Site of R. E. McConnell Property

John McConnell's road to Crockett ran a long way round. A family history on the county's TXGenWeb site says he was born at Navan, County Meath, left Ireland in 1839, and went through Scotland and England before sailing from Liverpool to New York. From there he moved on to New Orleans, St. Louis, Shreveport and Nacogdoches, and settled in Crockett on September 27, 1847. After the Civil War he added a large hardware store to the blacksmith shop. He was Worshipful Master of the Crockett Masonic lodge in 1863 and 1874.

What the plaque says

Site of R. E. McConnell Property John McConnell (1818-98) came to Crockett from Ireland in 1847 and opened a blacksmith shop at this site. Later, with his sons, he moved to another location and started a hardware business. An active civic leader, McConnell served as County Treasurer and as City Alderman. His son Robert Emmett McConnell (1867-1918), who built a home at this site in 1901, continued his father's business and also served prominently in local government. As a member of the City Council in the early 1900s, he was an effective leader during a period of dramatic growth and change for Crockett. (1981)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area — 18 mi
  A Davy Crockett National Forest lake of about 45 acres, built by the CCC in 1936 from a sawmill log pond, with a swimming beach, camping and the start of the 20-mile Four-C Trail.
• Mission Tejas State Park — 20 mi
  A 661-acre pine-forest park on the old El Camino Real near Weches, with a 1930s replica of the 1690 mission, the Rice Family Log Home and trails past remnants of the Spanish road.
• Caddo Mounds State Historic Site — 26 mi
  Three earthen mounds of an ancestral Caddo village and ceremonial center on the old El Camino Real, settled about A.D. 800 and still sacred to Caddo people, with a grass house and visitor center.

More markers nearby

• First Methodist Church — steps away
• Site of the Crockett Hotel — steps away
• Crockett — steps away
• First National Bank of Crockett — steps away