HOOD COUNTY — Williamson Road juts through the center of this fiercely conservative pocket of Texas, where steeples and American flags dot the landscape.
Hood County is now home to one of the first highways in the United States named for the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
About 50 community members gathered Saturday to unveil two new signs, each brown with white lettering: CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL PARKWAY. The signs will mark a two-mile stretch of Williamson Road, just south of Granbury, following a proclamation last month by Hood County commissioners.
“I am honored to have a piece of Charlie in Granbury and in Texas,” said Ashley Lewis, a 32-year-old firefighter and emergency medical technician. “We can feel proud every time we drive down this street.”
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Kirk was shot and killed in September while speaking at a university in Utah. The 31-year-old staunch ally of President Donald Trump founded Turning Point USA as a teenager and was lauded for helping organize and galvanize young Republicans.
Since his assassination, Kirk has become a powerful symbol and rallying cry among conservatives. Trump issued a National Day of Remembrance for Kirk, and towns from California to Florida have renamed roads for the activist. Republicans in Oklahoma proposed requiring all state colleges to build a statue of Kirk.
This appears to be the first Texas road dedicated to Kirk, who grew up around Chicago, although petitions have circulated in several other towns to rename streets.
In Texas, Rep. Jeff Leach has pledged to dedicate his first bill of the next regular legislative session to erecting a statue of Kirk on the grounds around the Capitol in Austin. Lawmakers are set to convene next in January 2027.
Hood County Constable John Shirley, who initiated the idea of the memorial, compared Kirk’s death to other major U.S. dates that people remember where they were, such as 9/11 or the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Hood County Precinct 1 Commissioner Kevin Andrews listens to Precinct 2 Commissioner Nannette Samuelson speak at a dedication ceremony for the Charlie Kirk Memorial Parkway on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Granbury. The commissioners dedicated a section of Williamson Road for Kirk.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Jessica Black, 50, who drove to Saturday’s dedication from New Braunfels, said Kirk’s death unleashed a flood of sorrow. Like many, she posed for photos with the road sign.
“I have never cried so much for someone I never met,” Black said. “He changed the world. The mark he left is incredible.”
Not everyone agrees with the rush to rename roads for Kirk. Critics have accused leaders of wasting tax dollars and glorifying a divisive figure. Adrienne Martin, the Democratic party chair for Hood County, said residents are worried about “incoming data centers, infrastructure needs and the cost of living, not dedicating a highway.
“Our Commissioners Court chose to pull a publicity stunt by naming a small portion of a rural road after a right wing podcaster from Illinois,” Martin said. “Unfortunately, the publicity does nothing for the people of Hood County.”
The memorial signs will be staked along Williamson Road on Monday.