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Stephen Jackson (1803-1860), a settler in the Lorenzo de Zavala colony, was granted one league (4,428 acres) of land in this area in 1835. Jackson built his home near this site and cleared pastures for cattle and horses on most of the land. The grant also included palmetto thickets shielding numerous mineral springs and lakes of sulphurous water. Settlers frequented the lakes seeking cures, and a small community grew near Jackson's home. In 1851 he sold this land but in 1856 acquired a controlling interest in the spa that had developed nearby (then located about 5 mi. NW). As late as 1878, Jackson's daughter Minerva (1838-1911) and her husband James A. Merchant (1836-1886) were operating the spa's hotel. Jackson died in 1860 and was buried near his home. In 1871 his widow Susan Choate Jackson (1807-1873) designated four acres of her homestead as a cemetery, including her husband's grave. She was subsequently buried here, along with five of their children. Other members of the Sour Lake community have been buried here, as well as numerous descendants of Stephen Jackson. Surnames of Jackson family descendants represented here include Frazier, Guedry, Herring, Merchant, Mowbray, Moye and Pietzcker. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 |
