DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and friend, this one's got all the ingredients of a proper Texas showdown. Two hundred armed men, a governor calling in the militia, and at the very root of it all, one surveyor who could not get his figures straight. Settle in.
Back in 1850, Van Zandt County planted its county seat — right on private property. A surveyor's error, plain and simple, but the kind of mistake that has a long memory. For twenty-seven years, discontent simmered over that location, until finally someone decided enough was enough and called an election.
That brings us to May 28, 1877. County Judge Cadwell Walton Raines ordered the court records moved from Canton to Wills Point. Now, moving the records meant moving the seat of power, and the folks around Canton had some feelings about that.
Strong feelings. The kind you express with firearms. About two hundred armed men from around Canton marched on Wills Point.
Two hundred. That is not a protest — that is an army. Governor R.
B. Hubbard took one look at the situation and assigned militia troops to maintain order. And here is the thing — it worked.
Fighting was averted. The guns never went off. Then came October 1878, and the records were returned.
Canton held on. The county seat ultimately remained right there in Canton — where it had been all along, surveyor's mistake and all. Some wars end with a bang.
This one ended with a ledger book riding back down the road.
What the marker says
Due to a surveyor's error, the county seat of Van Zandt County was located on private property in 1850. An election was called 27 years later because of discontent with the site. On May 28, 1877, County Judge Cadwell Walton Raines ordered court records moved to Wills Point from Canton. Many citizens objected, and about 200 armed men from around Canton marched on Wills Point. Governor R. B. Hubbard assigned militia troops to maintain order and fighting was averted. The records were returned in October 1878 and the county seat ultimately remained in Canton. (1997)