William Franklin Brown

Brown reached a county that barely existed. The settlers of 1857 included Welcome Chandler, Israel Clements, Charles Mullins and his sons, and Jesse Hanna and his sons. W. F. Brown was among the families who joined them that year, with T. D. Harriss, David Baugh and George Adams. The county was organized in 1858, and a census two years later counted 244 people, none of them slaveholders. Protection came from a Ranger detachment of fifteen men, mostly county residents, requested in Austin after the legislature funded frontier defense in 1858.

What the plaque says

William Franklin Brown (Apr. 9, 1820 - Dec. 23, 1918) In 1857 Georgia native William Franklin Brown moved to this area, where he was a pioneer cotton farmer. The following year he led in the organization of Brown County and was elected to serve as district clerk and as justice of the peace. He also participated in early defenses against hostile Indians. Married three times, Brown was the father of 12 children, several of whom died as a result of frontier tragedies. (1982)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Brownwood State Park — 9.6 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

• Walter U. Early — 2.4 mi
• Brown County — 4.2 mi
• City of Brownwood — 4.2 mi
• Connell Cemetery — 4.4 mi