Former Homesite of Joseph L. Bennett
Montgomery, Montgomery County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Joseph L. Bennett, who came to Texas in 1834 and settled in this area, joined the Texas army in early 1836. As captain of a company of local volunteers, he left this area about March 1, 1836, to lead his troops to aid Texan forces at the Alamo. Upon reaching the Colorado River he learned of the fall of the Alamo, and so discontinued the mission. He soon joined with Sam Houston's main army and in April was elected Lt. Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Volunteers, the company he commanded at the Battle of San Jacinto. Bennett received land grants in payment for his military service, and in 1837 President Sam Houston appointed him to command a frontier defense unit. Elected by Montgomery County voters to the Republic of Texas Congress, he served for two terms, 1838-1840. He briefly resumed military service in 1842 as a member of the Somervell Expedition against Mexico. Bennett also was active in local civic affairs, serving as mail carrier from Houston to Montgomery, county commissioner and supporter of area schools. He moved his family to his headright land grant in present Navarro and Freestone counties in 1848. He died later that year and was buried in a family graveyard near Streetman.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Joseph L. Bennett came to Texas in 1834 and, when revolution broke out, raised a company of local volunteers and marched toward the Alamo in early 1836, turning back only on learning the fort had fallen. He joined Sam Houston's army and, as lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Regiment, fought at San Jacinto. Rewarded with land grants, he went on to command frontier defense, serve two terms in the Republic of Texas Congress, and carry the mail before dying in 1848.
Why it matters
Bennett's life traces the whole arc of the Texas Revolution and the early Republic — from volunteer captain to congressman — in the person of one restless frontier leader.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Joseph L. Bennett
- · Sam Houston
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
- · Somervell Expedition
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
The Old Methodist Churchyard
Montgomery, TX
In January 1839 the Rev. Isaac Strickland organized a Methodist church here, and its members raised a log meetinghouse on land donated by the founders of Montgomery. The churchyard filled with graves through the 1840s, and one dying pastor asked to be buried beneath the altar of the frame church replacing the cabin. Among those laid to rest are a soldier of the American Revolution and veterans of the War of 1812, the Texas Revolution, the Mexican War, and the Civil War, alongside pioneers, officials, and travelers who died among strangers.
Site of Former Town of Danville
Willis, TX
Founded before 1840 in a rich plantation district, Danville grew into a thriving trade center with fifteen businesses, churches, and good schools. When its leaders refused right-of-way to the Houston & Great Northern Railway in the 1870s, commerce fled to the new railroad town of Willis, and Danville faded until only Sheperd Hill Cemetery remained. Among its people was Jonathan Lindley, who died defending the Alamo in March 1836.
Magnolia Cemetery
Magnolia, TX
In use for decades before Tom J. Goodson and his wife Winnie May deeded it to the Baptist church in 1909, this burial ground later grew through gifts of land from their son and from local sawmill owner C.H. Daniel. Its earliest marked graves belong to the brothers James and William Proctor, who died just days apart in 1878 for reasons now forgotten. Buried here are veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam—generations of the Magnolia community.
Hezekiah Faris
Walker County, TX
Born in Virginia and raised in Tennessee, Hezekiah Faris came to Texas in 1835 to fight for the colony's freedom and took part in the decisive victory at San Jacinto. He located bounty and headright land in this vicinity, became a local leader, and named Faris Chapel for his home church back in Tennessee. He married Matilda Stevens Roberts, and over time the family name shifted to Farris.