Lightnin' Hopkins Marker Cast, Ready For Dedication

​Good news on the Lightnin' Hopkins historical marker front: It officially exists. R. Eric Davis, who raised the necessary funds and successfully petitioned the Texas Historical Commission to approve the marker, has received the monument to the legendary bluesman who spent the majority of his life in Houston.

"I'm incredibly excited about this," Davis said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "I was fully expecting to wait quite a while longer before we received it."

Made of aluminum, the marker was cast and forged by The Southwell Company in San Antonio. It is more than nine feet tall, pole included, and weighs more than 75 pounds, Davis told Rocks Off via email this morning. When installed on the grounds of Project Row Houses in Third Ward, the area where "The King of Dowling Street" spent most of his time in Houston, it will be about six feet tall.

​Davis is now working on organizing the dedication ceremony, which he hopes will take place in November. The exact date, performers and other guests will be announced soon, he says. He is still taking contributions for the Lightnin' Hopkins Marker Fund in the following ways:

• Direct deposit through any U.S. Bank of America branch, account number 5860 1320 5659 or check made out to:

Lightnin' Hopkins Marker Fund

501 E. 16th St.

Houston, TX 77008

• Paypal donation to redavis59@comcast.net.




• Downloading Houston singer-songwriter and 2010 Houston Press Music Award winner Lee Alexander's Hopkins-esque song "Wheel" here; all proceeds go to the fund.




• Purchasing a limited-edition print of Andrew A. Hanson's 1959 portrait of Hopkins (above right) for $100. Davis says less than 30 prints are available; purchase by contacting him through his email.