James P. Dumas

Dumas surveyed more than his own land. A Van Alstyne Historical Society account says he laid out Dallas for John Neely Bryan in 1844 and took a lot at Houston and Elm as pay, though Mrs. Dumas recalled they never kept the deed, since they meant to move to Sister Grove. In Grayson County he surveyed a straight road from Pilot Grove through Cannon and Van Alstyne and called it the Air Line Road. The Handbook of Texas says Pilot Grove took its name from his ranch. The marker stands at the family cemetery in a field.

What the plaque says

James P. Dumas (1820-1875) Born in South Carolina. In 1841 married May Thompson and moved to the Republic of Texas. In his capacity as surveyor, he helped map land that became a section of Dallas. Moved from Collin to Grayson County just before Texas joined the Union. Fought in Mexican War, 1846. Was appointed surveyor for Grayson County. Later came to own famous "Sister Grove" farm. So extensive was his land that he could ride from his home to Sherman (about 20 miles) without leaving his own property. He helped found Merchants & Planters Bank in Sherman, 1872. (1968)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site — 18 mi
  The two-story farmhouse west of Bonham that the longtime Speaker of the House built in 1916 and kept as his home, left as he lived in it and open as a museum since 1975.
• Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary — 21 mi
  A 289-acre sanctuary in McKinney that Bessie Heard founded at the age of 80, with five habitats, a 50-acre wetland and 6.5 miles of trails.
• Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site — 22 mi
  The small frame house beside the Katy tracks in Denison where Dwight Eisenhower was born in 1890, bought by townspeople in 1946 and given to Texas in 1958.
• Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge — 26 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.

More markers nearby

• Old Town of Cannon — 0.6 mi
• Cannon Cemetery — 1.8 mi
• Pilot Grove — 2.9 mi
• Pilot Grove Baptist Church — 2.9 mi