Early Sulphur Bluff
Sulphur Bluff, Hopkins County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First known settlers in area were family of John Gregg. Their cemetery (2 mi. N) has marker dated 1837, from Republic of Texas era. Other early settlers were the brothers Hezekiah and Robert Hargrave, from Indiana. They built brush-roofed log homes (3 mi. N), on high bluff above Sulphur River, offering protection from Indians and providing abundant game. Robert Hargrave, a mechanical genius, built a wood and iron shop, a blacksmith shop, and a grist mill that drew customers from Caddo Mills, 50 miles away. A post office was built 1849; early school was founded 1852.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The first known settlers at Sulphur Bluff were the family of John Gregg, whose cemetery holds a marker from the Republic of Texas era in 1837. The Hargrave brothers came from Indiana and built brush-roofed log homes on a high bluff above the Sulphur River, where game was plentiful and the height offered safety. Robert Hargrave, a mechanical talent, ran a woodworking shop, a blacksmith shop, and a grist mill that drew customers from fifty miles away; a post office followed in 1849 and a school in 1852.
Why it matters
The settlement captures the self-reliant machinery of frontier life, where a single ingenious craftsman's mill and shops could anchor an entire pioneer community.
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Related people
- · John Gregg
- · Robert Hargrave
- · Hezekiah Hargrave
Themes & tags
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