John Tarleton
Stephenville, Erath County, Texas
Marker Inscription
John Tarleton was an orphan, who at an early age worked his way from New England to Knoxville, Tennessee. Employed in a dry goods store for over forty years, he invested in government land certificates, eventually securing patents to thousands of acres. Arriving in Texas in the 1870s, he lived briefly in Waco, where he operated a mercantile store. He moved to this area in 1880, and entered the cattle business. At his death in November 1895, he left the bulk of his estate to found Tarleton College, which opened in Stephenville in 1899. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Orphaned young, John Tarleton worked his way from New England to Knoxville, Tennessee, spending four decades in a dry goods store while quietly buying up government land certificates until he held patents to thousands of acres. He came to Texas in the 1870s, ran a store in Waco, and by 1880 had settled near Stephenville in the cattle business. At his death in 1895 he left most of his fortune to found Tarleton College, which opened in Stephenville in 1899.
Why it matters
Tarleton's bequest turned a self-made frontier fortune into an enduring institution of higher learning, part of the American tradition of the merchant-philanthropist college founder.
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Themes & tags
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