HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Luther Stearns, Sr.

Taylor, Williamson County, Texas

Marker Inscription

(Nov. 6, 1784 - Jan. 26, 1859) Born in Chesterfield, Mass., Luther Stearns lived in the frontier regions of four states before moving to newly formed Williamson Co., Texas, in 1848. In 1850 he bought 650 acres on the San Gabriel River, where he built a 1-1/2 story log home and farmed the land. Upon his death, Stearns was buried near his home in the family cemetery, which was destroyed early in the 20th century. Near this marker is the grave of his youngest son, H. T. Recorded - 1983

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Born in Massachusetts in 1784, Luther Stearns spent his life pushing westward, living on the frontier of four states before settling in newly formed Williamson County, Texas, in 1848. Two years later he bought 650 acres along the San Gabriel River, raised a story-and-a-half log home, and farmed the land until his death in 1859. He was buried in a family cemetery that vanished in the early twentieth century.

Why it matters

Stearns's restless march across the country embodies the westering impulse that carried American settlers, generation by generation, from New England to the Texas frontier.

Own a business near here? Add it to the map.

Related people

  • ยท Luther Stearns, Sr.

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryMemorial

Nearby & related markers

Bill Pickett

Taylor, TX

Born around 1870 to a former slave and raised in Taylor, Bill Pickett revolutionized the rodeo by inventing "bulldogging," leaping from his horse to wrestle a steer to the ground by its horns. One of the very few Black cowboys on the circuit, he became an international sensation, performing across North America and Europe before a riding accident took his life in 1932. In 1971 he became the first African American inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

City of Taylor

Taylor, TX

When the International & Great Northern Railroad crossed Williamson County in 1876, it spawned a town called Taylorsville, named for railroad executive Moses Taylor, with lots sold that June and a post office opened in August. Sitting on a cattle trail, the town quickly became a major shipping point for cattle, then grew further after a second rail line arrived in 1882 and the community incorporated. Renamed simply Taylor in 1892, it added cotton to cattle and rails as pillars of a prosperous local economy.

First Presbyterian Church of Taylor

Taylor, TX

This Presbyterian congregation traces its roots to 1876, when it was tied to the church in nearby Georgetown and shared a minister, the Rev. John McMurray, who also ran a school across the street. Trustees bought this property in 1878 and completed a frame sanctuary by Thanksgiving that year, and the church called its first full-time pastor in 1889. After merging with a Cumberland Presbyterian congregation around 1910, the growing church built a new brick sanctuary in 1912โ€“1913.

First Christian Church of Taylor

Taylor, TX

Founded in December 1877 by twenty-two members newly arrived from their "old home" states, this congregation grew quickly after Gen. R. M. Gano preached a week of daily services. Meeting first in an Odd Fellows hall and then a modest 1878 building, the church raised its present Gothic Revival sanctuary in 1891, designed by architect E. B. Mackin.