Site of Linwood
Linwood, Cherokee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Star and Wreath On land inherited by Delilah Dill Durst from Helena Kimble Dill, whose daughter born in 1804 was thought to be first white child native to Texas. Built about 1830 by Delilah's husband, Joseph Durst, who settled in Texas in early 1800s and rose by 1826 to office of Alcalde in Nacogdoches. During troubles of 1832, the battle of Nacogdoches ended here with the surrender of Colonel Piedras' army to 17 Texans. Later was home of Geo. Whitfield Terrell (1802-1846), who served Republic of Texas as attorney-general and as Minister to England, France and Spain. Birthplace of Geo. B. Terrell (1862-1947), State Representative, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Congressman-at-Large.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built about 1830 on land tied to some of the earliest Anglo families in Texas, Linwood stood at the crossroads of the region's founding dramas. Its builder, Joseph Durst, had risen to alcalde of Nacogdoches by 1826, and in 1832 the Battle of Nacogdoches ended on this ground with the surrender of Colonel Piedras's Mexican force to a small band of Texans. The home later belonged to George Whitfield Terrell, a diplomat of the Republic of Texas, and was the birthplace of congressman George B. Terrell.
Why it matters
Linwood links the household of Texas's first Anglo settlers to the armed unrest that preceded the revolution, capturing the moment Mexican Texas began slipping toward independence.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
When Linwood was built, around 1830, Texas was part of Mexico. East Texas, centered on the old town of Nacogdoches, was a frontier where Mexican authorities, Anglo-American settlers, Native peoples, and Tejano families lived side by side, and not always easily.
By the early 1830s tensions were rising. Mexico's government had grown worried about the flood of settlers from the United States and tried to limit immigration and assert tighter control. At the same time, Mexican politics was split between rival factions, and settlers in Texas often framed their complaints as support for one side in that national struggle.
The "troubles of 1832" named on the marker belong to that tense period. Clashes that year in Texas, including the fighting at Nacogdoches, came several years before the Texas Revolution of 1835–36. Historians often see them as an early warning of the break that followed.
People & events
The story of this land starts with its women. It came to Delilah Dill Durst by inheritance from Helena Kimble Dill. According to the marker, Helena's daughter, born in 1804, was thought to have been the first white child born in Texas. "Thought to be" is worth noticing: claims like this are hard to prove, and the marker wisely treats it as a tradition rather than a settled fact.
Delilah's husband, Joseph Durst, built the house around 1830. He had come to Texas in the early 1800s and by 1826 held the office of alcalde in Nacogdoches. Under Mexican rule the alcalde was a key local official who combined some of the roles of mayor and judge. An Anglo settler holding that post shows how far some newcomers had become part of the Mexican system.
Then came 1832. The Battle of Nacogdoches set local settlers against the Mexican garrison under Colonel Piedras, and the marker records how it ended: here, with the surrender of Piedras's army to just 17 Texans. Later Linwood was home to George Whitfield Terrell (1802–1846), who served the Republic of Texas as attorney general and as its minister to England, France, and Spain. His son George B. Terrell (1862–1947) was born here and became a state representative, Commissioner of Agriculture, and a congressman-at-large.
Its place in the American story
Few single sites hold as much of Texas's path to independence and statehood as Linwood. Its history runs from Mexican Texas, through the armed unrest of 1832, to the independent Republic of Texas and finally into the American political system. That is a remarkable span for one property.
The 1832 fighting in Nacogdoches matters because it showed how quickly disputes between settlers and Mexican authority could turn into open conflict. Those tensions, and Mexico's efforts to control them, fed directly into the Texas Revolution. That revolution led to the Republic, and eventually to annexation by the United States and the war with Mexico that followed.
George Whitfield Terrell's diplomatic career is a reminder that the Republic of Texas was for about a decade an independent nation with its own envoys to Europe's great powers. Recognition and support from countries like England and France were important to its survival. That this story runs through one household in Cherokee County shows how small the circle of people shaping early Texas really was.
If you visit
This is a site marker, so come for the setting and the story rather than to tour a house. Stand where the marker is and imagine the scene of 1832: a defeated Mexican column, far from its post at Nacogdoches, surrendering to a small band of Texans on this quiet ground.
The surrounding country of rolling hills, pine, and hardwood is classic East Texas. It helps to picture how isolated a homestead like Linwood once was, and how news, soldiers, and settlers moved along the old roads connecting Nacogdoches to the frontier.
Linwood works well as part of a drive through the Nacogdoches area, one of the oldest parts of Texas, where many markers tell the story of Spanish, Mexican, and early Anglo Texas. Visiting several of them together lets you trace the whole path from colony to republic to state. Please respect any private land around the marker.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Delilah Dill Durst
- · Joseph Durst
- · Colonel Piedras
- · George Whitfield Terrell
- · George B. Terrell
Related events
- · Battle of Nacogdoches (1832)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Brewer Cemetery
Cushing, TX
In 1835 the Mexican government granted Henry Brewer a league of land — some 4,000 acres — where settlers built log cabins by the springs and farmed, raised stock, and mined iron on the peak variously called Flowery, Brewer, or Iron Mountain. Brewer and his son John fought in the 1832 Battle of Nacogdoches, and Henry Mitchel Brewer served at San Jacinto before John later joined the Confederacy. A 1936 Texas Centennial marker honors the family and doubles as a grave marker; descendants revived the overgrown cemetery in 2001.
Brewer Cemetery
Douglass, TX
This family burial ground dates to 1816, when East Texas was still Spanish and later Mexican territory, and it holds members of the Brewer family who helped win Texas independence. Henry and John Brewer took part in the Battle of Nacogdoches, an 1832 clash that pushed Mexican forces from the town, while Henry Mitchell Brewer fought in the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. Their graves record a household woven directly into the fight for the Texas Republic.
Isaac Lee
Alto, TX
Born in Georgia in 1788, Isaac Lee lived in Mississippi and Arkansas before reaching Texas in 1828, settling near San Augustine and later Nacogdoches. He took part in the 1832 Battle of Nacogdoches and served in the Army of the Republic of Texas during the fight for independence. In old age he moved to a farm near Alto to live with his daughter, dying there in 1880 at age 92.
John Joseph Bowman
Wells, TX
John Joseph Bowman came to Texas from Tennessee in 1822 as a boy, settling with his family in Stephen F. Austin's colony on the Colorado River among the very first Anglo-American colonists. In 1835 he enlisted in the Texian Army and fought in the war for independence alongside his father and brother. He later put down permanent roots in Cherokee County, where he is buried near his brother James.