Albert Clinton Horton

(1798-1865) Georgia native Albert Clinton Horton came to Texas in 1834 from Alabama, where he had served in the state legislature. He established a plantation along Caney Creek in present Wharton County. In 1835, he returned to Alabama to recruit volunteers for the Texas army, and he served as colonel of a cavalry unit during the Texas revolution. Upon the establishment of the Republic of Texas in 1836, Horton was elected to Congress. He was chairman of the commission appointed by President M. B. Lamar, which selected Austin as the site for a permanent capitol for the Republic of Texas in 1839. When Texas became a state in December 1845, Horton was elected its first lt. governor. He served as acting governor for a year while Governor Henderson was leading Texas forces in the Mexican war. When Baylor University was founded in 1845, Horton was a charter trustee. By the 1850s, he had homes in both Wharton and Matagorda. His home near this site, "Sycamore Grove," was razed in 1960. A community leader, he helped found Wharton's First Baptist Church. He and his wife, Elias Holliday, had six children, only two of whom lived to maturity. Horton died in 1865, and is buried in Matagorda Cemetery. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986

Albert Clinton Horton is a historical marker in Wharton, Wharton County, dedicated in 1986. It is one of 44 historical markers documented in Wharton County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 128 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.3082, -96.0801 near Wharton. The nearest cataloged historic site is Sycamore Grove Plantation-Horton Family (cemetery), about 0.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include Wharton Hispanic Cemetery, Wharton African American, and Wharton Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5481006475. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.