Tarrant County is named for Brigadier General Edward H. Tarrant, who made a name for himself defending the Republic of Texas and the State of Texas from hostile Indians. He was born in South Carolina in 1799.
He first saw action as a young man in the War of 1812, including the Battle of New Orleans. After the war, he moved to Tennessee and was elected a colonel of the Tennessee state militia. By the early 1830s, he had he moved to Texas and established a ranch in Red River County. He was elected to represent Red River County in the House of Representatives of the Second Texan Congress, but resigned after deciding he could better serve the Republic by fighting Indians.
He practiced law, farmed, and led a northeast Texas militia unit called the Fourth Brigade. His Indian-fighting career culminated in the battle of Village Creek in May 1841. When he died in 1858, he was one of the most prosperous men in Red River County. He was initially buried in the William Fondren family cemetery near Weatherford. On January 28, 1859, Tarrant’s remains were moved to a grave on his Chambers Creek family farm in Ellis County. On March 3, 1928, he was buried in his final resting place: Pioneers Rest Cemetery in Fort Worth. As his plain grave says, “Tarrant county is his monument.”