HistoricSiteMarkers
Civil WarReconstruction & Gilded Age

J. A. Megarity Homestead

Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas

Marker Inscription

James A. Megarity (1838-1911) was born in Georgia and served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. He took part in several important battles including Gettysburg and Petersburg. He was also present at the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Megarity wed Narcissa C. Hardman in 1859, and they came to Texas in 1872. After renting land for a time, they bought this site in 1876 and built their home. Megarity's land holdings grew to 187 acres, and he became a prosperous area farmer. The Megaritys were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. (1983)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Georgia-born James A. Megarity served in the Confederate army through some of the Civil War's hardest fighting, including Gettysburg and Petersburg, and was present at Robert E. Lee's surrender. Having married Narcissa Hardman in 1859, he brought his family to Texas in 1872, rented land for a time, and bought this site in 1876 to build a home. His holdings grew to 187 acres, making him a prosperous farmer and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Why it matters

Megarity's move west after the war typifies the many Confederate veterans who rebuilt their lives on the Texas land, carrying the memory of the conflict into a new frontier community.

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Related people

  • · James A. Megarity
  • · Narcissa C. Hardman
  • · Robert E. Lee

Related events

  • · Battle of Gettysburg
  • · Siege of Petersburg
  • · Surrender at Appomattox

Themes & tags

Nearby & related markers

Conner Cemetery

Corsicana, TX

Thomas Conner brought his family from Illinois to this part of Navarro County in 1856, and his son Edward bought 164 acres here in 1873. Family tradition holds that burials predate the first recorded interment of 1882, the year Edward formally set the cemetery aside. It has chiefly served the extended Conner family and holds the graves of at least four Confederate veterans, cared for today by the family's descendants.

Grange Hall Cemetery

Corsicana, TX

Grange Hall Cemetery served the small farming community of Cryer Creek and likely took its name from the Grange, the farmers' organization that was a powerful force in rural life. Burials began here as early as 1872, five years before pioneer Samuel Wilson donated the land for a Methodist church and churchyard. Among those at rest are Civil War veterans, pioneer families, and members of a colony that migrated from Meridian, Mississippi, in 1870.

Spring Hill

Dawson, TX

The oldest community in Navarro County grew up around springs that had watered Native peoples for centuries. Dr. George Washington Hill built a trading post here in 1838 — the year a surveying party skirmished with Kickapoo Indians nearby — and after serving as Republic of Texas Secretary of War he returned to practice medicine. Spring Hill flourished into the 1870s with mills, stores, and saloons, hosted a Confederate training camp during the Civil War, then declined after the railroad bypassed it in 1881.

Davidson Family Cemetery

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William and Jane Davidson brought their family from Mississippi to Texas in 1851, settling by the late 1850s on hundreds of acres in southeastern Navarro County. The Davidsons prospered as sheep farmers and ranchers in cattle country—earning the nickname "Grangers" for their likely ties to the farmers' fraternal order—while two sons rode off to serve in the 20th Texas Cavalry during the Civil War. Set aside in 1861, this fenced family plot with its stone obelisks holds the graves of the pioneer parents and several of their descendants.