DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, picture this corner in Clarksville, Red River County — right across the street from where a county courthouse used to stand before it was torn down in 1885. That courthouse is long gone.
But the story that happened across from it? That one stuck around. This is the tale of the Donoho Hotel and stage stand, and what it meant to keep Texas connected during the Civil War, 1861 to 1865.
Travel in those years was heavy. That's what the marker says, and friend, that's an understatement worth sitting with. Think about what was moving through this part of Texas — soldiers arriving from Arkansas, from Indian Territory, from elsewhere, men who'd been away long enough that home felt like a rumor, catching the stage right here to finally go find out if it was still true.
And while they waited, or while they passed through, many of them stopped to give news — personal news from the camps — to the Clarksville Standard, one of fewer than twenty Texas papers that managed to keep publishing throughout the entire war. Fewer than twenty. The Standard put a particular emphasis on that personal news from the camps, and soldiers' families valued it.
You can imagine why. Now let's talk about the coaches themselves, because the scheduling alone tells you something about the ambition of this operation. Passengers bound for Marshall left at four in the morning — four a.m. — on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
They went by way of Daingerfield and Jefferson, where steamer connections could be made. Then railroad and stage connections at Marshall, forty-two hours after the coach rolled out of here in the dark. Forty-two hours.
The stage to Waco ran every second day, going by Paris, Bonham, McKinney, Dallas, Waxahachie, and Hillsboro — arriving in four days and fourteen hours. And Waco wasn't the end of the line either. From there you could connect onward to Henderson, Hempstead, Nacogdoches, San Antonio.
Across Confederate Texas, thirty-one stage lines were hauling mail, soldiers, and civilians. Twenty-six of those thirty-one made connections with railroads or steamships, keeping people and information moving in a time when moving was everything. This corner in Clarksville was a knot in that whole web — the place where a soldier stepped off one road and caught another one home, and maybe left word for the Standard on his way out the door.
What the marker says
Across the street from this site, and facing the County Courthouse which was later (1885) torn down, the Donoho Hotel and stage stand operated during the Civil War, 1861-65. Travel in those years was heavy. Soldiers arriving in Texas from Arkansas, Indian Territory or elsewhere would catch the stage here for home. Many called by to give news to the Clarksville "Standard," one of fewer than 20 Texas papers to be published throughout the war. The "Standard's" emphasis on personal news from camps was valued by soldiers' families. Stagecoach passengers for Marshall left at 4 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, going by Daingerfield and Jefferson, where steamer connections could be made. Railroad and stage connections were made at Marshall, 42 hours after the coach left here. The stage to Waco every second day went by Paris, Bonham, McKinney, Dallas, Waxahachie and Hillsboro, arriving in 4 days, 14 hours. Connections made in Waco included Henderson, Hempstead, Nacogdoches and San Antonio. 31 stage lines in Confederate Texas hauled mail, soldiers, civilians. 26 made connections with railroads or steamships, expediting travel.