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10 Historical Markers to Visit in Huntsville
SAM HOUSTON
General of the Army which won the war for Texas Independence, 1836, and first President of the Republic, 1836-1838, Sam Houston was one of the most controversial and colorful figures in Texas history.
In his eventful career, Houston had resided in Nacogdoches, Liberty, Houston and Austin. He and his wife Margaret( Lea) built this house,“ Woodland”, in 1847 to provide themselves with a town place. With enthusiasm, we wrote to a friend that the new home was a“ bang up place!” and that the climate was“ said to be healthy”.
Houston and his wife lived at Woodland while he was a U. S. Senator, 1846-1859, perhaps the happiest and most prosperous years of his life. Four of their children were born here. The house was built in a style common to the South at the time: squared logs covered with hand-hewn, whitewashed boards. The detached kitchen and law office were built of unfinished squared logs.
In 1859 Houston was elected Governor but, although opposed to secession, he could not keep Texas from joining the Confederacy in 1861. Deposed from office, he returned to his second Huntsville home, called the“ Steamboat House”, where he died in 1863.
Both homes are located on the grounds of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville.
— Markers are located across the museum grounds at 1836 Sam Houston Ave., at Sam Houston’ s gravesite, located at the corner of Avenue I and 9th Street.
HUNTSVILLE“ WALLS” UNIT
The Huntsville“ Walls” Unit remains an active prison to this day.
The Republic of Texas Congress passed a law to establish a prison system in 1842, but it wasn’ t until 1848, after a new law passed the state legislature, that steps were taken to achieve the goal. Huntsville was selected as the site for the state prison facility, and Governor George Tyler Wood appointed master builder Abner H. Cook as first superintendent and construction supervisor for the prison. The first three inmates— a cattle thief, a murderer and a horse thief— arrived at a partially completed facility in 1849.
This penitentiary held Kiowa chiefs Satanta and Big Tree, infamous gunslinger John Wesley Hardin and federal prisoners of war during the Civil War.
Death Row was located in the East Building of the Huntsville Unit from 1928 to 1952, and from 1952 the electric chair was located in a building by the east wall of the unit. The prison remains home to one of the most active death chambers in the United States.
— The Huntsville“ Walls” Unit is located at 815 12th Street.
WELCOME TO HUNTSVILLE 2025 | 25