Murdoch McDonald was born in North Carolina on February 15, 1810, the son of Scottish immigrants. About 1832 he went to Georgia, where he met Dr. George Lester. In 1839, McDonald, along with Lester and his family, came to Texas. Settling in the Mound Prairie area of Anderson county, McDonald farmed and Lester opened his medical practice. In 1843, McDonald married George Lester's daughter, Sarah. They had nine children, six of whom lived to adulthood.
In 1871, McDonald donated three hundred acres of land to the International Railroad Company, with the stipulation that a town and station be established, and that he would receive three lots in the town. By 1872 the railroad had reached the new town, and McDonald built a hotel at this site on one of his city lots. The hotel became a social center of the area.
Murdoch McDonald, considered the founder of Neches, remained a leader in the community until his death on November 1, 1889. He and his wife are both buried in the Mound Prairie Cemetery. Most of their children remained in the county. One son, John, and a grandson, Walter H. McDonald, operated retail businesses in Neches for many years.
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