Marlin

The county seat was settled by a vote. The Handbook of Texas says the legislature named Viesca, but because most residents lived east of the Brazos, citizens voted 20 to 0 for Adams, which became seat on January 30, 1851 and was soon renamed for the Marlin family. Samuel A. Blain, John Marlin's son-in-law, laid out streets around a square. Churches got the first lots, and Zenas Bartlett's general store was the first business. The log courthouse also served as school, church and dance hall. Marlin incorporated in 1867, and the Houston and Texas Central arrived in 1871.

What the plaque says

Marlin In 1851, one year after Falls County was created, the town of Marlin was designated county seat. Formerly known as Adams, it was renamed for area pioneer John Marlin. The first courthouse was a log structure which also served as a school and community gathering place. A post office was established in 1851, the city was incorporated in 1867, and railroad service began in the 1870s. The discovery of hot mineral water wells in 1892 caused an economic boom. Spas, hotels, and hospitals were built, and Marlin was a noted health resort for the next fifty years. (1990)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Armstrong Browning Library — 21 mi
  A three-story Italian Renaissance library on the Baylor campus built to hold A. J. Armstrong's Browning collection, dedicated in December 1951 and now, by its own account, the world's largest of Browning material.
• Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum — 22 mi
  The official state repository of Texas Ranger memorabilia, opened in 1968 in Fort Fisher Park on the Brazos, named for a Ranger post of 1837 whose site no one has located.
• Dr Pepper Museum — 22 mi
  The 1906 bottling plant of the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company, built where Dr Pepper outgrew a Waco drugstore soda fountain, now the Dr Pepper Museum.
• Waco Suspension Bridge — 22 mi
  A Brazos crossing opened in January 1870 as the longest single-span suspension bridge west of the Mississippi, tolled until 1889, closed to vehicles in 1971 and now walked.

More markers nearby

• Hilton Hotel, Early — steps away
• Hot Mineral Water — steps away
• Captain Henry Gray Carter — 0.4 mi
• Rev. Nelson T. Denson and Marlin Missionary Baptist Church — 0.5 mi