Mount Sterling

MOUNT STERLING, TEXAS (Nacogdoches County). Mount Sterling, also known as Aldridge's, Goodman's Crossing, and Mount Huling, was an early riverport on the Angelina River seven miles south of the site of what is now the State Highway 21 bridge in western Nacogdoches County. The settlement was founded in 1837 by John M. Durst near the ruins of the Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Maria Mission. Durst built a saw and grist mill and a large storehouse and in 1838 contracted to purchase $30,000 worth of merchandise to supply early settlers. He also constructed a toll bridge over the Angelina, connecting two sections of El Camino Real (also known as the Old San Antonio Road qv ) with Mount Sterling. Durst's large home, which overlooked the river below, was used as a sanctuary during Cherokee raids. A post office operated at the community from 1837 to 1840, but Indian raids and the Cordova rebellion in 1838 made life hazardous in the new town. Durst abandoned the settlement around 1840 and moved to Leon County; within a few years Mount Sterling had been abandoned. Since then the area has been variously known as Aldridge's, Goodman's Crossing, and Mount Huling.