Slidell
Slidell, Wise County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Named for John Slidell, one of the Confederate diplomats in the "Trent Affair" (1861), this community was established to supply goods and services to nearby farmers. The post office was started in 1884. Garrett Fletcher, donor of land for a cemetery and church, gave lots to nearby businesses that moved here in 1885, including twenty-two-year-old Dr. Drury Young Stem's medical office and drugstore. George W. Durham gave land (1893) for the public square and the first school building, and Nathaniel Pruett began (1895) the telephone system. Today Slidell serves a farm and ranch area. (1974)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Wise County community took its name from John Slidell, a Confederate diplomat at the center of the 1861 "Trent Affair," and grew up to supply the surrounding farmers. A post office opened in 1884, and as merchants moved in, a young doctor set up his office and drugstore while local donors gave land for a cemetery, church, public square, and school. Others strung the first telephone line, knitting the little town together.
Why it matters
Slidell's founding shows how postwar farm communities coalesced across Texas in the 1880s and 1890s, drawing their names from Civil War memory even as they built the everyday institutions of settled life.
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Related people
- · John Slidell
Related events
- · Trent Affair
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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