Britton Dawson Home
Dawson, Navarro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Granted a bounty of Navarro County land for his participation in the Battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, cattleman Britton Dawson (1817-1905) settled here in 1847. He occupied a three-room cabin before erecting this two-and-one-half story Greek revival house in 1858-59. Built of cypress hauled by oxcart from the Texas Gulf Coast, the structure has an unusual suspended gallery on the second floor. A residence for Dawson's large family, it also served as a stage stop. Land for Dawson townsite was donated in 1881 by two of Dawson's sons, Dave and Henry. (1977)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Rewarded with a bounty of Navarro County land for fighting at San Jacinto in 1836, cattleman Britton Dawson settled here in 1847 and first lived in a three-room cabin. In 1858–59 he raised a two-and-a-half-story Greek Revival house of cypress hauled by oxcart from the Gulf Coast, complete with an unusual suspended second-floor gallery; the home sheltered his large family and doubled as a stage stop, and his sons later gave land for the town of Dawson.
Why it matters
The Dawson home ties the founding generation of Texas independence to the settling of the interior, showing how veterans' bounty lands seeded the towns and ranches of the new state.
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Related people
- · Britton Dawson
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Town of Dawson
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Dawson grew out of Spring Hill, the oldest settlement in Navarro County, which Republic of Texas Indian agent Dr. George Washington Hill founded in 1838 as a trading post to ease relations with Native peoples. Britton Dawson, a San Jacinto veteran who claimed his land as service bounty, settled at Spring Hill in 1846 and built a home that served as a stagecoach stop. When the Texas & St. Louis Railroad — the "Cotton Belt" — laid tracks through in 1881, Dawson's sons donated 100 acres for a townsite, and the population of Spring Hill promptly picked up and moved to the new railroad town.
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