Pleasant Valley Farmers' Alliance No. 1
Lampasas, Lampasas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First chapter of the Farmers' Alliance in Texas. Founded 1877, it became one of the strongest arms of the national agrarian reform movement of the era. The group was begun by John R. Allen on Donaldson Creek (1 mi. S) in a "rawhide" (rough) lumber school. Its main purpose was to improve ruinous farm living and economic conditions. Missing livestock were traced by 2 secret officers known as "Grand Smokies". In 1887 the 3,000 sub-alliances merged with the "Farmers' Union", then helped spark the Populist Party drive of the 1890's; but by 1900 they had died out.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1877, in a rough-hewn schoolhouse on Donaldson Creek, John R. Allen gathered struggling farmers into what became the first chapter of the Farmers' Alliance in Texas. What began as a self-help group—even tracing stolen livestock through secret officers nicknamed 'Grand Smokies'—swelled into one of the nation's most powerful agrarian reform movements. By the 1890s its thousands of sub-alliances had helped ignite the Populist Party before fading by 1900.
Why it matters
This spot marks the seedbed of the national agrarian revolt that gave rise to Populism, one of the most influential grassroots economic movements in American history.
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Related people
- · John R. Allen
Themes & tags
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