Sutton County
Sonora, Sutton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Has traces of culture at least 20,000 years old, occupied by Apache Indians up to founding of Fort Terrett, 1852. Anglo-Texan settlement began 1879 at Sonora, a trading post on San Antonio-El Paso Road. Created April 1, 1887, from land then in Crockett County; organized November 4, 1890, with Sonora as the county seat. Named in honor of John S. Sutton (1821-1862), a member of Santa Fe Expedition, Texas Ranger and Indian fighter, soldier in Mexican War and colonel of Mounted Volunteers, who died of wounds received in Civil War Battle of Val Verde. 1936/1965
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The land that became Sutton County holds signs of human presence stretching back many thousands of years and was home to Apache people up to the founding of Fort Terrett in 1852. Anglo-Texan settlement began at Sonora in 1879 around a trading post on the San Antonio–El Paso road, and the county was created in 1887 and organized in 1890. It honors John S. Sutton, a Santa Fe Expedition member, Texas Ranger, and soldier who died of wounds from the Battle of Val Verde.
Why it matters
The county's story layers ancient Native presence, frontier trade, and the sacrifices of nineteenth-century soldiers into a single stretch of West Texas.
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Related people
- · John S. Sutton
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Sentry Building
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Built in 1852 by soldiers of the 8th Infantry, this cypress-and-limestone structure served as an officer-of-the-day station and sentry post along the road toward Fort Concho. It was part of the network of frontier posts—anchored here by nearby Fort McKavett—that the U.S. Army maintained to shield settlers pressing into the Texas Hill Country. The building is a rare survivor of the everyday military architecture that guarded the mid-19th-century frontier.
Coalson-Pullen Colony
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Nick and Jennie Coalson opened this Kimble County ranch in 1866, scratching out a living by stockraising and hunting — their "bacon" was cured bear meat. In December 1870, while the men were away hunting, raiders attacked the cabin and killed ranch hand Joe Harris; Jennie Coalson, dressed in men's clothes, held them off until her husband returned. The Coalsons later sold to Civil War veteran and surveyor Dr. Asa Pullen, whose family's descendants still live in the county.
Hood's Devils River Fight
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Morales Ranch
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