The Free State of Van Zandt

Why "free"? The Handbook of Texas offers four answers and chooses none. Henderson County kept the old debts, leaving Van Zandt debt-free, and resentful Henderson politicians called it free. About 350 residents met in 1861, arguing that if Texas could leave the Union, the county could leave Texas. A slaveowner is said to have refused to settle here. After the war, residents supposedly declared independence and briefly routed Sheridan's troops, then drank without posting a guard. The county entry adds that 322 people were enslaved here in 1860 and three Unionists were lynched in 1864.

What the plaque says

The Free State of Van Zandt Pioneer nickname appropriate to this area's many freedoms-- particularly from want and fear. (Food was obtained with little effort; and although the Indians fought white men here as late as 1842, the settlers by 1847 slept in the open with no dread of Indians or wild animals.) According to tradition, Van Zandt County (created 1848) also by a legal accident had freedom from sharing debts of its parent county, Henderson-- and was proud of that unusual advantage. Other parts of Texas share "Free State" traditions. An 1826 "Republic of Fredonia" was proclaimed in Nacogdoches and endured for a few weeks. Along the Mexican border, citizens maintained in 1839-1840 the "Republic of the Rio Grande." Because it developed great self-reliance in recurring border troubles, Hidalgo County called itself a republic, 1852-1872. A Panhandle County formed the secessionist "Free State of Ochiltree" in the 1890s. All secessions have been brief. When Texas in 1845 voted to become a part of the United States, it was given (but declined) the right to become five states. Such movements as "The Free State of Van Zandt" soon lost force. Memories of the ten proud years of the Republic give the people unusual loyalty to Texas. (1968)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center — 21 mi
  A Texas Parks and Wildlife hatchery and visitor center in Athens where visitors can borrow tackle and fish a stocked pond, watch native species in gallery tanks and ride a tram around the hatchery.
• Purtis Creek State Park — 21 mi
  A 1,582-acre park straddling the Henderson and Van Zandt county line, built around a 355-acre lake with no-wake fishing, borrowed tackle, a 4.1-mile hike-and-bike trail and a nature path.
• Governor Hogg Shrine — 23 mi
  Quitman's 27-acre city park, once a state historical park, where two houses tied to James Stephen Hogg's marriage stand beside an arboretum, a nature walk and the grounds of the Old Settlers Reunion.
• Tyler State Park — 24 mi
  A 985-acre park eight miles north of Tyler, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1935 to 1941 around a 64-acre spring-fed lake, with more than 13 miles of trails.

More markers nearby

• Brady P. Gentry — steps away
• Colfax Cemetery — 2.8 mi
• Jarman No. 1 Discovery Well — 2.9 mi
• Morgan G. Sanders — 4.9 mi