Corsicana
Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Soon after Navarro County was created by the Texas Legislature in 1846, a committee was appointed to choose a site for the county seat. The committee selected a 100-acre tract of land that came to be the city of Corsicana. The town was named for Corsica, the homeland of the parents of Texas patriot Jose Antonio Navarro, for whom the county was named. Corsicana was first governed by a town commission, whose duty was to map the area and sell lots. Early settler Hampton McKinney built a log cabin for his home, which also was used as a school, post office, courthouse, and land office. He also operated the McKinney Tavern, where many early settlers and travelers boarded. Other early Corsicana businesses included a hardware store, carpenter shop, drug store, saddle shop, saloon, and blacksmith shop. A period of tremendous growth was initiated in 1871 with the coming of the Houston & Central Texas Railroad. The first free public schools were offered during the early 1880s, and the late 19th century saw Corsicana in the midst of an oil boom. The city became a Texas pioneer in commercial oil production and in the use of natural gas for fuel and lighting and continues today as a leader in the area's growth.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When the Texas Legislature created Navarro County in 1846, a committee chose this 100-acre tract for the county seat, naming it Corsicana for the Corsican homeland of patriot José Antonio Navarro's parents. Early settler Hampton McKinney's log cabin doubled as school, post office, courthouse, and tavern. The railroad's arrival in 1871 sparked explosive growth, and by the late 1800s Corsicana was a pioneer of commercial oil and natural-gas fuel.
Why it matters
Corsicana's leap from log-cabin county seat to oil-boom town foreshadowed the petroleum industry that would remake Texas and the nation.
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Related people
- · José Antonio Navarro
- · Hampton McKinney
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Petty's Chapel
Corsicana, TX
This corner of Navarro County took shape around the hardbottom creek crossings of an early route known as the Military Road, which carried travelers toward Corsicana, founded in 1848. Families like the Hamiltons and Braggs settled the sandy uplands, and in 1893 local Baptists raised the Petty's Chapel church that still holds services more than a century later. The community was reshaped by the discovery of the Corsicana oilfield in the late 19th century and by the county poor farm, established here in 1890 and closed in 1944.
Barry
Barry, TX
Barry grew up where the rails met the cotton fields. Named for Corsicana businessman Bryan T. Barry, the town got its post office in 1886, the same year the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas Railroad arrived, and clustered around Owen Taylor's general store. Settlers drawn by rich farmland cleared the land for cotton—Barry's first gin opened in 1899—and by 1920 the community supported banks, churches, and a school that served the area until 1958.
The Fortson Family
Rice, TX
The Fortson family came from Mississippi to Navarro County in the 1840s, and Civil War veteran James T. Fortson married into another pioneer family before settling near Rice. His son Joe B. and brother John built up large farming and ranching holdings and became local pillars—running a cotton gin and mercantile, founding the First State Bank of Rice, and organizing levee districts to aid area farmers. Joe B. also served on the school board, and the family's home was built at this site in 1904.
Navarro Mills Community
Dawson, TX
A flour mill built in the 1860s on the waters of Rock Creek drew pioneer farmers from miles around, who sometimes waited days to grind their wheat into a luxury reserved for Sunday breads and special occasions. Bought in 1867 by John Summers and sons, the mill anchored a growing village of store, school, blacksmith, and post office, with Confederate veterans among its leaders. Though the mill closed in 1881 and the post office soon after, the church, cemetery, and tabernacle still mark the historic community.