Marshall (1964)

Two years after Harrison County was created by the Republic of Texas Congress in 1839, landowner Peter Whetstone offered property for a courthouse, a church, and a school in an effort to persuade county officials to locate the seat of government in the new town formed on his land. Isaac Van Zandt, the local representative to the Republic Congress, named the new community Marshall in honor of U. S. Chief Justice John Marshall. By 1850 it had become one of the wealthiest towns in East Texas, with a population of about 2,000 and a number of cultural, religious, and civic organizations. An important Confederate stronghold during the Civil War, Marshall was home to the wartime capital of Missouri and the postal headquarters of the South's Trans-Mississippi Department. Following the war, it was the site of an office of the Freedmen's Bureau. After the Texas and Pacific Railway located its division point, shops, and offices here in the 1870s, Marshall became a major regional marketing and educational center. Colleges located here included Marshall University, Marshall Masonic Female Institute, Wiley College, Bishop College, and East Texas Baptist College (later East Texas Baptist University).

Marshall is a historical marker in Marshall, Harrison County, dedicated in 1964. It is one of 103 historical markers documented in Harrison County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 270 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.5450, -94.3672 near Marshall. The nearest cataloged historic site is Harrison County Courthouse (1900) (courthouse), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Harrison County, Whetstone Memorial, and Harrison County Courthouse.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5203010188. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.