Republic of Texas m arkers

West of Tomball, Texas, in the Rose Hill Community along FM 2920, are two distinct Texas Historical Commission markers that, now closing in on two centuries ago, relate directly to the soon to be fought Battle of San Jacinto April 26, 1836.

They are the homesites of Samuel McCarley and Abraham Roberts that were established in the late 1820s and early 1830s in an area that became called New Kentucky. The location was a prominent crossroads from then Harrisburg to Washington-on-the-Brazos.

The history is best told by, first, the McCarley marker’s inscription: “McCarley’s home-site was established when he, his wife Celia and their 10 children settled near Spring Creek in 1831.Their neighbor, Abraham Roberts, lived about 3 miles east at a fork in the road. One fork led east to the Trinity River and the other southeast to Harrisburg. On April 15, 1836, the Texas army led by General Sam Houston left camp near the Brazos River and marched east, arriving here at dusk. Overnight, Houston’s 1100 hungry soldiers consumed cattle, corn, and bacon belonging to the McCarleys and burned about 4,000 of their fence rails for fuel.”

The marker also notes that McCarley died two years later in 1838 and that 20 years after his death, in 1858, the State of Texas awarded his widow, Celia, $460 as compensation for damages caused by the Texas Army.

As Houston’s army woke the morning of April 16, after a night of being well-fed, just 3 miles down the road was where the road would split. To the left would lead to the Trinity River and to the right would lead toward Harrisburg where it was known that General Santa Anna was headed.

Robert’s historical marker inscription reads:

“On April 16, 1836, the Texas army under Sam Houston left McCarley’s home and arrived here about midday. Houston’s soldiers, aware that the Mexican army was advancing on Harrisburg, were concerned that Houston would continue to retreat east to the Trinity River.

“Still uncertain about Houston’s chosen route, the Texas army paused upon reaching the crossroads. Soldiers in the army asked Roberts, who was standing on his gate, to show the way to Harrisburg. A great shout arose as Roberts pointed southeast. Houston took the Harrisburg Road and April 21 his army defeated the Mexicans at the Battle of San Jacinto. The decision to take the Harrisburg Road became famous as a turning point in the campaign for Texas Independence.”

It was here that the well-known incident occurred when the “outrageous” Pamela Mann cut loose the oxen she had loaned Houston at the Brazos River to pull the Twin Sisters cannon through the spring muck of rains. He refused to give them back. Portions of the Runaway Scrape was following the army and took the Trinity River eastward trail. A year later, Mann would be a Houston hotel operator.

Roberts, a native of Georgia, had come to Texas as a widower as early as 1827 and settled at this Spring Creek site in 1829. In spring of 1836 it was still a sparsely populated community that became known as New Kentucky. He died in 1850.

(Written by Betty Dunn, Two Rivers Heritage Foundation. Visit www.tworiversheritagefoundation. org for more information or to become a member)