Navarro County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Formed from Robertson County, this particular piece of Texas came into being on April 25, 1846, and was organized just a few months later on July 13, 1846. Now, a county needs a name, and whoever was doin' the namin' here made a fine choice.

They called it Navarro, in honor of Jose Antonio Navarro, 1795 to 1871, and if you don't know that name, well, settle in, because you should. Soldier. Patriot.

Statesman. The marker gives him all three, and from what it tells us, every one of those titles was earned. Jose Antonio Navarro put his name on the Texas Declaration of Independence.

Think about that for a moment. That is not a small thing. That is a man who looked at history bearing down on him like a freight wagon and said, I'll sign my name right here.

He served as a member of the Texas Congress in 1838. He went out as commissioner on the Santa Fe Expedition, which, if you know anything about the Santa Fe Expedition, you know that was not a comfortable assignment. And in 1845, he sat as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

The county seat is Corsicana. One county, one name, one extraordinary man behind it. That's Navarro County.

What the marker says

Formed from Robertson County. Created April 25, 1846; organized July 13, 1846. Named in honor of Jose Antonio Navarro, 1795-1871, soldier, patriot and statesman, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Member of the Texas Congress 1838. Commissioner on the Santa Fe Expedition, delegate in 1845 to the Constitutional Convention. County seat, Corsicana.