Burkham Settlement

Burkham Settlement was among the earliest Anglo-American settlements in Texas. It was founded by Charles Burkham, his wife, Ann (Abbet), their children, and several other families. According to the 1830 register of the Wavell Red River colony (see WAVELL, ARTHUR GOODALL), the Burkham group reached the Red River valley on July 4, 1816. By March 1820 they crossed the Red River to locate permanently at the mouth of Mill Creek, near what became the border of Red River and Bowie counties and a short distance from the Pecan Point settlement. Also among the early settlers were Hudson Posey Benningfield, Henry B. Stout, and Isaac Bateman. The settlement served as a foothold for Anglo-American colonization in the region and paved the way for large-scale settlement of Northeast Texas during the 1820s and 1830s. The area was a stopping point for others entering Texas, including David Crockett, Nathaniel Robbins, and Francis M. Hopkins. As late as the 1930s descendents of the original settlers still lived in the area.