Petersburg
Hallettsville, Lavaca County, Texas
Marker Inscription
County seat Lavaca County, 1846-1852. Founded upon the town site donated by Arthur Sherill. Named by order of the Commissioners Court August 31, 1846. First officers, 1846-1848, Andrew Ponton, chief justice; B. Stribling, probate judge; M. H. Hinch, sheriff; Josiah Dowling, county clerk; D. Laughlin, district clerk; Gabriel Zumwalt, tax assessor and collector; Phillip Howard, treasurer. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Petersburg served as the seat of Lavaca County from 1846 to 1852, laid out on a townsite donated by Arthur Sherill just after Texas joined the Union. The Commissioners Court named it in 1846 and installed its first slate of officers, from chief justice to tax assessor. Its brief tenure as county seat ended within a few years, and the state marked the vanished town in 1936.
Why it matters
The marker recalls the fluid early days of Texas statehood, when new counties organized, shifted their seats of government, and sometimes left former towns behind.
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Related people
- · Arthur Sherill
- · Andrew Ponton
Themes & tags
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