Pottsboro in Grayson County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Preston Road/Shawnee Trail
Photographed by James Hulse, December 31, 2024
1. Preston Road/Shawnee Trail Marker
In 1840, authorized by an 1838 act of the Congress of the Republic of Texas, Col. W.G. Cooke and the Texas First Infantry Regiment laid out a military road from Austin north through what became Dallas to the Holland Coffee Trading Post on Red River (later covered by Lake Texoma).
Coffee developed the town of Preston near the trading post, and Cooke's military route became known as Preston Road between the Red River and Dallas. Immigrants came from Missouri and Arkansas through Indian Territory (Oklahoma) into Texas along Preston Road. In one six-week period in 1845 roughly 1,000 wagons crossed the river into Texas.
From the mid-1850s the road marked the route for Texas first cattle drive. Later known as the Shawnee Trail, it probably was named for a Native American village called Shawneetown north of what became Denison. Cattle swam the Red River at Rock Bluff Crossing, a natural rock formation that served as a chute into the water, later the site of the city of Sherman's water intake station on Lake Texoma. This remained the principal route to the north for Texas cattle until the Civil War. The last large herds moved through Grayson County in 1871.
The old route remains visible at Rocky Point on Lake Texoma and along Hanna Drive. The overall passage is followed by parts of Preston Road in Grayson
this page online
Erected 1998 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 11910.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1840.
Location. 33° 45.453′ N, 96° 40.261′ W. Marker is in Pottsboro, Texas, in Grayson County. It is at the intersection of Grayson Street and Texas Street on Grayson Street. The marker is located in the James G. Thompson Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 610 Grayson St, Pottsboro TX 75076, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Prairies & Lakes Region. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pottsboro (here, next to this marker); In Honor of Our Veterans (approx. 2.3 miles away); Fink (approx. 3 miles away); Perrin Air Force Base (approx. 3.4 miles away); Site of Fort Johnson (approx. 3.7 miles away); Hagerman (approx. 4.9 miles away); Old Bass Home (approx. 5.1 miles away); The Fitzgerald Home (approx. 5.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pottsboro.
Another marker is no longer nearby. George R. Reeves (was approx. 2.2 miles away but has been permanently removed).
Also see . . .
Photographed by James Hulse, December 31, 2024
2. Preston Road/Shawnee Trail Marker
The marker is located on the left side of the two markers.
The Old Preston Road was originally part of a major Indian trail that extended from near the site of present St. Louis, Missouri, to southwestern Texas. Between 1840 and the coming of the railroad three decades later, the road was the principal immigrant route into northern Texas. It was completed in 1843 by soldiers under the command of Col. William Gordon Cooke, who had been in charge of surveying a route for the Military Road for the Republic of Texas. The road started near the community of Preston Bend in present Grayson County. Emigrants from the north crossed the Red River just below its confluence with the Washita River at a ford known as Rock Bluff Crossing. From there the route generally followed the divide between the East Fork and the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.(Submitted on January 4, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
Photographed by James Hulse, December 31, 2024
3. The view of the markers from the parks parking lot
Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 3, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 774 times since then and 92 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 4, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
