HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Dr. William Edward Throckmorton

Melissa, Collin County, Texas

Marker Inscription

For whom Throckmorton County, Texas was named. Born in Virginia 1795. Died October 2, 1843.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Born in Virginia in 1795 and dead by 1843, Dr. William Edward Throckmorton left his name on a Texas county though his own life ran its course in the early Republic era. Physicians of his generation were among the essential figures on a thinning frontier, carrying medicine into places that had little else. The county named for him carries that legacy forward.

Why it matters

County namesakes anchor Texas geography to the individuals early settlers chose to honor, turning a doctor's short life into a permanent place on the map.

Own a business near here? Add it to the map.

Related people

  • · William Edward Throckmorton

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryMemorial

Nearby & related markers

Highland Cemetery

Melissa, TX

The Highland community grew up in the mid-1800s as a stop on the stagecoach route between Buckner and Bonham, and in 1858 settler Charles H. Wysong gave three acres for a church, school, and cemetery. The oldest marked grave, dated 1861, belongs to Robert Strother, and generations of north central Collin County pioneers rest here. A cemetery association organized more than a century ago still cares for the grounds.

Coffman Cemetery

Anna, TX

This burial ground grew up around the mid-nineteenth-century community of Coffman, on land given by early settler John Coffman, whose son George farmed nearby. The oldest marked grave dates to 1876, and for more than a century the cemetery served as the community's primary resting place. Descendants of many families buried here still live in this corner of Collin County.

Melissa Cemetery

Melissa, TX

This cemetery has served the Melissa community for generations, tracing its roots to the pioneer Sherley family whose oldest graves date to the 1850s. Formally established in 1889, it gathers early settlers—including a Confederate captain and veterans of conflicts from the Mexican War through World War II—into a single burial ground. A related family plot that once held enslaved people became the nearby St. Paul Cemetery, a reminder of the community's divided past.

Scott-Barker House

Melissa, TX

This L-plan Victorian dwelling went up around the 1870s, as the young town of Melissa was taking root in the Blackland Prairie of North Texas. Merchant Louis A. Scott and his wife Louise bought it in 1880, and after 1903 it passed to the Barker family, whose daughters lived here for 85 years. When a devastating tornado tore through Melissa in 1921, the sturdy house lost only a chimney—a small testament to its solid construction and its distinctive dormers and Mansard-type roofs.