Thomas Hudson Barron
Historical marker location:(March 8, 1796 - February 2,1874) Thomas Hudson Barron, the son of John M. and Susan Mattingly Barron, was born in Virginia. The family moved to Kentucky in 1805. Thomas joined the Kentucky Militia in November 1814 and participated in the Battle of New Orleans. He married Elizabeth Carnall in 1820 in the Arkansas Territory. They joined the Austin colony and came to Texas in 1822, staying one year before returning to Arkansas. The Barrons settled permanently in Texas in 1830 and are listed in Stephen F. Austin's 1831 Registry of Families. The home the Barrons built in Independence was later purchased by Sam Houston.
Thomas and Elizabeth Barron joined the Sterling C. Robertson colony in the mid-1830s. Barron was the Ranger captain in charge of establishing Fort Fisher on the Brazos River in 1837. Elizabeth died after giving birth to twelve children. Thomas married Mary Jane Shelton in 1846 at Falls-on-the-Brazos. They became the parents of ten children and were among the earliest settlers in the area that became Waco.
Barron was clerk of the first McLennan County Court in 1850 and of the first District Court in 1851. He built Waco's first steam mill in the 1850s. A street, school and creek in Waco were named for Barron, who served as McLennan County Tax Assessor in the 1860s after moving to Falls County. Barron died at Masterville (later Bruceville). He was interred at the Tom Cox Cemetery in that area. His grave was moved to this site in 1976. (1999).