De Cordova, Jacob

Born to a Jewish family in Spanishtown, Jamaica, British West Indies, Jacob De Cordova immigrated to Philadelphia about 1830. After a brief return to Jamaica where he founded a newspaper, he became engaged in trade between New Orleans and Texas. He and his brother Phineas (1819-1903) opened a shop in Galveston in 1837, then Jacob moved to Houston to establish a highly successful land agency. When Galveston's John S. Sydnor (1812-1869) acquired a large tract of land here on the Brazos River's West Bank in 1847, De Cordova was retained to survey and sell the property. He in turn hired George Bernard Erath (1813-1891) to conduct the survey. By 1848 De Cordova obtained control of the tract and journeyed here with Erath to lay out the town of Waco. About 1849 De Cordova also was retained to sell a vast tract near here on the East Bank of the Brazos. De Cordova donated several lots to the new town, including this Waco Spring site, the common square, and sites for numerous schools and churches. He died while formulating a scheme to industrialize the Brazos River Valley and was buried at Kimball in Bosque County (about 45 mI. nw). In 1935 De Cordova's remains were moved to the state cemetery in Austin.

De Cordova, Jacob is a historical marker in Waco, McLennan County, dedicated in 1986. It is one of 198 historical markers documented in McLennan County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 224 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.5607, -97.1282 near Waco. The nearest cataloged historic site is Waco Suspension Bridge, The (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Waco Springs, Waco, and Gerald-Harris Shootings.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5309002708. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.