Clinton
Cuero, DeWitt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Created in 1846, De Witt County was named for Empresario Green De Witt. The county seat, originally at Cameron, was moved in 1848 to the pioneer town of Clinton, named for De Witt's son. County government returned briefly to Cameron, but Clinton again served as the county seat from 1850 until 1876, when Cuero was named the seat of government. Courthouse here included a log cabin and two frame buildings. A cemetery and well remain at the site of Clinton, evidence of the once-thriving community that was the home of many prominent area pioneers. (1967)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Carved out of the Texas coastal plain in 1846 and named for empresario Green De Witt, whose colony had drawn early Anglo settlers, DeWitt County shuffled its seat of government among frontier hamlets before settling on Clinton in 1850. For a quarter century Clinton thrived as the county's civic heart, its courthouse a cluster of log and frame buildings. When the railroad-era town of Cuero took the seat in 1876, Clinton faded, leaving only a cemetery and a well to mark where a community once stood.
Why it matters
Clinton's rise and disappearance is a classic Texas story of how railroads and shifting county seats made and unmade frontier towns almost overnight.
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Related people
- · Green De Witt
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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