George R. Reeves
Pottsboro, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Jan. 3, 1826-Sept. 5, 1882) Man for whom 2600-sq. mi. West Texas county was named. Born in Tennessee. Married Jane Moore in 1844 in Arkansas. Came to Texas about 1845. Was Grayson County tax collector, 1848-1850; sheriff, 1850-1854. Served as State Representative, 1855-1861. Commissioned Confederate army officer, 1863. Participant in Battle of Chickamauga and Hundred Days Atlanta Campaign. Returned to Legislature, 1873. Speaker of the House, 1881-1882. Recorded, 1967
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
George R. Reeves, born in Tennessee in 1826, came to Texas around 1845 and climbed steadily through public life as a Grayson County tax collector, sheriff, and state representative. During the Civil War he served as a Confederate officer, fighting at Chickamauga and through the grinding Hundred Days Atlanta Campaign. He returned to politics afterward and rose to Speaker of the Texas House before his death in 1882 — the man for whom vast Reeves County was later named.
Why it matters
Reeves's career threads together frontier officeholding, Confederate service, and Reconstruction-era state politics, showing how a single life could shape and lend its name to the map of West Texas.
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Related people
- · George R. Reeves
- · Jane Moore Reeves
Related events
- · Battle of Chickamauga
- · Atlanta Campaign
Themes & tags
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