Stephen Augustus Pace

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Stephen Augustus Pace. Born September 19, 1848.

And if you're passing through Corsicana right now, there's a good chance you're rolling past a piece of ground that remembers him. The marker puts it plain, so let's walk through it together. Pace came to Texas in 1868, and he didn't arrive with a fanfare or a legend already built.

He settled first in Fairfield, which is where the story quietly pivots, because that's where he met and married Achsah Maddox. Then, in 1871, the two of them moved to Corsicana. Now, Corsicana in those years was a town with ambition, and Pace fit right in.

He established a wholesale grocery business, which is the kind of enterprise that puts roots down and keeps a community fed and employed. But the man didn't stop at business. He served as a city alderman.

He served as police and light commissioner. He became a director of the Corsicana commercial club, which the marker notes was the forerunner of what we'd call a Chamber of Commerce today. And then there's this detail that I think says something quiet and true about a person: he was a member of the committee that established the town's public library.

Not a headline grabber, that. Just a man sitting on a committee, making sure his neighbors would have books. From 1887 until his death on March 1, 1921, Pace lived in the house this marker stands beside.

Not a famous house. Not a battlefield or a capitol. Just the home of a man who showed up, built something, served, and stayed.

What the marker says

(September 19, 1848-March 1, 1921) Stephen Augustus Pace came to Texas in 1868. He settled first in Fairfield, where he met and married Achsah Maddox. They moved to Corsicana in 1871. Pace established a wholesale grocery business and was active in a number of civic organizations. He served as a city alderman and as police and light commissioner. He was a director of the Corsicana commercial club (forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce) and a member of the committee which established the town's public library. He lived in this house from 1887 until his death.