Walter U. Early

The school district named for Walter Early in 1928 drew in the Anderson, Ricker, Delaware and Jenkin Spring schools, and by 1935 the Early school had 271 pupils and nine teachers. The community grew around the school in the 1940s. A Baptist church went up across from it in 1942 and a Church of Christ in 1947, and by 1948 there were six businesses. Early had about 600 people when it incorporated, 819 by 1960 and 1,097 by 1970. A city hall followed in 1982 and a post office in 1985, and the population reached 2,588 in 2000.

What the plaque says

A native of Kentucky, Walter Urie Early (1868-1939) moved to Brownwood in 1893. He became a respected local attorney and in 1895 was elected city attorney. He was county attorney from 1900 to 1906, and served as district attorney from 1906 to 1930. A leader in numerous civic groups, he donated land east of Brownwood to the Jones Chapel Rural School District in 1929. The school built there was named Early in 1930, as was the community when the citizens voted to incorporate in 1951. Walter Early died in 1939 and was buried in Brownwood's Greenleaf Cemetery. (1994)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Brownwood State Park — 9.3 mi
  A CCC park on a reservoir that filled in a single flood before its dam was done, with stone cabins, a hilltop dance pavilion and a grand staircase climbed by dancers arriving by boat.

More markers nearby

• Brown County — 1.8 mi
• City of Brownwood — 1.8 mi
• Camp Collier, C.S.A. — 2.5 mi
• Greenleaf Fisk — 2.5 mi