HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Home of John Hoblett Seward

Independence, Washington County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Home of John Hoblett Seward 1822-1892 and Laura Jane Roberts Seward 1838-1920. Built in 1855 of hand-sawed cedar. Erected by the State of Texas 1936

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

In 1855, when Texas was barely a decade into statehood and Independence was a thriving crossroads of early Anglo settlement, John Hoblett Seward and his wife Laura Jane raised a home of hand-sawed cedar. Buildings like this one, marked by the State of Texas during its 1936 Centennial, anchored the small farming communities of Washington County. The Sewards' long lives spanned the frontier era, the Civil War, and the coming of the railroads.

Why it matters

Surviving homesteads from the first generation of Texas statehood are tangible links to the pioneers who built permanent communities out of raw frontier.

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Related people

  • ยท John Hoblett Seward
  • ยท Laura Jane Roberts Seward

Themes & tags

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