Simon Peter Hawkins
Burkburnett, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1849 - 1930) A pioneer leader in Wichita County, Simon Peter Hawkins was born in Crockett County, Tenn. He married Sara A. Hardin (1852-1937) in 1869. They had eight children. With his brother-in-law John G. Hardin, Hawkins moved his family to Johnson County, Texas, in 1875. Seeking better land, the men found lush grass in present Wichita County and settled their families on the north side of Gilbert Creek. After fire destroyed the Hawkins' dugout home, the family moved about 1/4 mile. South of this site, Hawkins signed a petition for establishing Wichita County. He voted in the first county election and served on the first county grand jury. He helped organize the First Baptist Church, the first Masonic Lodge and the first school in this area. Hardin bought a store patronized by Indians and cowboys. The cowboys called the colony Nesterville. When the post office was established in 1882, it was renamed Gilbert. Hawkins served as mail carrier, making two trips weekly to Wichita Falls. After the railroad arrived, settlers in Gilbert moved about one mile to the new townsite of Burkburnett. When oil discoveries turned Burkburnett into a boomtown, Hawkins and his wife moved to Mineral Wells. He died there and was buried in the Burkburnett Cemetery. (1978)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Tennessee-born Simon Peter Hawkins brought his family to present Wichita County in 1875 in search of good grass, settling along Gilbert Creek in a colony cowboys nicknamed Nesterville. He signed the petition to organize the county, voted in its first election, sat on its first grand jury, and helped found the area's first Baptist church, Masonic lodge, and school. When the railroad shifted settlement to the new town of Burkburnett, the community he helped build moved with it.
Why it matters
Hawkins's life maps the whole arc of frontier county-building — from open range and dugout homes to elections, churches, and railroad boomtowns.
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Related people
- · Simon Peter Hawkins
- · Sara A. Hardin
- · John G. Hardin
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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