Site of Sam Houston Speeches

The Texas legislature condemned Houston's stand against the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1855, and Democrats had opposed him since his Senate votes and his apparent endorsement of the American, or Know-Nothing, party in 1856. The Handbook of Texas says he campaigned vigorously for governor in 1857 but lacked party machinery and newspaper support. Wikipedia counts more than sixty speeches, with buggy travel through Gilmer, Marshall, Henderson, Rusk and Tyler. Hardin Runnels beat him in August; the Handbook and Wikipedia both give Houston 23,628 votes but differ on Runnels's total.

What the plaque says

Site of Sam Houston Speeches Two speeches were delivered by Sam Houston in Rusk. The first, in 1855, was a debate with politician Frank Bowden. Houston, a U.S. Senator, was on a tour through central and east Texas trying to regain public favor after voting against the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Political debates were popular entertainment of the time, and were well attended. Houston campaigned for governor here in 1857. A newspaper account states his speech lasted three hours, but brought little enthusiasm from the crowd. When he finished speaking, applause was weak and many of the benches were empty. (1996)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Caddo Mounds State Historic Site — 14 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.
• Texas State Railroad Excursion Train — 25 mi
  A round trip of about 25 miles of track between the Palestine and Rusk depots through the Piney Woods, on a line built by prison labor and reopened as a tourist railroad in 1976.

More markers nearby

• Cherokee County C.S.A. — steps away
• Cherokee County — 0.2 mi
• The Rusk Cherokeean — 0.3 mi
• Bachelor Girl's Library Club — 0.3 mi