DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Canton and the county seat that ended up in the wrong place entirely. Now settle in, because this one's got land disputes, a surveying blunder, and a grudge that outlasted a brick building. The Texas Legislature created Van Zandt County in 1848.
Nearly two thousand square miles of territory, which is a serious piece of Texas real estate. The first seat of government landed at Jordan's Saline — the place now known as Grand Saline — sitting near the county's geographic center. Made sense at the time.
Then Wood County got carved out of part of Van Zandt, and suddenly the old math didn't work anymore. New boundaries meant a new county seat, and officials got to work finding the right spot. In December of 1850, the Commissioners Court purchased 320 acres of land from one Obey W.
Owens and sent a surveyor out to pin down exactly where the new town of Canton ought to sit. Courthouse went up. Jail went up.
Post office too. Things were looking official. And then — in less than three years — somebody noticed something.
The surveyor had made an error. Canton was two-and-a-half miles outside the county's own land. The brand new county seat was sitting on property that didn't belong to the county at all.
It belonged to a man named John George Woldert. Now here's where the story could've gone sideways in a spectacular legal fashion. But Woldert, to his lasting credit, donated 160 acres of that land to the county in January of 1853.
Crisis averted. Nobody had to pack up a courthouse and move it down the road. But Van Zandt County residents?
A good number of them were not in a forgiving mood. They wanted Canton relocated to the original planned site, and that resentment had some staying power. When a brand new brick courthouse went up in 1857, voters went to the polls and elected officials specifically because those officials refused to pay for the building.
For years. The debt from that courthouse didn't get resolved until 1880. That is a long time to hold a position on a construction invoice.
And here's the kicker — the one the marker saves for last. Today, Van Zandt's county seat is still on the wrong site. More than 150 years after that surveying mistake, Canton remains right where it never was supposed to be.
And from that misplaced patch of ground, it has grown into a regional commercial center, known most notably for its First Monday Trade Days. Sometimes the wrong place turns out to be exactly where you end up staying.
What the marker says
The Texas Legislature created Van Zandt County in 1848. It originally included nearly 2,000 square miles of territory. Jordan's Saline, now Grand Saline, was near the county's geographic location and became the first seat of government. Two years later, with the creation of Wood County from part of Van Zandt, officials had to select a new county seat based on the changed boundaries. In December 1850, the Commissioners Court purchased 320 acres of land from Obey W. Owens and sent a surveyor to determine the right site for the new town of Canton. Officials soon built a courthouse, jail and post office in the new town, but in less than three years the county discovered an error in the survey. The new county seat was actually two-and-a-half miles from the county's land. Canton, it turned out, was on property owned by John George Woldert. He donated 160 acres of land to the county in January 1853, however, to avert the legal crisis. Despite Woldert's generosity, which meant county officials did not have to move the county seat or pay him for the mistake, many Van Zandt County residents were unhappy with the situation and wanted Canton relocated to the site as originally planned. So great was the resentment that following construction of a brick courthouse in 1857, county voters elected officials who refused to pay for the building for many years. The debt was finally resolved in 1880. Today, Van Zandt's county seat remains on the wrong site. Since the surveying mistake more than 150 years ago, though, the city of Canton has grown into a regional commercial center, known most notably for its First Monday Trade Days. (2005)