Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Tom Bosse
Taken: August 27, 2017
Caption: Sam Houston Statue - The Frontier’s Edge
Additional Description: Sam Houston was born in the Shenandoah Valley on March 2, 1793, to Revolutionary War Veteran Major Sam Houston and Elizabeth Paxton Houston. In 1807, then a widow, his mother moved Houston ad his eight siblings by wagon to a farm at the headwaters of Baker Creek in Blount County. As a restless fourteen-year-old, Houston did not want to go to school, nor did he want to work on the farm or in the family’s store where he would be under supervision of his brothers. He ran away to live with the Cherokees along the Hiwassee River. “The tribe “adopted” Houston and gave him the name Co-lon-neh, meaning “the Raven.” At their mother’s request, his brothers attempted to bring him home. Houston replied that he preferred “measuring deer tracks to tape” and “the wild liberty of the Red man better than the tyranny of his own brothers.” He remained with the tribe intermittently from 1809 to 1812, learning their language and living off the land. His appreciation and respect for their culture would be reflected throughout his career. As was mandatory for men of his age, Houston trained with the local militia. In 1810, Houston, the militia drummer, attended an assembly and was charged for “riotously” disturbing the proceedings of the County Court. Houston was fined $5, but the charge was later dropped.
Submitted: September 4, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.
Database Locator Identification Number: p397431
File Size: 1.452 Megabytes

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