City of Wharton
Wharton, Wharton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The town of Wharton was founded as the seat of Wharton County in April 1846. Land for a courthouse, named Monterey Square, was given from the land grant of William Kincheloe, one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colonists who settled in this area in 1822. The townsite was surveyed by Virgel Stewart and William J. E. Heard, and the rich farmland attracted many settlers. The advent of railroads and irrigation brought increased settlement to the town, which remains a center of agricultural, educational, industrial, and medical services for a large area.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Wharton was founded in April 1846 as the seat of its county, on land drawn from the grant of William Kincheloe, one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colonists who settled the area in 1822. Surveyors laid out the townsite around Monterey Square, and the rich bottomland farms drew settlers steadily. Railroads and irrigation later spurred its growth into a regional center of farming, education, and services.
Why it matters
Wharton's roots in Austin's original colony tie it directly to the founding wave of Anglo-American settlement that created Texas.
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Related people
- · William Kincheloe
- · Stephen F. Austin
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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