Whetstone Memorial

Duane's take

Well, the marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Out here in Harrison County, there's a memorial that carries two names worth rememberin': Peter Whetstone and Dicey Whetstone. Pioneer settlers, both of them, the kind of people who showed up before the roads did.

Now, the Republic of Texas, back in 1838, granted Peter Whetstone a headright. That's a piece of land, earned by the act of being here, of planting yourself in new ground and calling it home. Five years later, in 1843, Peter and Dicey Whetstone made a decision that would outlast them by a long stretch.

They donated a portion of that very headright, that land the Republic itself had placed in their hands, as the site of what would become the City of Marshall. The city you might've just driven through, or maybe you're headed to right now. Two names on a stone, a headright, a donation, and a city that's still standing.

Sometimes the biggest things start with somebody just giving something away.

What the marker says

In memory of Peter Whetstone and Dicey Whetstone, pioneer settlers in Harrison County. Donors in 1843 of the site of the City of Marshall, a part of the Peter Whetstone headright granted in 1838 by the Republic of Texas.