Stilson

The community of Stilson traces its origins to the arrival in the 1890s of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. Out-of-state developers O. H. Stilson and Rodney Hill bought land in 1896 and immediately began planning a town. They advertised the new community to farmers in Iowa, and a number of families came here to begin new lives. Among those who came to build homes and establish farms were many Swedish immigrants, including C. F. Seaberg and C. D. Nelson. By the late 1890s the town boasted a fourteen-room hotel, a general store, a gin, a blacksmith shop, a rice mill, a warehouse, a barber shop, a post office, a railroad depot, and a school. The one-room Stilson school served students in all grades, taught by one teacher. the school was closed in 1918 when area children began attending classes in Dayton. The Stilson Post Office was established in 1898 and was located in the general store operated by C. S. Brown. The post office was discontinued in 1925, and rural mail delivery from Dayton began in 1926. Stilson began to decline when the population gradually shifted to nearby Dayton. Descendants of many early settlers still reside in the area. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986

Stilson is a historical marker in Dayton, Liberty County, dedicated in 1986. It is one of 60 historical markers documented in Liberty County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 133 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.0190, -94.9242 near Dayton. The nearest cataloged historic site is Ligon Cemetery (cemetery), about 1.8 miles away. Others within a short drive include First Methodist Church of Dayton, Dayton's Old School, and First Baptist Church of Dayton.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5291009688. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.