Peter Whetstone (c. late 18th century – 1843) was an early pioneer leader in the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

most remembered for founding the city of

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population of ...

with

Isaac Van Zandt Isaac Van Zandt (July 10, 1813 – October 11, 1847) was a political leader in the Republic of Texas. Van Zandt County, Texas, was named in his honor. Early life Van Zandt was born on July 10, 1813, in Franklin County, Tennessee, to Jacob and ...

. Whetstone married Dicey, or Dicy, Webster in 1816 in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. He may have left Arkansas for Texas in 1829, when he transferred land to a Charlton Thompson in Lovely County, Arkansas, in what is now

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. When he settled in Harrison County, Texas in 1838 he received a first-class certificate grant, which were only issued to married men who were in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

when the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was form ...

was ratified, indicating he was in Texas before March 2, 1836. In 1841 a new

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

was sought for Harrison County, and Whetstone offered some of his land in central Harrison County to build a church and a school on, and to subsequently divide the remainder into 190 lots. Commissioners were initially concerned that the water in the area would not be good. The reason for moving the county seat from a site on the Sabine River like Pulaski was that it had poor water and was prone to disease and flooding. Whetstone supposedly convinced the commissioners that the water was good by pulling a jug of

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

out from a hollow in an oak tree in what is now downtown Marshall. He passed around the jug, and convinced the commissioners to build on the site; either by convincing them that the whiskey (and water) were good, getting them drunk, or both. Some historians view this account as embellished or untrue. Despite being credited with the founding of Marshall, Whetstone's friend Isaac Van Zandt laid out the city and named it in honor of

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

. Whetstone soon became entangled in the Regulator–Moderator War as a Moderator. He supposedly killed over twenty people, and was described in his obituary as a "noted freebooter who for many years has been an object of terror and hatred on the eastern frontier of Texas". In November 1843, Whetstone was shot and killed by a Regulator, Col. William T. Boulware, on Marshall's city square, later named Whetstone Square. His estate remained unsettled by his widow Dicey for some years after his death. Whetstone's grave is unmarked, although he is traditionally believed to be buried at a site off what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Ironically, Whetstone, who was illiterate, is often attributed with establishing Marshall as an educational center by helping to finance early schools and academies.

References

Whetstone, Peter Whetstone, Peter {{US-hist-stub