Lake Creek Settlement
Montgomery, Montgomery County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Long before the arrival of Stephen F. Austin’s colonists, the Coushatta Indians traveled through the lands that would become the Lake Creek Settlement upon the Coushatta Trace, a trade road from Louisianna into Texas. Located in Austin’s second colony in the Mexican State of Coahuila and Texas during the Texas Colonial Period, Lake Creek Settlement traces its origins to 1825. On June 4, 1825, Stephen F. Austin signed a contract with the Mexican government to begin the introduction of five hundred families from the United States. In 1831, some of the families settled between the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and a stream called Lake Creek in today’s Montgomery County. The Lake Creek Settlement is the earliest known Anglo-American settlement in the county. In 1835, William W. “W.W.” Shepperd, a colonist from North Carolina, purchased a tract in the northwestern-most corner of the John Corner League. Shepperd opened a store on the property, the first business in the area. He also operated a gin and stockyard and was the Postmaster. In July 1837, Shepperd founded the town of Montgomery at the site of his store. The area’s proximity to Town Creek and available fresh water attracted settlers and provided for their crops and livestock. In addition, nearby popular trade routes aided in the community’s growth, serving as a trade stop or meeting place. A number of Lake Creek settlers fought in the Texas Revolution, including John Marshall Wade, who manned one of the famous “Twin Sisters” cannons during the battle of San Jacinto.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Long before Stephen F. Austin's colonists arrived, the Coushatta people traveled the Coushatta Trace, a trade road running from Louisiana into Texas across these lands. Settled beginning around 1831 within Austin's second colony, the Lake Creek Settlement became the earliest known Anglo-American community in what is now Montgomery County. In 1835 W.W. Shepperd opened the area's first store, and from it in 1837 he founded the town of Montgomery; a number of Lake Creek settlers, including John Marshall Wade of the 'Twin Sisters' cannons, fought in the Texas Revolution.
Why it matters
The settlement links an ancient Indigenous trade route to the Anglo colonization of Texas and the revolution that won its independence.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · W.W. Shepperd
- · John Marshall Wade
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Buck Foster Cemetery
Bedias, TX
Buck Foster Cemetery took its name from William Harrison "Buck" Foster, who reserved an acre for burials when he sold his land in 1882 — though eroded sandstone markers show the ground served the Loma community even earlier. Among its hundreds of graves lies Nancy McCulloch Heath, of Choctaw and German descent, who came to Texas in 1845, alongside Civil War veterans and generations of her descendants. Its weathered stones, carved with Masonic, religious, and ranching symbols, form a folk record of southwestern Walker County.
Cypress
Cypress, TX
The Cypress region of northwest Harris County took shape after Attakapas and Akokisa peoples gave way to Anglo settlers like the Burnetts and Simmonses in the 1830s, with Matthew Burnett running an inn and serving as first postmaster at Big Cypress. German immigrants seeking land and religious freedom arrived in the late 1840s, and the Houston and Texas Central Railway reaching Cypress Top in 1856 turned scattered farms into a thriving depot community of stores, hotels, and dance halls.
Town of Bedias
Bedias, TX
Long before Anglo settlers arrived, the Bidai people—an agricultural nation regarded as the region's oldest inhabitants—gave their name to the Bedias creeks and, eventually, the town. The first white settlement here rose in 1835 under Thomas P. Plaster, and in 1903 the coming of an International & Great Northern Railroad branch pulled the population toward a 'New' Bedias, though residents fought to keep the old name rather than honor a railroad official. The area is also famous for its 'Bediasite' tektites, glassy stones the Indians called 'jewels of the moon,' and as the one-time home of Sarah Dodson, credited with sewing the first Lone Star flag.
Site of the Home of Dr. Charles B. Stewart
Montgomery, TX
This site marks the home of Dr. Charles B. Stewart (1806–1885), a founding figure of Texas who served in the 1835 Consultation and became the Republic's first Secretary of State. A signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, he later represented Montgomery County at the 1845 Constitutional Convention that brought Texas into the Union and served in the state legislature. The State of Texas erected this monument in 1936, the state's centennial year.