Site of Town of Cummins

The pioneer settlement of Cummins developed at this site about 1890 around the saddle and harness shop of the earliest permanent settler, Mississippi native Robert Benjamin Cummins (b. 1848). A post office the following year the nearby town of Sterling City (1.9 miles east) was founded. The two towns became rivals for the designation of county seat when the Texas Legislature created Sterling County from Tom Green County on March 4, 1891. An intense publicity campaign developed, aided by the writings of the respective town newspaper editors: W. L. Thurman of the Cummins paper, the "North Concho News", and S. R. Ezzell of the "Sterling Courier". An election, conducted May 20, 1891, appeared to be a victory for Cummins until several voting boxes were dismissed for technical reasons, resulting in a tie. A second election on July 7 gave Sterling City a 13-vote margin and it was named the county seat. Most Cummins businesses and residents had moved to Sterling City by the end of 1891. Nothing remains of the early townsite, which once included a school, saloon, meat market, mercantile, blacksmith shop, and grocery stores.

Site of Town of Cummins is a historical marker in Sterling City, Sterling County, dedicated in 1981. It is one of 13 historical markers documented in Sterling County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 16 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.8408, -101.0190 near Sterling City. The nearest cataloged historic site is Brown House (historical marker), about 1.6 miles away. Others within a short drive include Brown, R. P., Home, State Hotel - First State Bank, and Sterling County Jail.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5431005525. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.