Henderson Yoakum Homesite

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Henderson Yoakum Homesite, out in Walker County. Now, some folks come to Texas and make a little noise, then fade away. Henderson Yoakum came to Texas and wrote the whole thing down.

Born in 1810, Yoakum arrived in Texas in October of 1845, making his way here from Tennessee. He was a soldier, a politician, a lawyer, and apparently a man who did not believe in idle afternoons. He settled first in Huntsville, but in December of 1847, he purchased 640 acres from J.H.

Shepherd, seven miles east of town. And that's where things get interesting. Out on that land, Yoakum built himself a center-hall country home, hand-hewn logs and mill-sawn framing, the kind of place you build when you plan to stay a while and do serious work.

He moved out from Huntsville and settled in. Then he got busy. He divided his time between practicing law, teaching at Austin College, and researching and writing.

Now, friend, that is not a light schedule. That is a man running three lives at once under one roof. And what did all that research and writing produce?

A comprehensive two-volume history of Texas, published in 1855, and still considered significant among historical writings to this day. He wrote it right here, on 640 acres in what the marker calls Shepherd's Valley, seven miles from Huntsville. Henderson Yoakum passed in 1856, just a year after that history saw print.

But Texas remembered. In 1876, the Texas legislature created Yoakum County and named it in his honor. And in 1936, a Texas Centennial historical marker was placed at the site of his home.

The man built a log house, wrote the history of a whole state, and ended up with a county named after him. Not a bad run for a fellow from Tennessee.

What the marker says

Soldier and politician Henderson Yoakum (1810-1856) arrived in Texas in oct. 1845 from Tennessee. In Dec. 1847, he purchased 640 acres from J.H. Shepherd seven miles east of Huntsville. At this site Yoakum built a center-hall country home from hand-hewn logs and mill-sawn framing and moved from Huntsville. He divided his time between practicing law, teaching at Austin College, and researching and writing. It was here that he wrote a comprehensive two volume history of Texas, published in 1855 and still significant among historical writings. In 1876, the Texas legislature created and named Yoakum county in his honor. A Texas centennial historical marker was placed at the site of his home in shepherd's valley in 1936. (2016)