Central National Road of the Republic of Texas

In an effort to improve overland transportation, the Republic of Texas Congress authorized the Central National Road in Feb. 1844. The roadway was to be 30 feet wide and cleared of stumps over 12 inches high. A survey team led by Major George W. Stell platted the route from near the mouth of Elm Fork on the Trinity River in present downtown Dallas, northeast to Kiomatia on the Red River. The highway linked a road leading south to Austin and San Antonio with a U.S. military highway extending north to St. Louis from Fort Towson in present Oklahoma. Running east from Dallas, the Central National Road turned northeast to cross the area that is now Rockwall County. Portions of FM 740, known locally as Ridge Road, follow the historic route. The earliest Rockwall County pioneers settled near the road about 1846. Sterling R. Barnes located his homestead about two miles south of the present site of Rockwall, and John O. Heath settled near the crossing of the East Fork of the Trinity River. The towns of Heath, originally named "Black Hill" and later "Willow Springs," and Rockwall, the county seat, were founded along the highway. (1977)

Central National Road of the Republic of Texas is a historical marker in Rockwall, Rockwall County, dedicated in 1977. It is one of 17 historical markers documented in Rockwall County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 41 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.9141, -96.4488 near Rockwall. The nearest cataloged historic site is First United Methodist Church of Rockwall (historical marker), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Rockwall Cemetery - Highway 205, Memorial Park, and First Baptist Church of Rockwall.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5397006136. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.