Eanes-Marshall Ranch

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of the Eanes-Marshall Ranch. Now, Alexander Eanes, born in 1806, made his way to Texas from Mississippi in 1845. That's a man who knew how to pick up and go.

By 1857 he had acquired this very ranch, planted his name on the land, and that name had a way of spreading. A log cabin built on the Eanes ranch became the first Eanes school, and the whole community took the Eanes name right along with it. But Alexander wasn't done dealing.

In 1873, he sold the property to his brother, Robert Eanes, born just a year earlier in 1805. Robert had come to the area following the Civil War, the kind of man who arrives a little later but stays a good while longer. Robert Eanes lived until 1895, and he left his own mark on this land.

He also left it in the family. In 1883, Robert sold the ranch to his son-in-law, Hudson Boatner Marshall, who was born in 1862 and, as it turned out, had an extraordinarily long relationship with this ground, living all the way until 1951. Marshall didn't just settle in quietly, either.

He dismantled the ranch house, every timber and board of it, and moved it to a site right there adjacent to the nearby creek. Three men, two family names, and one piece of Texas ground that held onto all of them. That's the Eanes-Marshall Ranch.

What the marker says

Alexander Eanes (1806-1888) moved to Texas from Mississippi in 1845 and acquired this ranch by 1857. In 1873 he sold the property to his brother, Robert Eanes (1805-1895), who had moved to the area following the Civil War. A log cabin built on the Eanes ranch was the first Eanes school, and the community also assumed the Eanes name. Robert Eanes sold the ranch to his son-in-law, Hudson Boatner Marshall (1862-1951) in 1883. Marshall dismantled the ranch house and moved it to a site adjacent to the nearby creek. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986