Telegraph Road
Montgomery, Montgomery County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A pioneer trail connecting the towns of Montgomery, Houston, and Huntsville, in use as early as 1845, became an important transportation and freighting route for early settlers. After the Texas and Red River Telegraph Company was established in 1854, wires were strung along the historic trail to extend service to Montgomery and Houston. The route soon became known as the "Telegraph Road." Although the wires eventually were removed, portions of the old Telegraph Road remained visible for many years. (1972)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
By 1845 a pioneer trail already linked Montgomery, Houston, and Huntsville, carrying settlers and freight through the young Republic and early state of Texas. When the Texas and Red River Telegraph Company strung its wires along the route in 1854, the path earned the name "Telegraph Road." The wires eventually came down, but stretches of the old road stayed visible for generations as a reminder of an early communications lifeline.
Why it matters
The road marks the arrival of the telegraph in frontier Texas — the technology that, more than any other, began to knit distant settlements into a connected nation.
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