Dixie Settlement
Barksdale, Edwards County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Forerunner of Barksdale) Named for Camp Dixie, a Texas Ranger post near Military Road to Fort Inge (42 mi. SE). First civilian settler was Jerusha Sanchez, midwife for Nueces Canyon area, widowed by Indians in the 1870s. Next came Elizabeth Hill, whose eldest son Jim was a military scout. Lewis Barksdale, a veteran of Republic of Texas wars, opened a ranch on his 1876 land grant. The J. R. (Bob) Sweeten family established a store that became the focus for the expanding community. When a post office was created in 1882 and named for Lewis Barksdale, the name Dixie disappeared from use. (1974)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Dixie Settlement took its name from Camp Dixie, a Texas Ranger post along the military road to Fort Inge, and grew up in a hard frontier where Indian raids were still a living danger. Its first settler was the widowed midwife Jerusha Sanchez, followed by pioneer families and by Lewis Barksdale, a veteran of the Republic of Texas wars who claimed a land grant here in 1876. When a post office opened in 1882 under Barksdale's name, the old name Dixie quietly disappeared.
Why it matters
The settlement's story preserves the texture of frontier Texas — Ranger camps, midwives, and land-grant veterans building community at the edge of the settled country.
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Related people
- · Jerusha Sanchez
- · Elizabeth Hill
- · Lewis Barksdale
- · J. R. Sweeten
Themes & tags
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