Sterling Rex Barnes
Heath, Rockwall County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Gravesite in Heath Cemetery) Virginia native Sterling Rex Barnes (1799-1866) migrated to this area from Mississippi with his wife Martha Ann (Mitchell) (b. 1809) and family in 1846. A pioneer settler in the community of Black Hill, now Heath, he was a charter member of East Trinity Masonic Lodge No. 157 in Rockwalll, organized in 1854. Barnes was the local justice of the peace in 1852 and operated a toll bridge at a site on the east fork of the Trinity River, now under the waters of Lake Ray Hubbard. Five sons and one son-in-law served with the Confederacy during the Civil War. (1981)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Virginia-born Sterling Rex Barnes brought his family to this area from Mississippi in 1846, settling the community of Black Hill, now Heath. A charter member of a local Masonic lodge and the area's justice of the peace, he operated a toll bridge over the east fork of the Trinity River at a site now beneath Lake Ray Hubbard. Five of his sons and a son-in-law went on to serve the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Why it matters
Barnes's life reflects the pioneer settlement of North Texas and the way its founding families were swept into the Confederacy during the Civil War.
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Related people
- · Sterling Rex Barnes
- · Martha Ann Mitchell Barnes
Themes & tags
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