Marker Inscription
(October 4, 1768 - March 5, 1857) Frontier minister; friend of Stephen F. Austin, father of Texas. A circuit rider in Missouri Conference, Methodist Church, Mr. Stevenson in 1815 made a pastoral trip to Pecan Point, home of Claiborne Wright, member of newly-arrived Anglo-American colony on Texas side of the Red River. Records indicate that his preaching to Wright and friends in 1815 constituted the first Protestant sermons ever given in Texas, then part of Catholic "New Spain." He thus established a beachhead for religious freedom in Texas at this point of entry.
About this site
Stevenson, William is a historical marker in Clarksville, Red River County, dedicated in 1972. It is one of 39 historical markers documented in Red River County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 106 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 33.6114, -95.0503 near Clarksville. The nearest cataloged historic site is Stagecoach Stand, C. S. A. (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Five Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence from Red River County, Confederate Congresses, and Col. Charles DeMorse Home.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5387010894. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
