dougherty, F. M. — steps away
• G. H. Ragsdale — steps away
• J. D. "Ikard" Sugg — steps away