Alexander Cockrell (June 8, 1820 - April 3, 1858) Sarah Horton Cockrell (Jan. 13, 1819 - April 26, 1892) Alexander Cockrell came to Dallas area in 1845. After serving in the war with Mexico (1846-47), he filed on 640 acres in the Peters Colony, and married Sarah Horton on Sept. 9, 1847. Cockress operated a freight line to Houston, Jefferson, and Shreveport until 1852, when he purchased remainder of the Dallas townsite from John Neely Bryan (1810 - 1877), the "Father of Dallas." Cockrell promoted growth of the village in the mid-1850s by building a brick factory, a sawmill, and a bridge across the Trinity River, replacing a ferry he had bought from Bryan. Cockrell's influence on Dallas' prosperity ended April 3, 1858, when he met an untimely death in an altercation over an unpaid debt. Sarah Horton Cockrell became the first woman in Dallas to exert economic influence outside the home. She completed the unfinished St. Nicholas Hotel, and rebuilt it after the fire of July 8, 1860; operated the ferry after the bridge collapsed in 1858 until a new span was erected in 1872; and, added a flour mill and other businesses to the community. The Cockrells' enterprises played a vital role in the establishment of Dallas as an early regional trade center. (1973)
Alexander Cockrell_Sarah Horton Cockrell
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Alexander Cockrell_Sarah Horton Cockrell is a historical marker in Dallas, Dallas County, dedicated in 1973. It is one of 352 historical markers documented in Dallas County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 574 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 32.7780, -96.8084 near Dallas. The nearest cataloged historic site is Site of First Ferry and Bridge (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include John Neely Bryan, 1810-1877 and Margaret Beeman Bryan, 1825-1919, Dallas County Criminal Courts Bldg., and Dallas County Courthouse (1892).
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5113006654. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
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