Navarro Mills Community
Dawson, Navarro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A flour mill built here in the 1860s drew pioneer commerce to this site. Flour was a luxury, used mostly for yeast bread, cakes, and biscuits served on Sundays or special occasions. People traveled for considerable distances with their wheat, and waited sometimes for days to have it ground. The original mill property was bought from R. A. Younger in 1867 by John Summers and sons. Several local residents owned shares in ensuing years. The waters of Rock Creek furnished power. Besides this mill and a cotton gin, there may have been other mills here. The Navarro Mills Post Office opened in 1874. A store, school, blacksmith shop, and other facilities were developed. Local leaders included Confederate veterans W. C. French (1821-97) and R. J. Wright (1837--1926). The flour mill ceased operating in 1881. The post office closed in 1882, to be revived only briefly in later years. The community continued to thrive, however. An 1880s newcomer was a former county judge, James C. Key (1817-1910), whose surname survives in the landmark Tandy Key Road. The cemetery, the Baptist church that was formed in 1901, and the tabernacle built in 1915 mark the site of the historic village.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A flour mill built in the 1860s on the waters of Rock Creek drew pioneer farmers from miles around, who sometimes waited days to grind their wheat into a luxury reserved for Sunday breads and special occasions. Bought in 1867 by John Summers and sons, the mill anchored a growing village of store, school, blacksmith, and post office, with Confederate veterans among its leaders. Though the mill closed in 1881 and the post office soon after, the church, cemetery, and tabernacle still mark the historic community.
Why it matters
The gristmill was the economic heart of frontier settlement, and Navarro Mills shows how such a mill could gather a whole community around it—and how a town could endure even after the mill fell silent.
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Related people
- · John Summers
- · R. A. Younger
- · James C. Key
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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