Marker dedicated Dec 3, 1987 - Located on north side of the Navarro County Courthouse, Corsicana, TX

Thomas Ingles Smith 
(1800 - 1848)

Thomas Ingles Smith was born in 1800 in Virginia and was a solider in the war of 1812 in a company commanded by his father, General Bird B. Smith.

Smith arrived in Texas late in 1836, and soon enlisted in the Republic of Texas Army  under Gen. Felix Huston.  He was wounded in Battle of the Salado in September 1842.  In December of that year President Sam Houston sent a small group of Rangers under the command of Smith and Eli Chandler to move the archives of the republic to Washington-on-the-Brazos.  The citizens of Austin, in a show of force, prevented the move in what became known as the Archive War. By 1843 Smith was living along Chambers Creek in present Ellis county, and in 1844 was a Texas Ranger and Indian scout.  He commanded the Robertson County Rangers along the frontier in 1845.  As commissioner to negotiate with the Indians, he signed the last treaty made by the Republic of Texas.   Fort Smith, one of a line of fortifications from the Colorado to Red River, was established in 1846 and named for Thomas I. Smith.  Along with two partners, he gave land for the town-site of Corsicana, and was a member of the commission to locate the Navarro County seat in 1848.  He died in Austin in March 1848.

The text of the historical markers have been posted here with the permission of the Texas Historical Commission

Dedication Program

10:00 A.M., Thursday, December 3, 1987

Master of Ceremonies ... J. Forrest Green, Chairman, Navarro County Historical Commission

Invocation ... Dr. David W. Hale, Pastor of Northside Baptist Church, Corsicana

Dedicatory Remarks ... Nelson N. Ross, Member of Navarro County Historical Society

Dedication of Marker ... Malinda Payne Sharpley, Main Street Coorsinator

Acceptance of Marker ... The Honorable Gary Bennett, Judge of Navarro County

Unveiling of Marker ... Pauline M. Moore, Great-Great-Great Granddaughter of Thomas I. Smith.

Historical Research by Wyvonne Putman, Executive Secretary, Navarro County Historical Society.