Persimmon Grove and Capt. Hill's Military Camp

Up to 1860, pioneers found here a grand 100-square-mile prairie overgrown with high grass. The grove of persimmons 100 yards west of this spot formed an island on the north-central edge of the prairie. The locality's only trees, the persimmon grove was a gathering place where settlers swapped news or livestock and followed other casual pursuits. When Texas and other states seceded from the Union and prepared for war, Lamar Cavalry Company No. 2 was organized here on June 10, 1861, by Methodist lay minister and Mexican war veteran James Hill (1827-90). Capt. Hill drilled his men for several months on the prairie beside the grove. Then it became known that militia laws would forbid such cavalry units to leave the state of Texas. Disbanding, Hill's men formed Company E, 9th Regiment, Texas Infantry, and were mustered into Confederate service on Nov. 26, 1861. In Ector's Brigade, French's Division, army of Lieutenant General Polk, they fought at Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and other actions. Farmers later plowed up the prairie and planted trees that obscured the persimmon grove. Yet is has become a landmark of pioneer days.

Persimmon Grove and Capt. Hill's Military Camp is a historical marker in Petty, Lamar County, dedicated in 1977. It is one of 46 historical markers documented in Lamar County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 89 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.6824, -95.8173 near Petty. The nearest cataloged historic site is State Highway 5 Bridge at High Creek (Gone) (historic place), about 6.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include Smiley-Woodfin Native Prairie Grassland, Tridens Prairie, and State Highway Bridge 5 at Big Pine Creek (Gone).

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5277008220. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.