William Monroe Patton
Crockett, Houston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1855-1915) William Monroe Patton moved to Crockett from Tadmor in 1899 after the death of his brother James H. Patton, with whom he owned a dry goods store. William purchased property on the southwest corner of the public square in Crockett and built a brick structure for his general merchandise business. He constructed six one-story buildings on what became known as Patton Block. William married Flora Elizabeth Gause (1869-1957) and had four children. Recorded - 1996
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When his brother and business partner died, William Monroe Patton came to Crockett in 1899 and reestablished himself as a merchant on the town's public square. He built a brick store and a row of six one-story buildings that became known as Patton Block, anchoring the local commercial district. A married father of four, he was part of the merchant class that shaped small-town Texas at the turn of the century.
Why it matters
Patton's story reflects how local merchants and their storefronts formed the economic and social backbone of the county seats that structured rural American life.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · William Monroe Patton
- · Flora Elizabeth Gause
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
William Elbert "Buck" Mayes
Crockett, TX
Alabama-born Buck Mayes came to Texas in 1856 and served in the Civil War before returning to Houston County to build a career in lumber and merchandise. His enterprises included one of the area's earliest banking operations, helping knit together the local economy in the difficult years after the war. He remained a leading businessman until his death in 1915.
William Van McConnell
Crockett, TX
William Van McConnell was born in Crockett in 1855, the son of an Irish immigrant blacksmith, and after learning that trade he opened a mercantile store on the town square. The family business he built there lasted nearly a century, and he helped charter the First Christian Church. Widowed young, he married his late wife's sister Daisy, a common pattern in an age when families closed ranks around loss.
Harry Frederick Moore
Crockett, TX
Harry F. Moore began his banking career in Ohio, married Anna Laura May in 1885, and by 1891 had settled in Crockett, Texas. He helped organize the First National Bank and served as its president for 22 years beginning in 1904, setting a standard later followed by two of his sons. Beyond banking he helped found banks in neighboring towns and was active in his church and Masonic lodge.
Augustus "Gus" LeGory
Crockett, TX
Gus LeGory came to Texas from Mississippi in 1855 and, after serving in the Civil War, returned to work with a Trinity River steamboat company before building his own overland and river freight business. In 1870 he opened a Crockett saloon and went on to promote the town through banking, coal production, and agriculture. He married Eliza Wortham in 1875 and raised six children, living to age ninety.