Nevada

By 1886 there were fourteen schools within five miles of the future town, Joy Gough counted, among them Little Creek, Brushie, Cowskin, Karo, Empire, Bois d'Arc and McMinn Chapel. The town gathered congregations as well as pupils. The Presbyterian church at McMinn Chapel became Nevada Presbyterian, and the Methodist church at Bear Creek became Nevada Methodist. Nevada Lodge No. 354 of the Odd Fellows, organized in 1893, bought land for a cemetery in 1906 and moved graves there from family plots and neglected burial grounds.

What the plaque says

Nevada Located in southeast Collin County, the settlement of Nevada was on its way to becoming a booming commercial city until a disastrous tornado swept the town in 1927. In 1835, John McMinn, who received a land grant for 1600 acres, moved his family to what was later known as the McMinn Chapel community, four miles north of the present-day site of Nevada. Soon, the rich Blackland Prairie attracted more settlers to the area. In 1852, Granville Stinebaugh from Missouri purchased 160 acres and established Nevada. The town incorporated on Jan. 24, 1891. There were no denominational churches in the community at the time, but an old gin house serving as a place of worship for all faiths. In the 1890s, the town had Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Christian churches. The St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad, which later became the Cotton Belt Railroad, came to Nevada in 1888 and the town slowly moved closer to the railroad depot. As a result of the railroad, nearby settlers moved to Nevada and the town prospered with a booming commercial district. Restaurants, shops, hotels, offices and fraternal lodges filled downtown. In 1902, due to increased interest, John Evans purchased land east of town and opened the Evans Addition. In addition to economic priorities, Nevada also focused on the education of its citizens. Early on, classes were held in people's homes until a school was erected. Sadly, on Monday, May 9, 1927 at 2:20 A.M., a half-mile wide tornado completely destroyed the west side of town with 27 killed and 75 wounded. Even though a large portion of the town was destroyed, the citizens of Nevada continued to work and hope for future growth. (2013)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Rockwall County Historical Foundation & Museum — 8.7 mi
  A small museum in Harry Myers Park that keeps the evidence on Rockwall's rock wall, sandstone dikes that geologists call natural and folk tales call built.
• Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary — 16 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.
• Audie Murphy / American Cotton Museum — 18 mi
  A Greenville museum of Hunt County's military heroes, including Audie Murphy, and of cotton, which keeps the engine of what it says was the world's largest inland cotton compress.
• No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum — 23 mi
  A free museum at Terrell's airport where about 2,200 RAF cadets learned to fly between 1941 and 1945, with logbooks, uniforms, letters and original training aircraft.

More markers nearby

• Nevada Baptist Church — steps away
• Empire Masonic Lodge — 0.3 mi
• Community Independent School District — 1.9 mi
• Central National Road of the Republic of Texas — 2.5 mi