Joseph F. Johnston Reunion Grounds
Mexia, Limestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(4 mi. west) (Camp No. 94, United Confederate Veterans) Established 1889, in era when Texas looked to Civil War veterans for state leadership. One of numerous parks on river banks or other favored sites that drew large, popular annual encampments. Statesmen came to make speeches. There were orations by old soldiers; memorial programs, reviews, concerts. In 1892 the camp purchased this 70-acre tract; sold lots to shareholders; named streets for Lee, Jackson, other heroes. During week of full moon each August, members came to encampments; set up housekeeping in tents, shacks or brush arbors; entertained, feasting on fried chicken, barbecue, Brunswick stew, sweet potato pie, watermelons. Special trains were run for years from Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston. In peak years 5,000 people assembled here. Until 1940, the dawn and dusk salutes shot by Old Valverde, Civil War cannon, were heard far into neighboring counties. Besides giving honors to Confederate veterans, the encampments were occasions for family reunions. After the Mexia oil boom began in 1920, Col. A. E. Humphreys, a leader in petroleum development, built club facilities and promoted use of the park. The reunion grounds still are dedicated to the memory of the late Confederate veterans. (1965) This marker was relocated here to the actual site of the Confederate Reunion Grounds by the Limestone County Historical Commission, 2003.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established in 1889, this 70-acre camp of the United Confederate Veterans hosted enormous annual reunions in an era when Texas still looked to its Civil War veterans for leadership. Each August, under the full moon, thousands gathered in tents and brush arbors for speeches, memorial programs, and feasts of barbecue and sweet potato pie, with special trains running from Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston; at its peak the encampment drew 5,000 people, and the Civil War cannon "Old Valverde" fired dawn and dusk salutes until 1940. The grounds remain dedicated to the memory of the Confederate veterans who once camped here.
Why it matters
These reunion grounds capture the powerful "Lost Cause" memorial culture through which the postwar South honored, mythologized, and organized around its Confederate veterans.
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Themes & tags
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