DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and it's one worth hearing. About a half mile northwest of where you're rolling right now, there used to be a town. Not just any town — one of the very first ports of entry into Texas for Anglo-Americans.
That town was Jonesboro. And the ground it stood on saw some history that would make your jaw drop if you stopped long enough to let it sink in. This crossing on the Red River was open as early as 1814, and by 1817 it was heavily used.
Folks were pouring through. The town itself takes its name from Henry Jones — born 1789, died 1861 — who owned the ferry there from 1819 to 1821. A ferry across the Red River, right at the edge of a world that was still being sorted out by competing governments.
Mexico claimed this ground. The United States claimed it too. That kind of contested territory has a way of drawing interesting people.
And Jonesboro drew some of the most interesting people in American history. In 1832, a man named Sam Houston crossed into Texas right here. Three years later, in 1835, David Crockett came through the same crossing.
Let that sit with you a moment. Two of the most storied figures of the Texas Revolution, both passing through this one spot on the Red River. Meanwhile, the town kept growing.
By 1834, the community counted two thousand three hundred and fifty people. It served as the county seat of Miller County, Arkansas — yes, Arkansas — from 1828 to 1837, because that's how tangled the jurisdictional lines were out here. A well-known road ran southeastward from Jonesboro all the way toward other colonies by way of Nacogdoches, carrying settlers, traders, dreamers, and men with destinies none of them could quite see yet.
But 1836 brought a shift. Clarksville became the capital of the Red River District. And then, the way these things go, the trade started drifting, the settlers followed, and by 1840, Jonesboro had lost its place.
The crowds moved on. The ferries went quiet. A town that once stood at the threshold of a whole new world faded out, leaving nothing but a marker and a half-mile stretch of memory between you and where it used to be.
What the marker says
(About a half mile NW was 19th century town) One of first ports of entry into Texas for Anglo-Americans. Opened early as 1814; heavily used by 1817. Named for 1819-21 ferry owner Henry Jones (1789-1861). Claimed by both Mexico and the United States, town was 1828-37 county seat of Miller County, Ark. Community had 2,350 people by 1834. At this crossing Sam Houston (1832) and David Crockett (1835) entered Texas. A well-known road led southeastward to other colonies by way of Nacogdoches. In 1836, Clarksville became Red River District's capital. By 1840 Jonesboro had lots its trade and many settlers to other areas.