Lightnin' Hopkins honored with historical Marker

Lightnin' Hopkins honored with historical Marker
February 1,2010
Andrew Dansby
Peep

Lightnin' Hopkins, the late legendary Houston blues musician, has been awarded a historical marker by the Texas Historical Commission. The marker will likely be placed this fall at the corner of Dowling and Francis in the Third Ward, where Hopkins lived.

The Centerville-born Sam Hopkins moved to Houston in the 1920s and lived here until his death in 1982. A statue of Hopkins stands in Crockett, but his headstone in Forest Park Cemetery was the only public marker that tied Hopkins to this city. Houstonian Eric Davis led the campaign to fund a historical marker after visiting Hopkins' grave site.

A fan for more than a decade, Davis visited the grave with his daughter, only to find the headstone faded and covered with grass. "Once we got there, it was like, 'This is it?'," he says. "'This is all we have for this guy?'

"This guy has done so much for the blues internationally and locally and regionally it was kind of sad for me to see that there's nothing in Houston to honor him."

Initially Davis thought about putting the marker near the grave, which can be difficult to find. But Project Row Houses offered some of its property on Dowling, fitting for a marker honoring a man who used to play his guitar and sing while riding a bus up and down the street.

David received donations from the Houston Blues Society and individual donors to pay for the marker and the installation. The next step, he says, is raising funds for "a decent dedication ceremony to really honor him."