The Killough Massacre
By Virginia Devenport
The story of the Isaac Killough family, nurtured in Jacksonville's memory for well over 100 years, serves as a stern reminder of what life was like for earliest white settlers in the area.
The Killough clan, including Isaac, Sr., his wife and two younger daughters; his four sons, Isaac, Jr., Samuel, Allen and Nathaniel, their wives and children; his married daughters and their husbands, George Wood and Owen Williams; and Williams' two brothers, came to Nacogdoches from Talladega County, Alabama, in 1837.
They settled seven miles northwest of Jacksonville on Christmas Eve, 1837, on land they paid for in gold. This territory had been ceded to the Cherokees by treaty, but the Texas Congress nullified the treaty, over Sam Houston's protests, at about the time of the Killough's settlement. The Woods, Williams and Killoughs built their homes that winter, cleared the land, and in the spring, planted crops. By summer, a large corn crop was maturing. But in August, rumors of a Mexican and Indian uprising in the area sent the families fleeing temporarily to Nacogdoches.
When it seemed safe to return, the families came back to harvest their crops, taking their guns with them to the fields. On October 5, 1837, the men had only a small amount of harvesting to finish, and so left their guns at home after lunch. Some of the women were preparing the wedding dinner for the coming ceremony between Elizabeth Killough and Barakias Owen when a band of marauders swept through the settlement, decimating the entire harvesting party, slaughtering Isaac, Sr., before his wife's eyes, and killing or capturing eighteen of the men, women and children of the settlement.
Friendly Indians helped three of the women and a baby escape to Fort
Lacy, and Nathaniel Killough survived to return to the Jacksonville area.
This atrocity, known as the Killough Massacre, led to further battles
between the Indians and the settlers, and finally in the retreat from
East Texas of the entire Cherokee Nation.
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This native stone monument marks the location of the Killough massacre, which occurred in 1838. It was erected in the 1930s by WPA labor under sponsorship of a group of Jacksonville citizens. |
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Killough Monument may be reached from Jacksonville by making use of the map above; go north on U.S. 69 to Mt. Selman, turn left (west) on F.M. 855. Proceed about three miles, follow signs.. |
Compiled by Greg Smith. If you have any materials you'd like to contribute, please email me.