Applewhite Homestead
La Vernia, Wilson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The family of Henry Applewhite (1630-1704), who sailed from England to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1656, remained in Virginia for several generations. Applewhite's descendant, Thomas Applewhite, was born in North Carolina in 1791 and served as a sergeant in the War of 1812. In 1842 Thomas married his second wife, Elizabeth Oglesby (1820-1898). The Applewhites, accompanied by eight slaves, moved to this area of Texas in 1853. They purchased 214 acres of farmland here in 1854 and by 1860 the Applewhites owned nine slaves, some of whom had taken the Applewhite name. According to local oral tradition, at one time the Applewhites' homestead may also have served as a brief stop for stagecoaches traversing the area along an alternate route of that part of the Chihuahua Road extending from Indianola to San Antonio. Thomas (d. 1864) and Elizabeth Applewhite are buried in La Vernia in Concrete Cemetery. A number of Applewhite families, the descendants of African Americans who established homes here during the 1860s, remained in the area for many generations. Thomas and Elizabeth Applewhite's original stone house was mostly destroyed during highway construction in the 1950s. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Applewhite line reached Texas through Thomas Applewhite, a North Carolina–born War of 1812 sergeant who, with his wife Elizabeth and eight enslaved people, moved to Wilson County in 1853 and bought 214 acres here the next year. Local tradition holds the homestead served briefly as a stage stop on an alternate branch of the Chihuahua Road running from the coast to San Antonio. After emancipation, African American families who had taken the Applewhite name established their own homes nearby and remained in the area for generations, their story bound up with the land's original stone house, largely destroyed by 1950s highway work.
Why it matters
The homestead holds together two threads of the Texas story—Anglo pioneer settlement and the enduring African American community that emerged from slavery on the same ground.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Attractions
- Green Acres Golf and Games10.4 mi away
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Related people
- · Thomas Applewhite
- · Elizabeth Oglesby Applewhite
Themes & tags
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