Wilson N. Jones

Jones built his fortune in the Choctaw (Chahta) Nation before moving to Sherman. The Oklahoma Historical Society says his family settled at Little River, now in McCurtain County, in 1833, and that he had no formal schooling. After the Civil War he ranched with James Myers, who sold the herd about 1871 and fled with the money; Jones later recovered his debt. By 1890 he held about 17,000 acres, farmed 550 and ran some 5,000 cattle. He was treasurer in 1887, lost the 1888 race for chief, and served as chief from 1890 to 1894.

What the plaque says

Wilson N. Jones (c. 1827 - 1901) Born in Mississippi, Wilson N. Jones was a member of the Choctaw Nation. As a young boy, Jones joined his family and the rest of the Choctaws in what became known as the Trail of Tears, the removal of Native Americans to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in the 1830s. During the force migration, his father served as an Indian captain, charged with distributing blankets, tool and other necessities to his fellow Choctaws. Jones lived in Oklahoma most of his adult life. He was successful in ranching, real estate, cotton and coal interests. By the late 19th century, Jones also became active in Choctaw politics. He served several terms as Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation. After finishing hi final term in 1894, he moved to Sherman, Texas where he continued to administer his financial interests. Upon his death in 1901, Jones' will revealed a bequest of funds to establish a hospital in Sherman which would bear his name. However, years would pass before the courts granted this action. Legal efforts to break the will lasted almost two decades before a Texas district court ruled in favor of the executors of the will. In 1920, the Texas Court of Civil Appeals affirmed the decision of the district court, and the funds were made available for a hospital. By that time two hospitals already existed in Sherman. In 1928, funds from the Jones estate were used to buy Sherman Hospital, which was renamed Wilson N. Jones Hospital. Now known as the Wilson N. Jones Medical Center, the hospital is an important regional facility serving southern Oklahoma and north Texas. (2006)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site — 9.2 mi
  The small frame house beside the Katy tracks in Denison where Dwight Eisenhower was born in 1890, bought by townspeople in 1946 and given to Texas in 1958.
• Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge — 10 mi
  A 1946 refuge on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma, laid over land bought for Denison Dam and the site of the vanished railroad town of Hagerman, now a winter stop for geese.
• Eisenhower State Park — 12 mi
  A bluff-top park on Lake Texoma opened in 1958 on land leased from the Corps of Engineers, in the Red River country of Fort Johnson, Colbert's Ferry and the Butterfield stages.
• Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site — 24 mi
  The two-story farmhouse west of Bonham that the longtime Speaker of the House built in 1916 and kept as his home, left as he lived in it and open as a museum since 1975.

More markers nearby

• The Great Sherman Storm of 1896 — 0.4 mi
• Andrew L. Randell — 0.4 mi
• Dickson, James Nelson — 0.5 mi
• Tom Randolph — 0.5 mi