City of Hearne
Hearne, Robertson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Situated on land originally granted (1830) to Francisco Ruiz, commander of Fort Tenoxtitlan. The first settler, S. Code Brown, operated a tavern, stage stand, store, and post office which served a large area. Among the southern planters coming here (1852) were Ebenezer and Horatio Hearne, who later tilled 5,000 acres of land. Mrs. Christopher Columbus Hearne honored promise of her husband by donating 700 acres to Houston & Texas Central when the railroad built to this site in 1868. The town, platted in 1870 and named for the Hearne family, was incorporated in 1871.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Hearne sits on land first granted in 1830 to Francisco Ruiz, commander of the Mexican outpost Fort Tenoxtitlan on the Brazos frontier. An early tavern, stage stand, and post office served the region before Southern planters like Ebenezer and Horatio Hearne arrived in 1852 to work thousands of acres. When the Houston & Texas Central Railroad reached the site in 1868, Mrs. Christopher Columbus Hearne fulfilled her late husband's pledge by donating 700 acres, and the town platted in 1870 took the family's name.
Why it matters
Hearne shows the layered making of Central Texas, from a Mexican land grant to a cotton-planter economy to a railroad junction, each era leaving its mark on the town that resulted.
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Related people
- · Francisco Ruiz
- · Ebenezer Hearne
- · Horatio Hearne
Related events
- · Arrival of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad (1868)
Themes & tags
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