Freeman Plantation
Jefferson, Marion County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This Greek revival plantation home was built about 1850 by Williamson M. (1807-66) and Drucilla (1812-65) Freeman for their children. A cotton and sugar cane planter, Freeman also operated a river freighting business. Materials use din construction of the house include hand-hewn timbers and brick made on the site. In the 1870s the residence was sold to R. E. Rowell (1826-1900), a former Confederate doctor, who later served as county treasurer. A rear wing was added to the home during the ownership of oilman L. S. Flannery (d. 1961), who purchased the property in 1937. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Williamson and Drucilla Freeman built this Greek revival home around 1850 from hand-hewn timbers and brick made on site, at the heart of a cotton and sugar cane plantation. Freeman also ran a river freighting business, tying the estate to the busy steamboat commerce that made antebellum Jefferson a thriving inland port. Later owners included a former Confederate doctor and, in the twentieth century, an oilman who added a rear wing.
Why it matters
The plantation reflects the cotton-and-river economy of antebellum East Texas, whose wealth—built on enslaved labor and steamboat trade—shaped the region before the Civil War transformed it.
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Related people
- · Williamson M. Freeman
- · Drucilla Freeman
- · R. E. Rowell
Themes & tags
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