DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker on Captain William Perry tells it, here's what you need to know about one of Jefferson's earliest and most consequential citizens — and about the night it all ended. William Perry was born on April 5, 1813, and by around 1840, he was already planting roots in Jefferson, Texas, when Jefferson was still finding its footing. He wasn't just passing through.
Perry threw himself into the work of building a town, and I mean that almost literally. Through his shipping business and his hands-on effort dredging a turning basin for ships in the Big Cypress Bayou, he helped shape Jefferson into something remarkable — an inland port. Not a port sitting on a coast, not a port on a great river, but an inland port, deep in East Texas.
And Perry was right there in the middle of making that happen. He bought and developed large tracts of land in the area, and in the process, he became quite wealthy. The man had range.
He owned a hotel that is now part of the historic Excelsior House. He was dealing in real estate, he had his shipping interests, and then — because apparently Jefferson wasn't enough adventure — he traveled all the way out to California during the late 1840s gold rush. Whatever drew him west, he came back.
Jefferson pulled him home. And home, he built to last. Perry constructed a house at the corner of Polk and Clarksville streets for his wife Sardinia — born in 1826 — and their children.
That home was later moved to 203 Clarksville Street and incorporated with another structure, so the building itself kept changin' form long after he was gone. The community trusted him too. He served as mayor of Jefferson from 1863 to 1864.
A respected leader, the marker calls him. A man who arrived with the earliest settlers, dredged the bayou, built the port, built the hotel, built the home, served the town. And then comes January 2, 1869 — the very day William Perry turns in a different kind of history.
He was walking home after midnight when he was fatally shot. Just like that. The builder of Jefferson, the mayor, the shipping man, the gold rush traveler — gone on the street after dark.
William Perry died that night, January 2, 1869. He is buried in Jefferson's Oakwood Cemetery alongside his wife Sardinia, who lived until 1912, and other family members. Sardinia outlasted him by decades.
The Excelsior House still stands. And the Big Cypress Bayou still runs through Jefferson — a town that an early settler named Perry helped dredge into existence.
What the marker says
(April 5, 1813 - January 2, 1869) William Perry was among the first settlers of Jefferson, arriving ca. 1840. Through his shipping business and his work in dredging a turning basin for ships in the Big Cypress Bayou, he played a significant role in the early growth and development of Jefferson as an inland port. He bought and developed large tracts of land in the area, becoming quite wealthy in the process. After traveling to California during the late 1840s gold rush, Perry returned to Jefferson and built a home at the corner of Polk and Clarksville streets for his wife Sardinia (1826-1912) and their children. The home was later moved to 203 Clarksville Street and incorporated with another structure. In addition to his real estate dealings and shipping interest, Perry owned a hotel which is now a part of the historic Excelsior House. A respected community leader, he served as mayor of Jefferson from 1863 to 1864. On January 2, 1869, Perry was fatally shot while walking home after midnight. William Perry and his wife, along with other family members, are buried in Jefferson's Oakwood Cemetery.