markers are listed in alphabetical order
additional histories

THE FIRST AMERICAN LEGION POST
IN TEXAS WAS ESTABLISHED AT
COMMERCE IN 1919, THE SAME YEAR
THE VETERANS ORGANIZATION WAS BEGUN
NATIONALLY. INSPIRED BY THE
FUNERAL OF PRIVATE ALBERT A.
BARROW, WHO HAD SERVED IN WORLD
WAR I, D. W. B. DE JERNETT DIRECTED
FORMATION OF A LOCAL VETERANS
GROUP. THE FIRST MEETING WAS HELD
IN A BUILDING AT WASHINGTON AND
ALAMO STREETS (2 BLKS. W). CHARTERED
ON JULY 1, 1919 AND NAMED IN HONOR
OF BRUCE B. WILLIAMS, THE FIRST
COMMERCE SERVICEMAN TO DIE IN
WORLD WAR I, THE POST HAS BEEN
A PROMINENT LEADER AT THE STATE
AND NATIONAL LEVELS.

(1982)

1210 Park Street, Commerce

BOURLAND-STEVENS-SAMUELL
HOUSE

BUILT IN 1883 BY VIRGINIA B.
STEVENS, DAUGHTER OF COL. JAMES
BOURLAND, ON LAND DEEDED HIM BY
M. H. WRIGHT, JOINING SITE WRIGHT
DONATED FOR GREENVILLE. BOURLAND
GAVE LAND TO DAUGHTER IN 1854.
PART OF HER EARLIER HOUSE WAS
INCORPORATED INTO THIS SOUTHERN
COLONIAL STRUCTURE. MRS. STEVENS
GAVE HOME TO DAUGHTER, BERTA V.
SAMUELL, WHO SOLD TO C. A. LEDDY
IN 1912. OWNERS HAVE BEEN LEADING
CITIZENS IN THE TOWN'S HISTORY.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1969)

1916 Stonewall Street, Greenville

W. R. J. CAMP HOUSE

CONSTRUCTED IN 1914, THIS WAS THE
HOME OF RESPECTED GREENVILLE
BANKER WILLIAM R. J. CAMP AND HIS
WIFE, DORA. THE IMPRESSIVE TWO-
STORY BRICK CLASSICAL REVIVAL
HOME FEATURES GIANT IONIC COLUMNS
ALONG THE FRONT AND IN TRIPLICATE
FLANKING THE ENTRY STEPS. ALSO
FEATURED ARE THE SIDE GABLES AND
A PORTE COCHÈRE AT THE EAST SIDE,
AS WELL AS THE WINDOW DETAILS
AND THE STATELY SECOND FLOOR
BALCONY. THE CAMP FAMILY OWNED
THE HOME UNTIL THE LATE 1920S.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1987)

2620 Church Street, Greenville

CANEY CEMETERY

CONFEDERATE VETERAN M. J. FOX TRANS-
FERRED A PORTION OF HIS FAMILY PROP-
ERTY TO METHODIST CHURCH TRUSTEES
C. A. WADE AND G. J. DEAN IN 1904 FOR
FIFTEEN DOLLARS. LAND FOR THE ADJACENT
CEMETERY WAS DONATED TO THE CHURCH
BY FOX AND THE AMIS FAMILY IN THE SAME
YEAR. IT INCLUDED THE FOX FAMILY
BURIAL PLOT AND THE 1895 GRAVE OF FOX'S
SISTER ELIZABETH NEUSUM. HERS IS THE
EARLIEST KNOWN GRAVE IN CANEY CEMETERY.
IT IS BELIEVED THAT THESE PROPERTIES
WERE NAMED FOR NEARBY CANEY CREEK. A
BEQUEST FROM COMMUNITY RESIDENT
HUBERT LANGLEY IN 1972 PROVIDED FOR
LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE. THERE WERE 153
GRAVES IN 1997, SOME WITH ORIGINAL BOIS
D'ARC MARKERS. THE CANEY CEMETERY
REMAINS A RECORD OF THE COMMUNITY.

(1998)

1.5 mi. S of Campbell on FM 513; 0.3 mi. W on CR 3107

LALLIE P. CARLISLE
1866-1949

FIRST WOMAN IN TEXAS TO HOLD
AN ELECTIVE PUBLIC OFFICE. UPON
DEATH OF HER FIRST HUSBAND, E. W.
BRISCOE, SHE WAS APPOINTED, APRIL
17, 1902, BY THE COMMISSIONERS'
COURT TO COMPLETE HIS TERM AS
CLERK OF HUNT COUNTY. AT THAT
TIME WOMEN COULD NOT VOTE IN
TEXAS. A RULING BY THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL OF TEXAS UPHELD THE
APPOINTMENT.
MRS. BRISCOE, MOTHER OF FIVE,
LATER MARRIED C. C. CARLISLE.

(1965)

grave marker in East Mount Cemetery, Greenville

CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)

THIS CONGREGATION WAS ORGANIZED IN 1879 AS FIRST
CHRISTIAN CHURCH. LED BY ELDER JAMES PICKENS, A MIN-
ISTER FROM ALABAMA, THE CONGREGATION FIRST MET IN A
UNION CHURCH ON LEE STREET. THE REV. T. W. CASKEY SERVED
AS THE FIRST REGULAR PASTOR OF THE CHURCH, AND A
SMALL FRAME SANCTUARY WAS BUILT ON WESLEY STREET.
THE NAME OF THE CONGREGATION WAS CHANGED TO
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH WHEN THE PRESENT SANCTUARY
WAS BUILT IN 1898-99. THE OLDEST CHURCH STRUCTURE
REMAINING IN GREENVILLE, IT WAS BUILT AT A COST OF
$23,000. AN OUTSTANDING, ROBUST EXAMPLE OF THE GOTHIC
REVIVAL STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE, IT FEATURES INTACT
TOWERS, ART GLASS WINDOWS, AND EXCEPTIONAL GRILL-LIKE
BRICKWORK.
THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY, THIS CONGREGATION HAS BEEN
AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE COMMUNITY. CENTRAL CHRISTIAN
CHURCH MEMBERS HAV EBEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN ESTAB-
LISHING NEW CHURCHES IN TOWN AND HAVE MAINTAINED
BOTH FOREIGN MISSIONARY AND LOCAL OUTREACH PROGRAMS.
RECOGNIZING THE NEED TO PRESERVE THIS CHURCH AS
A LOCAL LANDMARK, THE CONGREGATION BEGAN A MAJOR
RESTORATION PROJECT IN 1986. IT NOW STANDS AS A FINE
EXAMPLE OF LOCAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1989)
National Register of Historic Places (2003)

2611 Wesley Street, Greenville

CENTRAL NATIONAL ROAD

THIS STONE MARKS THE LOCATION OF THE
CENTRAL NATIONAL ROAD
OF
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS
SURVEYED AND ESTABLISHED BY VIRTUE
OF AN ACT OF CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC
OF TEXAS IN 1844, AND RUNNING FROM THE
TRINITY RIVER TO THE RED RIVER, IT CROSSED
THE HIGHWAY NEAR THIS POINT.

"AN OLD ROAD IS THE SOUL OF THE PAST"

PLACED BY THE WYNNE CHAPTER OF THE
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Private, state-approved DAR Marker (1926)

US Hwy 69 at FM 2194, Kellogg

SITE OF BIRTHPLACE OF
MAJ. GEN. CLAIRE L. CHENNAULT (1890-1958)

ORGANIZER-COMMANDER OF THE FAMOUS"FLYING TIGERS"
OF THE CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER IN WORLD WAR II.
AN OUTSTANDING AIR STRATEGIST, CHENNAULT HAD RETIRED
FROM A PIONEER FLYING CAREER WHEN, IN 1937, HE WAS
ASKED BY GEN. CHAING KAI-SHEK TO HELP CHINA DEVELOP
AN AIR FORCE TO COMBAT THREATENING RAIDS BY JAPAN.
FOUR YEARS LATER, WITH WORLD WAR II SPREADING, HE
RECEIVED PERMISSION FROM THE U. S. TO SEEK A CORPS OF
AMERICAN AIRMEN TO HELP TRAIN THE CHINESE. A TOTAL
OF 252 MEN - 87 PILOTS AND 165 GROUND PERSONNEL -
JOINED THE "AMERICAN VOLUNTEER GROUP". ITS POPULAR
NAME RESULTED FROM A MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE SHARKS'
TEETH PAINTED ON THE NOSES OF THE AIRCRAFT.
THE TIGERS FORMED THREE SQUADRONS - "ADAM AND EVE",
"PANDA BEARS", AND "HELL'S ANGELS" - SUPPORTED BY THE
EXPERT PILOTS OF THE CHINA NATIONAL AVIATION CORPS,
A DARING SUPPLY TRANSPORT GROUP. SO EFFECTIVELY HAD
CHENNAULT STUDIED JAPANESE AIR TACTICS THAT HIS TINY
BAND OFFICIALLY DESTROYED 539 ENEMY AIRCRAFT WHILE
LOSING ONLY 90 ITSELF. DURING 1941-1942, THEY CHECKED
JAPAN'S INVASION OF CHINA, THEN JOINED REGULAR UNITS.
JACK CORNELIUS, ALSO A NATIVE OF COMMERCE AND A
CLOSE FRIEND OF CHANNAULT'S, WAS A MEMBER OF THE
FIRST PURSUIT SQUADRON OF THE TIGERS.

(1968)

Lot now owned by Helen M. Douglas

1501 Monroe Street, Commerce

"CHERRY HILL"
HOME OF
THOMAS N. WAUL
1813-1903

NATIVE SOUTH CAROLINIAN, TEXAS PLANTATION
OWNER AND LAWYER, MEMBER FIRST CONFEDERATE
CONGRESS, COLONEL COMMANDING WAUL'S TEXAS
LEGION AT VICKSBURG, UNION EXCHANGE. IN 1863
APPOINTED BRIGADIER-GENERAL, LED HIS BRIGADE
IN BATTLES OF MANSFIELD AND PLEASANT HILL
IN LOUISIANA, AND BATTLE OF JENKINS' FERRY
IN ARKANSAS. MEMBER TEXAS FIRST RECONSTRUC-
TION CONVENTION.

(1963)

county road south of FM 2736, NE of Greenville

CLINTON CEMETERY

ACCORDING TO LOCAL LEGEND, THIS GRAVE-
YARD ORIGINATED WHEN AN UNKNOWN
COWBOY WAS BURIED NEAR THIS SITE WITH
THE PERMISSION OF LANDOWNER JAMES
MASSAY, WHO DESIGNATED THE SPOT AS A
COMMUNITY CEMETERY. MASSAY ALSO GAVE
THE LAND FOR A RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY
ALONG WHICH THE TOWN OF CLINTON WAS
BUILT. THE EARLIEST MARKED GRAVE IN
THE CEMETERY IS THAT OF R. J. MCADAMS
(1836-1859), WIFE OF J. E. MCADAMS.
THE VILLAGE WAS NAMED MASSAYVILLE
IN 1899, BUT WAS LATER RENAMED CLINTON
FOR CHARLES S. CLINTON, AN OFFICIAL
OF THE COTTON BELT RAILWAY. MORE THAN
500 GRAVES IN THIS CEMETERY AND A FEW
SCATTERED HOMES IN THE VICINITY WERE
ALL THAT REMAINED OF THE CLINTON
COMMUNITY IN 1998. THE CEMETERY IS A
RECORD OF THE PIONEERS OF HUNT COUNTY.

(1998)

3.4 mi. N of Caddo Mills on SH 36; 0.4 mi. W on CR 2720

ROUTE OF
OLD COLONY LINE ROAD

EARLY TRAVEL ARTERY. FOLLOWED
THE NORTH BOUNDARY LINE OF THE
CHAS. F. MERCER COLONY, A 6,500-
SQUARE-MILE TRACT GRANTED TO
MERCER IN 1844 BY SAM HOUSTON
(PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
TEXAS) FOR PURPOSE OF BRINGING
COLONISTS INTO TEXAS. SOUTHERN
HALF OF HUNT COUNTY ONCE LAY
IN THIS PIONEER COLONY.
OVER THE ROAD CAME OX-WAGONS
FROM JEFFERSON TO SUPPLY STORES
IN GREENVILLE, McKINNEY, DALLAS,
FORT WORTH, AND THE FRONTIER.
SETTLERS FROM THE OLD SOUTH
TRAVELED IT IN A STEADY STREAM
OF COVERED WAGONS. HIGHWAY 24
TODAY TRACES PART OF THE ROAD.
(1968)

on old road, Hwy. 24, 1 mi. W. of Greenville

INCORPORATION OF COMMERCE

THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE INCORORATION OF THE
CITY OF COMMERCE CAN BE TRACED TO THE 1853 ESTABLISH-
MENT OF JOSIAH H. JACKSON'S GENERAL STORE ABOUT ONE
AND ONE-HALF MILES NORTHEAST OF THIS SITE. THE VILLAGE
THAT DEVELOPED AROUND HIS STORE WAS KNOWN AS COW
HILL, AND IT GREW TO BE AN ACTIVE TRADING CENTER.
IN 1870 A NEW BRIDGE WAS CONSTRUCTED OVER THE
SOUTH SULPHUR RIVER, AND TRAFFIC WAS DIVERTED AWAY
FROM COW HILL. TWO YEARS LATER, WILLIAM JERNIGIN, A
COW HILL BUSINESSMAN, MOVED HIS MERCANTILE STORE TO A
SITE CLOSER TO THE SULPHUR SPRINGS-BONHAM HIGHWAY. THE
CROSSROADS NEAR JERNIGIN'S STORE BECAME A MAJOR
COMMERCIAL CENTER, AND DURING THE 1870S, THE NAME
COMMERCE WAS GIVEN TO THE VILLAGE THAT GREW UP HERE.
ON SEPT. 12, 1885, AN ELECTION FOR INCORPORATION WAS HELD,
AND THE VILLAGE RESIDENTS VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE PRO-
POSAL. INCORPORATION OF THE CITY OF COMMERCE WAS
GRANTED ON SEPT. 25TH BY HUNT COUNTY JUDGE J. S. SHERRILL.
SHERRILL APPOINTED W. W. RUTLAND AS MAYOR, AND HE SERVED
UNTIL CAPT. W. W. MANGUM WAS CHOSEN FOR THAT POSITION
IN THE FIRST CITY ELECTION. THE MAYOR WAS ASSISTED IN THE
CITY GOVERNMENT BY FOUR ALDERMEN. FOLLOWING ITS
INCORPORATION, THE CITY CONTINUED ITS ACTIVITIES AS A
STRONG HUNT COUNTY COMMERCIAL CENTER.

(1985)

1119 Alamo Street, Commerce

SITE OF COMMERCE CHURCHES

IN 1893 THE MISSIONARY BAPTIST
CHURCH ERECTED A SANCTUARY HERE
ON 5 ACRES THEY ACQUIRED FROM
GEORGE LAWSON IN 1887. THE CHURCH
SOLD THE PROPERTY IN 1912. IN 1913
THE COMMERCE CHURCH OF CHRIST
ACQUIRED THE PROPERTY AND IN 1923
THEY MODIFIED AND ENLARGED THE
1893 BUILDING. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
WAS NOTABLE FOR THE NUMBER OF
EAST TEXAS STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE
FACULTY MEMBERS WHO SERVED AS
ELDERS AND PREACHERS FOR THEIR
CONGREGATION. BAPTIST CONGREGATIONS
FROM PARIS AND GREENVILLE PUR-
CHASED THE PROPERTY IN 1964, THEN
SOLD THE CHURCH COMPLEX TO THE
TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH IN 1967.

Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995

1502 Monroe Street, Commerce

COMMERCE POST OFFICE

THE U. S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT
BEGAN CONSTRUCTION OF THIS BUILDING
IN JULY 1917, DURING THE COUNTRY'S
INVOLVEMENT IN WORLD WAR I. COM-
PLETED IN AUGUST 1918 AFTER A
NUMBER OF CONSTRUCTION DELAYS, IT
SERVED AS THE CITY'S MAIN POST
OFFICE FACILITY UNTIL 1971. DEEDED
TO THE CITY THE FOLLOWING YEAR,
IT REOPENED AS A PUBLIC LIBRARY
IN 1973. THE GEORGIAN REVIVAL-STYLE
BUILDING FEATURES A CENTRAL ENTRY
PORTICO AND AN ALTERNATING PARAPET/
BALUSTRADE ALONG THE ROOFLINE.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1991)

1210 Park Street, Commerce

SITE OF
EARLY COMMERCE SCHOOLS

BY 1883, THE SCHOLASTIC POPULA-
TION OF COMMERCE HAD OUTGROWN
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL WHICH OPENED
TEN YEARS EARLIER. LAND AT THIS
SITE, PURCHASED BY THE COMMERCE
EDUCATIONAL ASSOC., WAS CHOSEN
FOR A NEW SCHOOLHOUSE. THE FIRST
BUILDING HERE, A TWO-STORY FRAME
STRUCTURE, BECAME COMMERCE HIGH
SCHOOL. DESTROYED BY FIRE IN 1898,
IT WAS REPLACED BY A LARGER
BRICK BUILDING THAT SERVED AS
COMMERCE HIGH AND LATER AS
CENTRAL WARD SCHOOL. A THIRD
BUILDING, COMPLETED IN 1937, WAS
RENAMED IN 1950 TO HONOR A. L. DAY,
WHO SERVED AS SUPERINTENDENT OF
COMMERCE SCHOOLS, 1900-1935.

Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986

1600 Church Street, Commerce

CONCORD BAPTIST CHURCH

OLDEST INSTITUTION IN
HUNT COUNTY. ORGANIZED 1844
BY REV. BEN WATSON UNDER
A TREE NEAR SHADY GROVE.
FIRST BUILDING ERECTED
NEAR THAT SPOT. SEVERAL
MOVES LATER, CONGREGATION
SETTLED ON THIS SITE, 1885.
CONCORD HELPED ORGANIZE
TEXAS BAPTIST CONVENTION
IN 1848.

(1967)

in the Jacobia Community, 6 mi. NE of Greenville

THE SEVEN COURTHOUSES
OF HUNT COUNTY

IN 1846, WHEN HUNT COUNTY WAS CREATED, GREENVILLE
WAS CHOSEN AS THE COUNTY SEAT. COURT SESSIONS WERE
HELD UNDER OAK TREES AT THE CORNER OF ST. JOHN AND
BOURLAND STREETS UNTIL THE FIRST COURTHOUSE WAS
BUILT HERE IN 1847. A LOG CABIN, IT WAS LOCATED ON THE
WEST SIDE OF THE SQUARE. IT WAS REPLACED IN 1853 BY A
2-STORY FRAME COURTHOUSE ON THE NORTHWEST CORNER.
THE CENTER OF THE SQUARE, WHICH HAD BEEN RESERVED
FOR A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING, WAS USED IN 1858 FOR
THE THIRD COURTHOUSE. THE FIRST BRICK STRUCTURE IN THE
COUNTY, IT WAS CONDEMNED IN 1874. THAT SAME YEAR COUNTY
OFFICES WERE MOVED TO A BUILDING AT 2610 LEE STREET,
PURCHASED FROM THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.
THE FIFTH COURTHOUSE, AN ORNATE RED BRICK BUILDING
WITH WHITE STONE TRIM, WAS CONSTRUCTED HERE IN
1883. THIRTEEN MONTHS LATER IT WAS DESTROYED BY A
FIRE WHICH HEAVILY DAMAGED THE TOWN'S COMMERCIAL
DISTRICT. A NEW COURTHOUSE, WHICH CLOSELY RESEMBLED
THE 1883 STRUCTURE WAS BUILT IN 1885. IN 1928 IT WAS
TORN DOWN TO MAKE ROOM FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE
PRESENT COURTHOUSE, THE SEVENTH FOR HUNT COUNTY. A
FORMAL DEDICATION WAS HELD ON APRIL 11, 1929, THE 83RD
ANNIVERSARY OF THE COUNTY'S FOUNDING.

(1982)

NW corner courthouse lawn, Stonewall & Lee Streets, Greenville

EAST TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY

FOUNDED 1889 AS THE MAYO SCHOOL, IN COOPER (16 MI. NE).
REOPENED WITH ABOUT 35 STUDENTS IN A BRICK STORE ON
THE PUBLIC SQUARE HERE IN COMMERCE IN 1894. STILL
UNDER PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF WILLIAM LEONIDAS MAYO
(1861-1917), A GIFTED TEACHER FROM KENTUCKY. SCHOOL
WAS UNDERWRITTEN BY PUBLIC-SPIRITED LOCAL CITIZENS.
ITS MOST ILLUSTRIOUS STUDENT, SAM RAYBURN (1882-
1961), GAINED INTERNATIONAL FAME AS SPEAKER OF THE
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
THE MAYO SCHOOL PASSED INTO STATE OWNERSHIP IN
1917 AS EAST TEXAS STATE NORMAL COLLEGE, RANDOLPH
B. BINNION, PRESIDENT. AFTER NAME WAS CHANGED (1923) TO
EAST TEXAS STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE, PRESIDENTS WERE
SAM H. WHITLEY (1924-1946), ARTHUR C. FERGUSON (1946-1947)
AND JAMES G. GEE (1947-1966). THE WORD "TEACHERS" WAS
DROPPED FROM THE TITLE IN 1957; IN 1965, IT BECAME
EAST TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY. IN 1966, D. WHITNEY
HALLADAY SUCCEEDED TO THE PRESIDENCY.
EAST TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY HAS MORE THAN 26,000
GRADUATES. IT OFFERS BACHELOR'S AND MASTER'S DEGREES
IN ARTS AND SCIENCE; ALSO THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
DEGREE. ITS 1200-ACRE CAMPUS HAS 150 BUILDINGS. IT IS
ONE OF 23 STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
IN TEXAS ENROLLING OVER 150,000 STUDENS ANNUALLY.

(1967)

SH 50 at West entrance to campus, Commerce

ENDE-GAILLARD HOUSE

GERMAN NATIVE CHARLES FREDERICK
VON ENDE (b.1832) CAME TO GREENVILLE
IN 1857 AND ESTABLISHED A MERCANTILE
BUSINESS ON THE TOWN SQUARE. HE BECAME
ONE OF THE COMMUNITY'S MOST ACTIVE
CIVIC LEADERS, SERVING ON THE SCHOOL
BOARD AND CITY COUNCIL, AND HELPING TO
ESTABLISH THE LOCAL ODD FELLOWS
LODGE. IN 1857-1859, ENDE BUILDT THIS
HOME FOR HIS BRIDE, AMELIA REINECKER.
THEIR DAUGHTER, LOUISE, AND HER
HUSBAND, DR. DAVID L. GAILLARD, BOUGHT
THE HOME IN 1883. AFTER LOUISE'S DEATH
IN 1945, THE HOUSE BECAME PART OF A
LUMBERYARD AND WAS THREATENED
WITH DEMOLITION. ORIGINALLY LOCATED
JUST NORTH OF THE COURTHOUSE SQUARE,
THE ENDE-GAILLARD HOUSE WAS MOVED
TO A CITY PARK IN 1957 AND THEN TO THE
AMERICAN COTTON MUSEUM IN 1996.

(2002)

Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum, Paul Mathews Blvd., IH-30 at Exit 95, Greenville

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
OF CELESTE

ORGANIZED BY FOUR CHARTER MEM-
BERS, THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF
CELESTE WAS BEGUN IN 1887,
THE SAME YEAR THE TOWN WAS
PLATTED BY THE SANTA FE RAILROAD.
THE REV. JIM PRICE WAS CALLED AS
FIRST PASTOR. A TWO-STORY BUILDING
ERECTED ON SOUTH THIRD STREET
SERVED BOTH THE CHURCH AND THE
LOCAL MASONIC LODGE. THE BUILDING
WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE IN 1907,
AND A LARGER STRUCTURE WAS
COMPLETED IN 1910 ON THE SAME
SITE. A NEW SANCTUARY WAS BUILT
ON THE CORNER OF THIRD AND
COCKRELL STREETS IN 1970. THIS
CHURCH HAS BEEN PART OF CELESTE
HISTORY FOR OVER A CENTURY.

(1988)

corner of Third and Cockrell Streets, Celeste

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
OF COMMERCE

ORGANIZED WITH NINE CHARTER
MEMBERS, THIS CONGREGATION BEGAN
ON NOV. 5, 1883, AS THE MISSIONARY
BAPTIST CHURCH OF COMMERCE.
SERVICES WERE HELD IN A UNION
CHURCH BUILDING UNTIL 1883, WHEN
THE FIRST SANCTUARY WAS BUILT. AS
THE CONGREGATION OUTGREW THE
FACILITY, THE WOMEN'S MISSIONARY
SOCIETY BEGAN RAISING ONEY FOR
THIS SITE, AND A NEW SANCTUARY
WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1913. THE
CONGREGATION'S NAME WAS CHANGED
TO FIRST BAPTIST IN 1933. A LEADER
IN COMMERCE'S DEVELOPMENT,
THE CHURCH HAS ACTIVELY SERVED
THE STUDENTS OF EAST TEXAS
STATE UNIVERSITY.

(1983)

1301 Sycamore Street, Commerce

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
OF COMMERCE

DURING THE 1850s A NUMBER OF
FAMILIES FROM THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
SETTLED IN THE COMMERCE AREA
AND BEGAN WORSHIPING TOGETHER.
SERVICES WERE HELD IN THE SCHOOL-
HOUSE BUILT ON LAND DONATED BY
WILLIAM JERNIGIN IN 1872 AND
LATER IN THE UNION CHURCH ERECTED
IN 1880 ON LIVE OAK STREET. THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF COMMERCE
WAS FORMALLY ORGANIZED IN NOV.
1890 DURING EVANGELISTIC SERVICES
CONDUCTED BY THE REV. A. C. HENRY.
THE CONGREGATION PURCHASED THIS
PROPERTY IN 1891 AND COMPLETED
ITS FIRST CHURCH BUIDING IN 1893.

(1985)

Park & Sycamore Streets, Commerce

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
OF COMMERCE

IN NOVEMBER 1888 SEVENTEEN
CHARTER MEMBERS JOINED WITH
THE REV. J. C. GROW (1841-1903) TO
ORGANIZE THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH OF COMMERCE. THE CONGRE-
GATION MET IN THE TOWN'S UNION
CHURCH UNTIL THEIR OWN WOODEN
FRAME SANCTUARY WAS COMPLETED
IN 1893. THE REV. ELIJAH B. FINCHER
BECAME THE CHURCH'S FIRST FULL-
TIME RESIDENT PASTOR IN 1897. A
NEW BRICK SANCTUARY WAS COM-
PLETED ON THE CORNER OF MONROE
AND CADDO STREETS IN 1913, AND
ADDITIONAL STRUCTURES HAVE BEEN
BUILT OVER THE YEARS. THIS CHURCH
HAS BEEN PART OF THE CITY'S
HISTORY FOR OVER A CENTURY.

(1988)

1428 Caddo Street, Commerce

"FOURTH-SUNDAY SINGING"
(HELD ON FOURTH SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH)

A MONTHLY MUSIC "CONVENTION"
FOUNDED IN 1885 OR 1890 BY THIS
CHURCH, AT OLD LOCATION (1/2 MILE EAST)
BEGAN WHEN C. J. OSLIN OF ARKANSAS
HELD A 20-DAY MUSIC SCHOOL HERE.
SINGERS CAME FROM WIDE AREA;
A TUNING FORK WAS USED TOGIVE
PITCH UNTIL INSTRUMENTS WERE
OBTAINED. THE PRESENT OFFICERS
ARE J. G. MURPHY, PRESIDENT, AND
MRS. OLA SPEIGHT, SECRETARY.
ALSO IN 1885, THE VILLAGE OF
"HOOVER'S GIN" WAS FOUNDED NEAR
HERE BY JOHN T. HOOVER, MERCHANT.

(1968)

SH 24, 11 mi. NE of Greenville

GERMANY HOUSE

BUILT IN 1886 FOR GREENVILLE MERCHANT AND
CIVIC LEADER JOSEPH P. GERMANY (1856-1932)
AND HIS NEW WIFE POLLY (TOLBERT) (1862-1889),
THIS SIMPLIFIED SECOND EMPIRE STYLE HOUSE IS
DISTINGUISHED BY SUCH HALLMARKS AS ITS
STRAIGHT MANSARD ROOF AND TOWER. GERMANY
MARRIED ELOISE CONGER IN 1893 FOLLOWING
POLLY'S DEATH. HE HELPED ESTABLISH BURLESON
COLLEGE IN 1895, SERVED AS CITY COUNCILMAN
AND CITY TREASURER AND MANAGED THE CITY
ELECTRIC PLANT IN 1900. IN THE EARLY 1900s,
TEN MEMBERS OF JOSPEH AND ELOISE'S FAMILY
LIVED IN THE HOUSE AT ONCE. THE GERMANY
FAMILY OCCUPIED THE HOUSE FOR MORE THAN
90 YEARS.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1999)

3403 Lee Street, Greenville

GRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

ACCORDING TO LOCAL ORAL TRADI-
TION THIS CONGREGATION WAS ORGAN-
ISED IN 1863 AS THE CUMBERLAND
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BY THE REV.
JOHN NICHOLSON, MAKING IT THE
OLDEST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN
GREENVILLE. THE FIRST CHURCH STRUC-
TURE, BUILT ON WASHINGTON STREET,
WAS RELOCATED TO THE CORNER OF
WESLEY AND HENRY STREETS IN 1902.
THE CONGREGATION WAS RENAMED
GRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN 1908.
IN NEED OF LARGER FACILITIES, THE
MEMBERS BUILT A NEW SANCTUARY
AT THIS SITE IN 1966. THIS CONGREGA-
TION ACTIVELY SPONSORS AREA
CHARITY AND RELIEF PROGRAMS
AND NUMEROUS MISSIONARY EFFORTS.

(1993)

1914 Joe Ramsey Boulevard, Greenville

GRAHAM POINT CEMETERY

NAMED FOR DANIEL BOONE GRAHAM
AND HIS FAMILY WHO SETTLED IN
THIS AREA IN THE MID-1800s, THIS
CEMETERY, ESTABLISHED ON GRAHAM'S
LAND, SERVED THE GRAHAM POINT AND
UNION VALLEY COMMUNITIES FOR
MORE THAN 100 YEARS. ONE OF THE
EARLIEST GRAVES WAS THAT OF
RESINA GRAHAM IN 1860. MANY EARLY
GRAVES WERE MARKED WITH BOIS
D'ARC POSTS THAT EITHER BURNED OR
WERE REMOVED. SEVERAL PIONEER
FAMILIES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS
ARE BURIED HERE, INCLUDING EARLY
SETTLERS NAMED HURST, LINDSEY,
McCASLAND, PARTIN, AND WILLIAMS.
THE LAST RECORDED BURIAL OCCURRED
HERE IN 1991.

(1996)

14 mi. W of Greenville on IH 30, 1.5 mi. S on FM 1565,
0.3 mi. E on CR 2512 (Groves Road) then left on CR 2317

CITY OF GREENVILLE

IN 1846, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE CREATED HUNT COUNTY AND
SPECIFIED THAT GREENVILLE WOULD BE THE NAME OF THE COUNTY
SEAT, HONORING TEXAS WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE VETERAN THOMAS J.
GREEN. VOTERS ULTIMATELY SELECTED THIS LOCATION, ON LAND
DONATED BY TENNESSEE SURVEYOR MCQUINNEY HOWELL WRIGHT,
FOR THE NEW COMMUNITY OF GREENVILLE. THE TOWNSITE WAS
PLATTED IN MAY 1846 AND THE FIRST LOTS WERE SOLD AT AUCTION
THE FOLLOWING JANUARY, ALTHOUGH WRIGHT DID NOT FILE THE DEED
OFFICIALLY CONVEYING HIS LAND UNTIL MARCH 22, 1850.
ALBERT G. HAMILTON SERVED AS FIRST MAYOR AFTER THE TOWN
INCORPORATED IN 1852. UNLIKE MOST NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS
COUNTIES, HUNT COUNTY VOTED IN FAVOR OF SECESSION DURING
THE NATIONAL CRISIS IN THE 1860S. ECONOMIC HARDSHIP, OCCASIONS
OF VIOLENCE, AND OCCUPATION BY FEDERAL TROOPS CHARACTERIZED
THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD IN GREENVILLE.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE MISSOURI, KANSAS AND TEXAS RAILROAD IN OCTOBER
1880 WAS A WATERSHED IN GREENVILLE'S HISTORY. THE RAILROAD
PROVIDED COTTON FARMERS WITH EASIER SHIPPING ACCESS, AND
COTTON PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING BECAME MAJOR ECONOMIC
ACTIVITIES. NEW BUSINESSES AND SERVICE INDUSTRIES, INCLUDING
BANKS, HOTELS, STREET CARS, AND THE STATE'S FIRST MUNICIPALLY
OWNED ELECTRIC UTILITY, DEVELOPED TO SERVE THE GROWING COMMUNITY.
GREENVILLE WAS HOME TO MAJORS ARMY AIR FIELD AND THREE COLLEGES
IN THE 20TH CENTURY. ITS LOCATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF MAJOR
STATE AND NATIONAL HIGHWAYS HELPED GREENVILLE DEVELOP OVER THE
YEARS TO BECOME AN INDUSTRIAL AND TRADE CENTER IN NORTHEAST TEXAS.

(2001)

Municipal Building, 2821 Washington Street, Greenville

GREENVILLE BUILDING AND LOAN
ASSOCIATION

THIS FINANCIAL INSTITUTION WAS CHARTERED BY THE
STATE OF TEXAS ON DECEMBER 17, 1886, AS THE GREENVILLE
BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION. THE FORMATION OF THE
ASSOCIATION CAME AS A SECOND RAILROAD LINE WAS
CONSTRUCTED TO GREENVILLE, SIGNALING THE FUTURE OF
THE HUNT COUNTY SEAT AS AN IMPORTANT CENTER OF
TRADE AND COMMERCE.
THE ORIGINAL DIRECTORS WERE THOMAS JEFFERSON GEE,
I. POPPER, IRO O. WYSE, T.E. BYRD, EPHRAIM W. BRISCOE, FRANK P.
ALEXANDER, AND ASHER MANDELBAUM. MANY OF THE FIRST
DIRECTORS AND STOCKHO9LDERS WERE INDIVIDUALS WHO
HAD MIGRATED TO GREENVILLE AND BECOME ACTIVE LEADERS
IN ITS EARLY DEVELOPMENT. THEIR BELIEF IN THE TOWN'S
POTENTIAL WAS REFLECTED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
ASSOCIATION, THE SECOND OLDEST CONTINUING THRIFT
INSTITUTION IN THE STATE.
IN THE MID-1930S, DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE NATION'S
ECONOMIC DEPRESSION, THE DIRECTORS SUCCESSFULLY CON-
VERTED THE ASSOCIATION TO AFEDERAL MUTUAL SAVINGS
AND LOAN INSTITUTION. RENAMED CENTENNIAL SAVINGS BANK
IN 1983, WHEN IT BACAME A FEDERALLY-CHARTERED SAVINGS
BANK, THE INSTITUTION HAS CONTINUED TO REFLECT THE
COMMUNITY SUPPORT ADVOCATED BY ITS FOUNDERS.

Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986

2900 Lee St., Greenville

GREENVILLE COTTON COMPRESS

ONCE WORLD'S LARGEST INLAND
PRESS. SET RECORD FOR MOST BALES
PRESSED IN 10-HOUR DAY (SEPT. 30, 1912),
WHEN 2,073 BALES WERE HAND-
TRUCKED, PRESSED, AND LOADED IN
RAIL CARS AT RATE OF 3 A MINUTE.
BEFORE INVENTION OF LIFTS AND
TRACTORS ALL LABOR WAS DONE BY
SKILLED NEGRO WORKERSM, EACH MAN
PUSHING A 500-POUND BALE AND
TRUCK AT A DEAD RUN, MOVING TO
RELENTLESS PACE OF WORK CHANTS.
W. B. WISE, AN EXPERT MANAGER OF
LABOR, WAS SUPERINTENDENT; W. T.
WILLIAMS, ASSISTANT; D. M. LOVE,
ENGINEER. THIS BLACKLAND AREA
COTTON WAS THEN REGARDED MOST
HIGHLY BY SPINNERS OF ENGLAND.

(1971)

1426 E. Lee Street, Greenville

GREENVILLE'S
ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT

FIRST MUNICIPALLY OWNED
ELECTRIC PLANT IN TEXAS.
OPENED MAR. 4, 1891, ON TOWN
BRANCH. STEAM ENGINE, OPER-
ATING ONLY AT NIGHT, RAN 2
DYNAMOS FOR 40 STREET ARC
AND 1000 HOME LIGHTS. DAY-
TIME USE BAGAN 1909. DIESEL
INSTALLED 1933. NOW HAS 8
DIESELS PLUS STEAM ENGINE.

(1965)

GEUS Steam Plant, Hwy. 69 N, Greenville

GREENVILLE EXCHANGE BANK

THE FIRST BANK IN GREENVILLE WAS THE PRIVATE
HUNT COUNTY BANK ORGANIZED IN 1879 BY HOLT, BIVENS,
AND CORLEY OF TERRELL, TEXAS. SOON AFTER THE
OWNERS REORGANIZED UNDER THE FEDERAL BANKING ACT
AND THE GREENVILLE NATIONAL EXCHANGE BANK WAS
CHARTERED ON FEBRUARY 14, 1887. IN THE 1920s
THE NAME WAS CHANGED TO THE GREENVILLE
EXCHANGE BANK AND THE BANK WAS MOVED TO THIS SITE,
WHERE IT OPENED IN 1927. DESIGNED BY LANG
AND WITCHELL OF DALLAS AND LINDSEY AND KILMER OF
GREENVILLE, THE BUILDING WAS ALSO HOME TO
NUMEROUS PROFESSIONAL PERSONS OVER THE YEARS.
IN 1962 THE BANK BECAME THE FIRST GREENVILLE NATIONAL
BANK. IT WAS REMODELED IN 1963 AND 57,000 SQUARE FEET
WERE ADDED. IN 1985 THE BUILDING WAS CLOSED AS A
BANKIING INSTITUTION. IN FEBRUARY 2001, THE CITY OF
GREENVILLE AND THE GREENVILLE BOARD OF DEVELOPMENT
BEGAN RESTORATION THAT WAS COMPLETED IN 2003.

Hunt County Local History Marker

(2003)

SW corner Stonewall & Lee Streets, Greenville

GREENVILLE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

ORGANIZED SEPT. 1858 IN LOCAL MASONIC HALL BY BAPTIST
MISSIONARY JOHN R. BRISCOE AND ELDER W.M. PICKETT
WITH 19 CHARTER MEMBERS: LEWIS W., REBECCA, SUSAN C.,
AND MARTHA MATILDA (TILLIE) MOORE; NANCY MOORE HINES;
ANDREW AND MARY MCDONALD; ELLEN D. LANGFORD; MARY
RENEAU; MARGARET MOODY; JULIA COLE; JOHN, D. H., MARGARET,
AND SARAH MILLER; LOUISE AND J.C. MOSES; WILEY A. AND
SARAH MATTOX. BRISCOE SERVED TEMPORARILY AS PASTOR.
THE FIRST CONVERT WAS ELIZA STEVENS, A SLAVE.
DURING THE CIVIL WAR THE CONGREGATION MOVED TO
CENTER POINT (3 MILES SE), AND LATER RETURNED TO GREENVILLE,
MEETING IN THE COURTHOUSE, SHARED BY ALL FAITHS. FIRST
CHURCH BUILDING WAS A SMALL FRAME HOUSE ON A LOT
(1 BLOCK SE) DONATED BY A.D. ROBEY AND W. M. ARNOLD IN 1873/
THE HOUSE BURNED IN 1886, AND A LARGE FRAME STRUCTURE
WAS ERECTED IN 1887 ON THIS BLOCK.
IN 1895, THE CHRUCH SPONSORED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
BURLESOR COLLEGE, A LOCAL PRIVATE SCHOOL, WHICH WAS
TRANSFERRED TO THE STATE BAPTIST CONVENTION IN 1899.
THE CORNERSTONE OF A BRICK EDIFICE, CONSTRUCTED ON
THIS SITE IN 1905, IS DISPLAYED HERE. EIGHT OTHER LOCAL
BAPTIST CHURCHES HAVE SPAWNED FROM THIS CONGREGATION.
THE PRESENT SANCTUARY WAS DEDICATED DEC. 10, 1967, AND
SERVES OVER 2,000 MEMBERS.

(1973)

2703 Wesley St., Greenville

GREENVILLE "HERALD"

ESTABLISHED APRIL 1869
BY J.C. BAYNE. IS OLDEST
BUSINESS INSTITUTION IN
COUNTY. E.W. HARRIS, LATER
OWNER, STARTED DAILY, 1890.
W. C. POOLE FAMILY OWNED
IT 1914-1956, WHEN HARTE-
HANKS CHAIN PURCHASED AND
MERGED IT WITH "BANNER".
MATT SHELEY IS NOW "HERALD
BANNER" PUBLISHER.

(1969)

2320 King St., Greenville

THE OLD GREENVILLE
POST OFFICE

TRADITION SAYS MAIL CAME FROM
JEFFERSON IN EARLY DAYS AND WAS
DROPPED AT A SALOON. GREENVILLE
POST OFFICE WAS CREATED IN 1847,
AND OCCUPIED RENTED QUARTERS UNTIL
1910, WHEN THIS STRUCTURE WAS BUILT.
NEO-CLASSIC IN STYLE, IT BECAME AN
IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN ARCHITECTURAL
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY. IN 1930, IT
WAS ENLARGED. AUDIE MURPHY JOINED
THE ARMY IN THIS BUILDING ON JUNE
20, 1942, HIS 18TH BIRTHDAY; LATE HE
BECAME THE MOST DECORATED SOLDIER
OF WORLD WAR II. THE CITY OF
GREENVILLE ACQUIRED THE STRUCTURE
IN 1973 FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION.

(1975)
National Register of Historic Places

2920 Lee St., Greenville

HARRELL CAMP GROUND
(1/10 MI. WEST)

ONE OF FIRST RELIGIOUS SITES
IN HUNT COUNTY. INFLUENTIAL FOR
50 YEARS. CABINS AND BRUSH ARBOR
BUILT IN 1850S BY EARLY SETTLER
RICHARD HARRELL (1813-1895).
METHODIST GOSPEL SERVICES DREW
PEOPLE HERE FROM MANY COUNTIES,
IN SUMMERS WHILECROPS GREW AND
WORK WAS SLACK. WITH MILCH COWS,
COOK STOVES, BEDDING, WASH TUBS,
WATER BARRELS, FAMILIES FORDED
SABINE RIVER TO CAMP FOR WEEKS.
CHILDREN AND ADULTS SANG HYMNS,
STUDIED SCRIPTURES, LISTENED TO
SERMONS-DIVERSIONS IN HARD AND
LONELY LIVES. IN MONTHS BETWEEN
CAMP MEETINGS, PASSING TRAVELERS
OFTEN WERE SHELTERED IN CAMP.

(1965)

US Hwy 69 at Cow Leach Fork of Sabine River,
½ mi. N of Kingston

BIRTHPLACE OF
MACK HARRELL

BORN HERE ON OCTOBER 8, 1909,
MACK HARRELL RECEIVED EARLY
TRAINING AS A VIOLINIST. HE LATER
STUDIED THE INSTRUMENT AT OKLA-
HOMA CITY UNIVERSITY, WHERE HE
CHANGED DIRECTION TO PURSUE HIS
BARITONE SINGING TALENT. AFTER
ATTENDING THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL OF
MUSIC, HE BEGAN A PROFESSIONAL
OPERA CAREER AND PERFORMED
WITH THE METROPOLITAN OPERA. IN
1945 HE JOINED THE VOICE FACULTY
AT JUILLIARD, AND WAS LATER ADMIN-
ISTRATOR OF THE ASPEN MUSIC
FESTIVAL AND VOICE PROFESSOR AT
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY. A
WORLD RENOWNED ARTIST, HARRELL
DIED IN DALLAS ON JANUARY 29, 1960.

Texas Sesquitennial 1836-1986

606 Sanger, Celeste

SITE OF
HENRY AND EMERSON COLLEGES

PROMINENT EARLY INSTITUTIONS.
HENRY COLLEGE, FOUNDED IN 1892
BY EDUCATORS HENRY BRIDGES AND
HENRY EASTMAN, WAS RE-ESTABLISHED
AND RENAMED IN 1903 FOR WRITER
RALPH WALDO EMERSON. CLOSED 1907.
OTHER EARLY COLLEGES IN HUNT
COUNTY WERE CALHOUN (1887-1899),
TEXAS HOLINESS (1899-1920), THE
ELMWOOD INSTITUTE (1898-1906),
BURLESON (1895-1931), AND WESLEY
(1914-1937). ONLY EAST TEXAS
STATE UNIVERSITY (OPENED IN 1894)
STILL OPERATES, IN COMMERCE.
ALTHOUGH SHORT-LIVED, THESE
COLLEGES (LIKE MORE THAN 200
CHARTERED IN TEXAS 1836-1875)
HELPED SHAPE EARLY CULTURE.

(1968)

E side of FM 513, Campbell

PROMINENT HUNT COUNTY PIONEER
JUDGE JAMES HOOKER
1807-1865

CAME TO TEXAS 1840. GRANTED A
640-ACRE HEADRIGHT BY REPUBLIC
OF TEXAS. SERVED AS COMMISSIONER
TO ORGANAIZE COUNTY AND LOCATE
COUNTY SEAT. FIRST POSTMASTER
OF HOOKER'S MILL SETTLEMENT
WHERE HE OWNED AREA'S FIRST
STEAM MILL. TOWN IMPORTANT STOP
ON CLARKSVILLE TO AUSTIN ROAD.
REPRESENTED COUNTY IN FOURTH
AND SIXTH LEGISLATURES. MEMBER
OF SECESSION CONVENTION. BURIED
HERE ON HIS HEADRIGHT.

(1966)

Gravesite marker in Hooker Cemetery,
FM 513, 5 mi. S of Lone Oak

GEN. HAL C. HORTON HOME

FIRST TWO-STORY BRICK HOUSE
IN GREENVILLE. ERECTED IN 1885-
1887 IN TYPICAL VICTORIAN STYLE.
BUILT BY THE WILL N. HARRISONS,
PROMINENT PIONEERS. CONTRACTOR
H.C. "JACK" HORTON (FATHER OF GEN.
HORTON) MADE THE BRICK AT "PUDDIN'
HILL". THAT LAND, SETTLED 1846 BY
HORTON FAMILY, IS NOW OWNED BY
HAL C. HORTON, COLONEL IN U.S.
ARMY AND GENERAL IN NATIONAL
GUARD. HE AND MRS. HORTON BOUGHT
AND REMODELED HOUSE, 1929, USING
WALNUT FROM "PUDDIN' HILL" FARM.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1969)

3925 Moulton St., Greenville

HUMBOLDT CEMETERY

THE COMMUNITY OF HUMBOLDT BEGAN TO
PROSPER WHEN A CARAVAN OF FAMILIES
ARRIVED FROM TENNESSEE IN 1866. THE FIRST
BURIAL ON THIS SITE PROBABLY WAS THAT OF
KATHARINE RANKIN, THE INFANT DAUGHTER
OF WILLIAM J. AND MARY RANKIN, IN 1868.
THE OLDEST MARKED GRAVE IS THAT OF MARY
RANKIN'S FATHER, ADAM E. DINSMORE, WHO
DIED IN 1876. THE HEIRS OF ADAM AND MARY
(DAVIS) DINSMORE DEEDED THIS LAND AS A
BURIAL GROUND IN 1890. THE PRESENCE OF
38 MARKED INFANTS' GRAVES BEFORE 1932
IS INDICATIVE OF THE HARDSHIPS OF PIONEER
LIFE. ONE OF THE GRAVES IS THAT OF MAGGIE C.
DINSMORE, A TEACHER WHO DIED DURING
THE 1918 SPANISH FLU EPIDEMIC. SIX GRAVES
ARE THOSE OF CIVIL WAR VETERANS. AT THE
DAWN OF THE 21ST CENTURY, HUMBOLDT
CEMETERY COVERS ABOUT FOUR ACRES.

(2000)

5 mi. NE of Greenville on SH 224; 4 mi. E on FM 2736

1929 HUNT COUNTY COURTHOUSE

BUILT IN 1929 AS THE SEVENTH
HUNT COUNTY COURTHOUSE, THIS
BUILDING WAS DESIGNED BY W.R.
RAGSDALE & SONS OF GREENVILLE AND
PAGE BROTHERS OF AUSTIN. THE 6-
STORY BUILDING DEPICTS A TRANSI-
TION FROM CLASSICAL REVIVAL TO
ART DECO ARCHITECTURE. IT FEATURES
SOLID MASONRY CONSTRUCTION, STONE
STEPS LEADING TO TRIPLE-ARCHED
DOORWAYS AT THE MAIN ENTRIES,
DECORATIVE TERRA COTTA DETAILING
AND METAL SASH WINDOWS. IT REMAINS
THE SEAT OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1995)

2507 Lee St., Greenville

HUNT COUNTY'S FIRST RAILROAD

MISSOURI, KNASAS & TEXAS (KATY)
RAILWAY, WHOSE FIRST TRAIN FROM
DENISON REACHED HERE OCT. 1, 1880.
A $5,000 CASH BONUS AND RIGHT
OF WAY ACROSS HUNT COUNTY WERE
GUARANTEED BY GREENVILLE MEN: F.
P. ALEXANDER, M.M. ARNOLD, A. CAMERON,
J.J. COOPER, J.C. EDMONDS, FRED ENDE,
I.N. HARRISON, J.W. HAWKINS, J.T.
JENKINS, W.C. JONES, J.C. O'NEAL, W.
G. PERKINS, N.I. ROSS, EDWARD SCHIFF,
SAM D. STINSON, DANIEL UPTHEGROVE,
A.B. WATSON, AND M.H. WRIGHT.
THE KATY, WHICH IMMEDIATELY
BUILT ON TO MINEOLA, STIMULATED
A BOOM IN GREENVILLE AND HUNT
COUNTY POPULATION AND ECONOMY.

(1972)

3102 Lee St., Greenville

I.O.O.F. CEMETERY

THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS (I.O.O.F.) IS A FRATERNAL
SERVICE ORGANIZATION WITH CHAPTERS IN COMMUNITIES AROUND
THE WORLD. CADDO MILLS LODGE NO. 416, I.O.O.F., WAS ORGANIZED
FOR MEMBERS IN NEARBY CADDO MILLS, A RAILROAD STOP ON THE
MISSOURI, KANSAS AND TEXAS RAILROAD. BURIALS ALREADY EXISTED
ON THIS PROPERTY IN 1902, WHEN J. S. STIDHAM, C. J. HOWARD AND R. B.
MCADAMS, TRUSTEES OF CADDO MILLS LODGE NO. 416, PURCHASED
4.55 ACRES OF LAND FOR USE AS A CEMETERY. THE OLDEST KNOWN
BURIAL IS THAT OF NANCY GARY, WHO DIED IN 1893. ADDITIONAL
PURCHASES OVER THE YEARS ENLARGED THE GRAVEYARD, WHICH
NOW CONTAINS MORE THAN 2,000 BURIALS. IN 1925, THE LODGE
TURNED OVER THE CARE OF THE CEMETERY TO THE CADDO MILLS
CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, ALTHOUGH THE I.O.O.F. NAME WAS RETAINED.
THEIR FIRST MEMORIAL AND HOMECOMING SERVICE TOOK PLACE IN
1937. IN 1979, THE DUGAN-CLARK CEMETERY, LOCATED ACROSS
HIGHWAY 6, BECAME PART OF THE I.O.O.F. CEMETERY. SERVING
THE COMMUNITIES OF CADDO MILLS AND JOSEPHINE AND THE
SURROUNDING AREA, THIS BURIAL GROUND IS A CHRONICLE OF THE
HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE WHO SETTLED AND WORKED HERE. TOMB-
STONES DENOTE THE SERVICE OF MILITARY VETERANS FROM THE
CIVIL WAR, THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, WORLD WAR I, WORLD
WAR II, KOREA AND VIETNAM. THE I.O.O.F. CEMETERY ALSO
CONTINUES AS A REMINDER OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CADDO MILLS
LODGE NO. 416, WHICH MERGED WITH A NEIGHBORING LODGE IN 1925.

(2001)

1mi. S of Caddo Mills on Hwy. 66, 1 mi. W on Hwy. 6

TEXAS RANGER
JOSIAH HART JACKSON
(1821-1892)

BORN IN KENTUCKY. CAME TO TEXAS
1839. IN 1850S OPENED JACKSON'S
STORE, 1 MI. NE OF HERE, STARTING
"COW HILL," A VILLAGE WITH RACE
TRACK, BLACKSMITH SHOP, OTHER
STORES. HE BECAME POSTMASTER
AND RENAMED PLACE ASHLAND, 1873,
BUT MOVED POST OFFICE HERE TO
COMMERCE, AT CITY'S BIRTH.
MARRIED SARAH A. MADDOX IN 1841;
HAD 6 CHILDREN. AFTER HER DEATH,
MARRIED ELVIRA JERNIGAN HART.

(1967)

gravemarker in Rosemound Cemetery, Commerce

JERNIGIN'S STORE

A TENNESSEE NATIVE AND FORMER
ARKANSAS LEGISLATOR, WILLIAM
JERNIGIN (1819-80) CAME TO HUNT COUNTY
IN 1856. A PIONEER MERCHANT IN THE
NEARBY VILLAGE OF COW HILL, HE
MOVED TO THIS VICINITY IN 1872 AND
OPENED A MERCANTILE STORE (1 BLK. W).
TWO YEARS EARLIER, COMPLETION OF
A BRIDGE OVER THE SOUTH SULPHUR
RIVER HAD CREATED A NEW TRADE
ROUTE THROUGH THE AREA. SINCE
THE COMMUNITY THAT GREW UP
AROUND HIS STORE WAS UNNAMED,
JERNIGIN ASKED THAT GOODS BE
SHIPPED TO "COMMERCE". THE LATER
DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCE AS A
CENTER OF TRADE REFLECTED HIS
PIONEER CONTRIBUTIONS.

(1982)

Commerce Public Library, 1210 Park St., Commerce

KAVANAUGH METHODIST CHURCH

FOUNDED AS A METHODIST MISSION
SUNDAY SCHOOL IN 1892, THIS CHURCH
WAS CHARTERED ON NOVEMBER 8, 1896,
AND NAMED IN HONOR OF BISHOP H.H.
KAVANAUGH. THE FIRST SANCTUARY WAS
A 4-ROOM BRICK BUILDING ERECTED
ON THIS SITE. A LARGER FACILITY
WAS NEEDED FOR THE GROWING CON-
GREGATION AND THIS STRUCTURE WAS
BUILT AND DEDICATED IN 1924. THIS
CLASSICAL REVIVAL STYLE BUILDING
FEATURES FINE BRICKWORK, A RAISED
TEMPLE FRONT, AND 50 ART GLASS
WINDOWS.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1995)

NE corner of Stonewall & Park Sts., Greenville

KINGSTON BAPTIST CHURCH

FOUNDED IN 1880 BY 26 CHARTER
MEMBERS, THIS CHURCH WAS FORMED
WHEN THE TWON OF KINGSTON WAS
CREATED ON THE ROUTE OF THE
MISSOURI-KANSAS-TEXAS RAILROAD.
WHEN THE GULF, COLORADO, & SANTA
FE RAILROAD BUILT ANOTHER LINE
THREE MILES NORTH OF HERE IN
1886, GROWTH IN KINGSTON WAS HALT-
ED. MANY BUSINESSES MOVED TO
CELESTE, THE TOWN FORMED AT THE
NEW CROSSING. THE CHURCH REMAINED
IN KINGSTON, AND BUILT A SECOND
SANCTUARY IN 1947. A NEW BUILDING
WAS CONSTRUCTED IN ONE WEEK IN
1985 BY VOLUNTEERS FROM KINGSTON
AREA CHURCHES AND EAST MOUNTAIN
BAPTIST CHURCH.

(1996)

US 69 and FM 3427, Kingston

JOHN T. KNIGHT HOME

JOHN THOMAS KNIGHT (1861-1959),
BORN IN WINNSBORO, MOVED TO
COMMERCE IN 1878. HE MARRIED
ELLA VIRGINIA CARTER IN 1893,
AND THE COUPLE RAISED NINE
CHILDREN IN THEIR HOME ON
MANGUM STREET. JOHN WAS A
PROMINENT CIVIC AND BUSINESS
LEADER. HE WAS A MEMBER AND
PRESIDENT OF THE SCHOOL BOARD
FROM 1900-36. WITH HIS BROTHER,
THOMAS, HE OPERATED KNIGHT
BROTHERS GROCERY. HE WAS
PRESIDENT OF FARMERS STATE BANK
AND DIRECTOR OF FIRST NATIONAL
BANK. JOHN HELPED BRING MAYO
COLLEGE (NOW TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
-COMMERCE) FROM COOPER. HE WAS
AN EXTENSIVE AREA LAND OWNER AND
OWNER AND STOCKHOLDER OF LOCAL
BUSINESSES. A MEMBER OF THE
MASONIC LODGE FOR 62 YEARS, HE ALSO
RAISED CATTLE AND COTTON. JOHN
AND HIS FAMILY MADE MANY LASTING
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR COMMUNITY.

(2011)

2113 Mangum St., Commerce

LAKE TAWAKONI

ONE OF THE LARGEST LAKES WHOLLY
WITHIN TEXAS. COMPLETED 1960, IT
COVERS 36,700 ACRES. IMPOUNDED
BY 5.5-MILE-LONG IRON BRIDGE DAM
ON SABINE RIVER, IT HAS A SHORE
LINE OF 200 MILES. CONSTRUCTED
AND OWNED BY THE SABINE RIVER
AUTHORITY OF TEXAS. FINANCED BY
CITY OF DALLAS UNDER TERMS OF
A WATER SUPPLY CONTRACT. OTHER
TOWNS ALSO BUY LAKE'S WATER.
PREHISTORIC ANIMAL BONES AND
REMAINS OF A TAWAKONI INDIAN
VILLAGE WERE DISCOVERED HERE.
LAKE IS OPERATED UNDER IRON
BRIDGE DIVISION, S.R.A. OF TEXAS.
IT EMBRACES WIND POINT PARK, A
PUBLIC RECREATIONAL RESORT.

(1970)

FM 35, West Tawakoni

WILLIAM LANE
1843-1922

FIRST ANGLO-AMERICAN BORN IN
HUNT COUNTY, THEN IN REPUBLIC OF
TEXAS. BIRTHPLACE; ON SOUTH SUL-
PHUR, NEAR PRESENT WOLFE CITY.
SON OF JOHN W. LANE, ONE OF COM-
MISSIONERS ORGANIZING COUNTY.
DURING CIVIL WAR, SERVED IN
CONFEDERATE ARMY. LATER MOVED
TO VANSICKLE COMMUNITY, 4 MI.
SW OF THIS SPOT, WHERE HE SPENT
REST OF HIS LIFE. MARRIED FIRST
MARY E. HALE. HAD 2 CHILDREN. HIS
SECOND WIFE WAS BETTY EVANS.

(1965)

gravemarker in Bethel Cemetery, 6 mi. S
of Greenville, ¼ mi. E of SH 34

LEBANON CEMETERY

THIS LAND HAS BEEN USED AS A
BURIAL GROUND SINCE THE 1860s.
REBECCA HART WILLIAMS LITTLE
(1818-1891), A PIONEER WHO CAME
TO THIS AREA IN THE 1830s, FOR-
MALLY DEEDED THE PROPERTY FOR
CHURCH AND SCHOOL PURPOSES IN
1871. THE EARLIEST MARKED GRAVE
IS THAT OF HARLAN LINDLEY (1845-
1871). OTHERS INTERRED HERE IN-
CLUDE PIONEER SETTLERS; VETERANS
OF THE CIVIL WAR, WORLD WAR I,
AND WORLD WAR II; MANY INFANTS
AND CHILDREN; AND REBECCA LITTLE.
THE ADJACENT ONE-ROOM LABANON
SCHOOL, RAZED IN 1945, PROVIDED
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO
GENERATIONS OF LOCAL CHILDREN.

(1991)

.3 mi. E of Park St. intersection on Sycamore St.,
left at Johnson St., right at Ross St. Commerce

LIBRARY MOVEMENT IN GREENVILLE

IN 1897, GREENVILLE'S CHAUTAUQUA
LITERARY AND SOCIAL CIRCLE FORMED THE
WOMEN'S REVIEW CLUB,WHICH AIMED TO
CREATE A CIRCULATING LIBRARY; EACH
MEMBER DONATED BOOKS. THE REVIEW CLUB
OPENED THEIR LIBRARY IN 1900. BY 1903, THE
POPULAR LIBRARY HAD TO MOVE TO LARGER
FACILITIES. THE CLUB SOUGHT FUNDS FROM
PHILANTHROPIST ANDREW CARNEGIE, WHO
OFFERED $15,000 FOR A BUILDING. THE LOCAL
FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS, UNDER
LEADERSHIP OF MAY MOULTON HARRISON,
PROVIDED THE SITE, AND THE CITY FORMED A
BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE PUBLIC LIB-
RARY, WHICH OPENED IN 1904. THE LIBRARY
MOVED TO NEW FACILITIES IN 1954 AND AGAIN
IN 1996. RENAMED FOR LICAL HISTORIAN
W. WALWORTH HARRISON, THE SON OF MAY
HARRISON, THE LIBRARY CONTINUES TO
SERVE ITS COMMUNITY.

(2002)

#1 Lou Finney Lane, Greenville

LONE OAK BAPTIST CHURCH

ORGANIZED 1858 BY W.M.
PICKETT AND BENJ. WATSON.
THE CHARTER MEMBERS WERE
THOS. HOOKER, FIRST PASTOR;
MR. AND MRS. JAS. SIMPSON'
N. T. FEATHERSTON; JANE
PITTS; HARRIET LIVELY; AND
MR. AND MRS. WM. McBRIDE,
WHO GAVE SITE FOR FIRST
CHURCH. AFTER IT BURNED,
PRESENT ONE WAS BUILT, 1899.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1970

McBride & Olive Sts., Lone Oak

LONE OAK METHODIST CHURCH

THE HISTORY OF THIS CHURCH CAN
BE TRACED TO 1854, WHEN ELEVEN
CHARTER MEMBERS GATHERED
TOGETHER IN A PRIVATE HOME WEST
OF LONE OAK TO ORGANIZE A METH-
ODIST CONGREGATION. OCCASIONALLY
SERVED BY CIRCUIT RIDING MINISTERS,
THE MEMBERS CONSTRUCTED A
CHURCH GUILDING IN 1871 WHICH
THEY SHARED WITH THE LOCAL
MASONIC LODGE. CONTINUED GROWTH
AND THE LOSS OF THE FIRST BUILDING
IN AN 1884 FIRE LED TO THE CON-
STRUCTION OF THIS VERNACULAR
GOTHIC REVIVAL STRUCTURE IN 1889.
FEATURING TWIN BRACKETED TOWERS
AND LANCET WINDOWS, IT CONTINUES
TO SERVE THE CONGREGATION.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1988

Main St., 2 blocks W of US 69, Lone Oak

MAJORS ARMY AIRFIELD

IN 1941 THE CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION (CAA)
INFORMED GREENVILLE OFFICIALS THAT THE CITY WOULD
RECEIVE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO BUILD A CIVILIAN AIRPORT
AS PART OF THE COUTNRY'S PREPARATION FOR POSSIBLE
ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR II. IN APRIL 1941 U.S. CONGRESSMAN
SAM RAYBURN NOTIFIED HUNT COUNTY THAT THE CIVILIAN
AIRPORT PROJECT WOULD BECOME PART OF A $5 MILLION
ARMY AIR FORCE TRAINING BASE HOUSING 3,000 TO 4,000
PERSONNEL AND 300 AIRPLANES. THE BASE WAS NAMED FOR
LT. TRUETT MAJORS, THE FIRST PILOT FROM HUNT COUNTY
KILLED IN ACTION IN WORLD WAR II.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE BASE AND THREE AUXILIARY AIRFIELDS
IN THE COUNTY BOOSTED THE LOCAL ECONOMY AND PROVIDED
EMPLOYMENT FOR THOUSANDS OF AREA RESIDENTS. THE BASE
BECAME FULLY OPERATIONAL ON JANUARY 5, 1943.
MAJORS ARMY AIRFIELD PROVIDED CADET PILOTS WITH
PREFLIGHT AND PRIMARY TRAINING. WHEN NOT EXERCISING,
STUDYING, OR TAINING IN BT-13s AND P-47s THE CADETS
VISITED GREENVILLE FOR RECREATION AND TO SOCIALIZE
WITH LOCAL CITIZENS. IN ADDITION TO U.S. ARMY AIR CORPS
PILOTS, COMPANIES OF WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS MEMBERS, ROYAL
AIR FORCE PILOTS, AND MEXICAN AIR FORCE PILOTS WERE
TRAINED HERE. THE BASE BECAME AN ADVANCED TRAINING
CENTER BEFORE BEING DEACTIVIATED ON JULY 15, 1945.

Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995

intersection of FM 2101 and FM 1570, Greenville

BENJAMIN D. MARTIN
(FEB. 21, 1823-MAR. 1891)

CAME TO TEXAS FROM VIRGINIA AND
SETTLED IN HUNT COUNTY IN 1850s.
IN CONFEDERATE ARMY, ORGANIZED
TEXAS SHARPSHOOTERS, CALLED "BEN
MARTIN'S COMPANY". FIRST MAYOR OF
GREENVILLE (PRESENT REGIME), 1873;
AND GREENVILLE MAYOR AGAIN, 1884.
HE RENDERED OUTSTANDING PUBLIC
SERVICE IN A LONG CAREER.
MARRIED ELIZABETH CAROLINE
DICKENSON IN 1845. THEY HAD SIX
CHILDREN.

(1968)

gravemarker in East Mount Cemetery, Greenville

MERIT METHODIST CHURCH

ORGANIZED IN APRIL 1871.
FIRST PASTOR WAS THE REV.
W.P. REED; FIRST MEMBER,
MARGARET OWENS. SERVICES
WERE HELD AT MERIT SCHOOL
IN 1888 LAND WAS BOUGHT
AND A FRAME CHURCH BUILT.
WRECKED BY A 1905 STORM
AND THEN REBUILT, CHRUCH
STILL SERVES DESCENDANTS
OF ORIGINAL MEMBERS.

(1971)

FM 36, 13 mi. NW of Greenville, in Merit Community

CENTENNIAL OF METHODISM
IN COMMERCE

TWO METHODIST CONGREGATIONS,
LEBANON (1.5 MI. E) AND MT. ZION
(5 MI. SE), SERVED THE EARLIEST
SETTLERS OF THE COMMERCE AREA.
AS THE COMMUNITY GREW, LOCAL
METHODISTS BEGAN WORSHIPING IN
A SCHOOLHOUSE ON PECAN STREET. IN
1881, FOUR YEARS BEFORE COMMERCE
WAS INCORPORATED, THEY WERE
JOINED IN A UNION CHURCH BY THE
LEBANON FELLOWSHIP. A SEPARATE
SANCTUARY WAS BUILT ON CHURCH
STREET IN 1890. A LATER STRUCTURE
ON PARK STREET, COMPLETED IN 1907,
SERVED UNTIL THE PRESENT FACILITY
WAS BUILT IN 1968. FOR OVER 100
YEARS THE CHURCH HAS ACTIVELY
LED IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.

(1981)

Off SH 50, Commerce

MT. CARMEL CEMETERY

WILLIAM J. ("UNCLE BILLY") WILLIAMS
(1826-1918), WHOSE FAMILY SETTLED THIS
AREA IN 1844, SET ASIDE 3.5 ACRES OF
THIS CEMETERY IN 1852 FOR BURIAL
OF HIS TWO-YEAR-OLD NIECE, ANGELINA
WILLIAMS. OLDEST GRAVESTONES ARE
THOSE OF HIS PARENTS, ELIZABETH
(1789-1861) AND GEORGE WILLIAMS (1786-1863).
FIRST CALLED WILLIAMS CEMETERY,
IT BECAME KNOWN AS MT. CARMEL
AFTER A METHODIST CHURCH BY THAT
NAME WAS BUILT NEARBY IN 1883. AN
OPEN CHAPEL WAS ADDED TO THE
PROPERTY IN 1891; ANOTHER ERECTED
IN 1920 STILL STANDS. MAINTAINED BY
MT. CARMEL CEMETERY ASSOCIATION,
THE SITE HAS GROWN TO 37.6 ACRES
AND CONTAINS ABOUT 10,000 GRAVES.

(1975)

0.7 mi. SE of Wolfe City on SH 11

BIRTHPLACE OF AUDIE MURPHY

MOST DECORATED SOLDIER IN
WORLD WAR II. BORN JUNE 20, 1924,
TO EMMETT AND JOSIE K. MURPHY,
400 YARDS EAST ON THE W. F. BOLES
FARM. ENLISTED IN THE ARMY ON
HIS 18TH BIRTHDAY WHILE WORKING
IN GREENVILLE. HE WAS AWARDED
24 CITATIONS FOR BRAVERY IN ACTION,
INCLUDING CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL
OF HONOR AND FRENCH LEGION OF
HONOR, CHEVALIER. AFTER THE WAR,
HE BECAME A SUCCESSFUL ACTOR,
WITH HIS MOST PROMINENT ROLE
PORTRAYING HIMSELF IN THE WAR
FILM, "TO HELL AND BACK."
DIED MAY 28, 1971, IN A VIRGINIA
PLANE CRASH AND WAS BURIED IN
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY.

(1973)

1.5 mi. S of Kingston on US 69

HOMETOWN OF AUDIE MURPHY

MOST DECORATED SOLDIER IN WORLD WAR II.
BORN 4.5 MILES SOUTH, JUNE 20, 1924,
SIXTH OF NINE CHILDREN OF TENANT FARMERS
EMMETT AND JOSIE KILLIAN MURPHY. LIVING
ON VARIOUS FARMS, AUDIE MURPHY WENT TO
SCHOOL THROUGH THE 8TH GRADE IN CELESTE -
CONSIDERED THE FAMILY'S HOME TOWN. HE HAD
TO QUIT SCHOOL TO HELP SUPPORT THE
FAMILY, ACQUIRING MARKSMANSHIP SKILLS
BY HUNTING TO PROVIDE FOOD. ON HIS 18TH
BIRTHDAY, AFTER BEING REJECTED BY THE
MARINES BECAUSE OF HIS SIZE (5 FEET,
7 INCHES; 130 POUNDS), HE ENLISTED IN THE ARMY
WHILE WORKING IN GREENVILLE. FOR
UNUSUAL COURAGE AND BRAVERY, HE
RECEIVED 24 DECORATIONS, INCLUDING
THE U. S. CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF
HONOR; THE FRENCH LEGION OF HONOR,
CHEVALIER: THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
CROSS; AND A SILVER STAR. AFTER THE
WAR HE BECAME A SUCCESSFUL ACTOR,
HIS MOST PROMINENT ROLE PORTRAYING
HIMSELF IN THE FILM "TO HELL AND BACK,"
HIS WAR CAREER AUTOBIOGRAPHY. FOLLOWING
HIS UNTIMELY DEATH IN A PLANE CRASH
IN VIRGINIA, MAY 28, 1971, AND BURIAL IN
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, THE U. S.
CONGRESS PAID HIM A FINAL TRIBUTE,
DEDICATING A NEW VETERANS' HOSPITAL
IN SAN ANTONIO TO THE MEMORY OF
THIS AMERICAN HERO. SURVIVED BY WIDOW
PAMELA, SONS TERRY AND JAMES.

(1973)

US Hwy. 69 at Kingston St., Celeste

OLD NATIONAL ROAD CROSSING

ONE MI. N.E. BELOW JUNCTION OF
SHORT CREEK AND SULPHUR RIVER.
THE CENTRAL NATIONAL ROAD OF
TEXAS (REPUBLIC) WAS CREATED BY
ACT OF TEXAS CONGRESS, 1844, WITH
INTENT TO GIVE THE NEW NATION
A UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION ROUTE.
FROM PRESENT DALLAS TO THE HEAD
OF NAVIGATION ON THE RED RIVER,
NORTHWEST OF CLARKSVILLE, ROAD
LINKED TO NORTHEAST TEXAS THE
MILITARY ROUTES OF WEST AND
CENTRAL TEXAS; CONNECTED WITH
ROUTES EAST AT JONESBOROUGH
AND PARIS. IT FAILED TO GAIN
INTERNATIONAL STATUS CONGRESS
HOPED FOR, DUE TO POPULATION
SHIFTS, COMING OF RAILROADS AND
DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER ROUTES.

(1967)

Hwy. 34, 13 mi. N of Greenville

PENIEL

RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY FOUNDED
IN 1899 IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXAS HOLINESS
UNIVERSITY ON THIS SITE BY E.C.
DeJERNETT AND B.A. CORDELL. TITLE
DEEDS PROHIBITED SALE OR USE OF
ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO, AND
PRACTICE OF "WORLDLY AMUEMENTS",
SUCH AS CARD PLAYING AND DANCING.
POST OFFICE OPENED IN 1901, WITH
NAME OF "HOLINESS"; CHANGED IN 1902
TO "PENIEL", FOR A BIBLICAL SITE. THE
TOWN WAS INCORPORATED IN 1906.
THE UNIVERSITY CONTINUED TO
OPERATE UNTIL 1920, WHEN IT WAS
MOVED TO OKLAHOMA. THE CITY WAS
ANNEXED TO GREENVILLE IN 1957, AND
THE POST OFFICE DISCONTINUED.

(1974)

1009 Rees St. (US 69), Greenville

SITE OF
PHILLIPS FIELD/MAJORS STADIUM

IN 1929, EULA LASATER PHILLIPS DONATED $3,500 TO THE GREENVILLE ATHLETIC
COUNCIL TO BUILD AN ATHLETIC FIELD AT THIS SITE IN MEMORY OF HER LATE
HUSBAND, FRANK PHILLIPS. THE FIRST ATHLETIC EVENT IN PHILLIPS FIELD WAS A
FOOTBALL GAME BETWEEN THE GREENVILLE HIGH SCHOOL LIONS AND THE
LEOPARDS OF DALLAS OAK CLIFF ON OCT. 4, 1929. IN 1930, THE LAND
TRANSFERRED TO THE CITY, WITH MANAGEMENT BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
HERE, CELEBRATED COACH HENRY FRNKA LED THE SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM TO
AN UNDEFEATED SEASONAND THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1933.
IN 1946, THE FIELD WAS REALIGNED TO BECOME THE HOME OF A MINOR LEAGUE
BASEBALL TEAM, THE MAJORS, NAMED FOR TRUETT MAJORS, THE FIRST
GREENVILLE RESIDENT KILLED IN WORLD WAR II. MORE THAN 160,000 PEOPLE
ATTENDED MAJORS GAMES IN 1946, AND GREENVILLE FIELDED A NUMBER OF
COMPETITIVE TEAMS IN THE LATE 1940S. IN 1947, THE FOOTBALL STANDS WERE
RAZED AND REPLACED WITH A BASEBALL STADIUM. ON APRIL 10, 1949, THE
MAJORS HOSTED AN EXHIBITION GAME AGAINST THE NEW YORK YANKEES,
DEFEATING THEM 4-3. AMONG THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED FOR THE YANKEES
THAT DAY WERE CASEY STENGEL, MANAGER, AND DOE DiMAGGIO IN CENTER
FIELD. ANOTHER BASEBALL GREAT WHO PLAYED HERE WAS MONTY STRATTON, A
GREENVILLE NATIVE,WHO PITCHED A GAME FOR THE MAJORS IN 1950.
ATTENDANCE AT MAJORS' GAMES DECLINED BY 1950, AND THE TEAM FOLDED
BEFORE THE FOLLOWING SEASON. REORGANIZED MINOR LEAGUE TEAMS, ALSO
NAMED THE MAJORS, PLAYED HERE IN 1953 AND 1957. YOUTH AND AMATEUR
LEAGUES USED THE FIELD UNTIL THE PROPERTY SOLD IN 1964 AND THE STADIUM
WAS DEMOLISHED. TODAY, THE STADIUM'S ARCHED ENTRYWAY, BUILT BY THE
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION IN 1940, SERVES AS A REMINDER OF THE
COUNTLESS ATHLETES AND FANS WHO GATHERED HERE IN THE SPIRIT OF
COMPETITION.

(2003)

Houston Street, between Jordan & Henry Streets, Greenville

PRESIDENT'S HOUSE

DESIGNED BY GREENVILLE ARCHITECTS
GEORGE LINDSEY AND ROY KILMER IN 1927,
THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE WAS BUILT ON
LAND PURCHASED FROM DANIEL AND ANNIE
BACHMAN. THE HOUSE EXHIBITS AN UNDER-
STATED ADAPTATION OF GEORGIAN REVIVAL
STYLE ELEMENTS IN ITS DARK RED BRICK
AND WHITE TRIM WITH SIMPLE CLASSICAL
DETAILS. AFTER THE CONSTRUCTION OF
A NEW PRESIDENT'S HOUSE IN 1968, THE
HOUSE SERVED AS OFFICES. IN 1995, THE
HOME WAS RENAMED "HERITAGE HOUSE"
AND RESTORED TO ITS 1930s APPEAR-
ANCE FOR USE AS A HERITAGE CENTER.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1997)
National Register of Historic Places (2003)

1009 Rees St. (US 69), Greenville

PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN GREENVILLE

IN 1903 THE WOMEN’S REVIEW CLUB ORGANIZED
THE GREENVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS WERE USED UNTIL A
BUILDING AT 2713 STONEWALL WAS FUNDED
BY THE NATIONAL LIBRARY PROGRAM OF THE
STEEL MILLIONAIRE, ANDREW CARNEGIE. THE
CITY FEDERATION OF WOMEN’S CLUBS PROVIDED
BOOKS AND MAINTAINED THE LIBRARY. THE
FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE CITY
WAS LOCATED ON THIS LOT. IN 1953 THE CITY
ACQUIRED THE CHURCH PROPERTY. THE
NEXT YEAR THIS STRUCTURE WAS COMPLETED.
THE LIBRARY WAS RENAMED IN 1976 FOR CIVIC
LEADER, W. WALWORTH HARRISON.

(1979)

At the front door of library, # 1 Lou Finney Lane, Greenville

THE CITY OF QUINLAN BEGAN ABOUT 1892 AS A STOP ON
THE TEXAS MIDLAND RAILROAD. OWNED BY FAMED BOND
INVESTOR HETTIE GREEN, CALLED BY THE CONTEMPORARY
PRESS "THE WITCH OF WALL STREET", THE RAILROAD WAS
OPERATED BY HER SON, EDWARD H.R. GREEN. TEXAS MIDLAND
BECAME A SUSIDIARY OF THE HOUSTON & TEXAS CENTRAL
RAILROAD, AND THE CITY WHICH BUILT UP AROUND A DEPOT
CONSTRUCTED HERE BETWEEN THE TOWNS OF ROBERTS AND
GREENVILLE WAS NAMED QUINLAN IN HONOR OF GEORGE A.
QUINLAN, THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE HOUSTON & TEXAS
CENTRAL RAILROAD.
A POST OFFICE OPENED IN QUINLAN IN 1894, AND BY 1896
THE CITY WAS INCORPORATED. HARRY FORD SERVED AS FIRST
MAYOR. QUINLAN SOON BECAME THE CENTER OF A LARGE
AGRICULTURAL AREA, PROVIDING A RAILROAD SHIPPING POINT
FOR GROWERS OF COTTON AND OTHER CROPS. BY THE EARLY
20TH CENTURY THE TOWN BOASTED THREE COTTON GINS,
NUMEROUS BUSINESSES AND FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS,
BANKS, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND HOMES.
OIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION OVERTOOK COTTON
FARMING AS THE AREA'S ECONOMIC BASE IN THE 1930s
AND 1940s, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF LAKE TAWAKONI
IN THE 1950s BROUGHT ANOTHER ECONOMIC BOOST TO THE
COMMUNITY.

(1995)

Main Street, at City Hall, Quinlan

ROBERTS

IN 1882 THE HOUSTON AND TEXAS CENTRAL RAILROAD BOUGHT
100 ACRES OF LAND FROM TEXAS GOVERNOR ORAN ROBERTS.
AS THE TERMINUS OF THE COMPANY'S NORTHEASTERN LINE,
ROBERTS QUICKLY ATTRACTED BUSINESS PEOPLE. THE TOWN
BOASTED A SCHOOL FOR WHITE CHILDREN AND ANOTHER FOR
BLACK STUDENTS, A POST OFFICE WITH DAILY MAIL SERVICE, A
DOCTOR, A BLACKSMITH, A CARPENTER, DDRY GOODS AND
GROCERS, GENERAL STORES, AND SALOONS.
ROBERTS GAINED A REPUTATION AS A BOOMTOWN, FULL OF
OPPORTUNITY AND VICE. IN 1892 THE BANKRUPT HOUSTON AND
TEXAS CENTRAL SOLD ITS NORTHEASTERN LINE TO NEW
YORKER HETTY GREEN WHO REORGANIZED THE RAILROAD AS THE
TEXAS MIDLAND UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF HER SON EDWARD
"NED" GREEN. A LAND DISPUTE BETWEEN THE TWO RAILROAD
COMPANIES LED NED GREEN TO PURCHASE LAND JUST NORTH
OF ROBERTS, ESTABLISHING A DEPOT THERE AND PLATTING
THE NEW TOWN OF QUINLAN.
MERCHANTS AND BUSINESS PEOPLE SOON MOVED THEIR
FACILITIES TO QUINLAN, FOLLOWED BY THE FIRST MISSIONARY
BAPTIST CHURCH OF ROBERTS AND OTHERS WISHING TO ESCAPE
ROBERTS' LAWLESSNESS. THE QUINLAN DEPOT AND POST OFFICE
WERE DEDICATED ON OCTOBER 17, 1894; THE ROBERTS DEPOT WAS
DISMANTLED BY RAILROAD AGENTS THE FOLLOWING DAY. A FIRE
OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN DESTROYED ROBERTS IN 1895.

(1998)

1 mi. S of Quinlan on SH 34 right of way intersection with Bus. SH 34

HEADWATERS OF
THE SABINE RIVER

A HALF MILE TO THE WEST RISES
THE SABINE RIVER, LOWER CHANNEL
OF WHICH SEPARATED NEW WORLD
EMPIRES OF FRANCE AND SPAIN AND
IN 1836 BECAME REPUBLIC OF TEXAS-
UNITED STATES BORDER. FORK HERE
IS CALLED COW LEACH, FOR INDIAN
CHIEF WHO LIVED IN THE AREA. THIS
MARKER IS ON A 3-WAY WATERSHED:
FLOW TO THE NORTH GOES INTO THE
SULPHUR AND TO THE MISSISSIPPI;
THE WEST DRAINS TO THE TRINITY;
SOUTH GOES INTO THE SABINE, WHICH
FORMS TEXAS-LOUISIANA BOUNDARY
AND POURS MORE WATER INTO GULF
OF MEXICO THAN ANY OTHER TEXAS
RIVER (6,400,000 ACRE FEET ANNUALLY).

(1971)

US 69, 1.3 mi. NW of Celeste

ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

OPENED JULY
16, 1896. OLDEST CHURCH
BUILDING NOW IN USE IN
GREENVILLE. STARTED AS
A MISSION IN 1877.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1974)

(Original building at 3215 Stonewall Street razed.
Marker in new church building, FM 1570)

ST. PAUL SCHOOL

THE COMMUNITY OF NEYLANDVILLE TRACES ITS HISTORY
TO THE 1850s. JAMES BRIGHAM, A FORMER SLAVE, BOUGHT
FARMLAND IN THE AREA AFTER PURCHASING HIS FAMILY'S
FREEDOM. FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR AND THE EMANCIPA-
TION OF SLAVES, OTHER BLACK FAMILIES BEGAN TO SETTLE
NEAR BRIGHAM'S FARM.
THE COMMUNITY, NAMED NEYLANDVILLE FOR ROBERT
NEYLAND, FROM WHO BRIGHAM HAD PURCHASED HIS FREE-
DOM, ESTABLISHED BAPTIST AND METHODIST EPISCOPAL
CHURCHES. A SCHOOL BEGUN AT ST. PAUL BAPTIST CHURCH
EVOLVED INTO THE MAJOR EDUCATIONAL CENTER FOR BLACK
CHILDREN LIVING IN NEARBY TOWNS AND SETTLEMENTS.
THE HUNT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT ESTABLISHED
THE ST. PAUL COMMON SCHOOL DISTRICT BY 1885. A NEW
BUILDING WAS ERECTED AT THIS SITE IN 1918 AFTER THE
ORIGINAL STRUCTURE BURNED. ADDITIONAL FACILITIES BUILT
IN LATER YEARS INCLUDED CLASSROOM BUILDINGS, A GYM-
NASIUM, AND A TEACHERAGE. BUS SERVICE WAS INITIATED IN
1938 TO TRANSPORT STUDENTS FROM SURROUNDING AREAS.
ST. PAUL SCHOOL BECAME A PART OF THE COMMERCE
SCHOOL DISTRICT IN 1965. ALL BUT ONE OF THE SCHOOL
BUILDINGS WERE SOLD AND MOVED OFF THE SITE. THE HOME
ECONOMICS BUILDING REMAINED AS A COMMUNITY CENTER
UNTIL IT WAS REPLACED BY A NEW STRUCTURE.

(1989)

City Hall, Neylandville

SCATTER BRANCH CHURCH

JOINTLY OWNED METHODIST
AND BAPTIST EDIFICE. THE TWO
CONGREGATIONS HOLD UNITED
COMMUNION, SUNDAY SCHOOL
SERVICES; SHARE UP-KEEP.
PASTORS ALTERNATE SUNDAYS.
PARTNERSHIP BEGAN 1893.
MOVED HERE 1927 AND BUILT
PRESENT BUILDING. NAMED
FOR BRANCH THAT SPREADS
OVER AREA IN FLOOD TIME.

(1967)

front lawn of church, SH 24
5 mi. SW of Commerce, 11 mi. NE of Greenville

SHADY GROVE COMMUNITY

REPUBLIC OF TEXAS PRESIDENT SAM HOUSTON GRANTED TWO TRACTS
OF LAND TO CHARLES F. MERCER ON WHICH TO SETTLE FAMILIES IN
JANUARY 1844. INCLUDED IN MERCER'S COLONY WERE 6,500 SQUARE
MILES OF LAND AROUND THIS SITE. AMONG THE EARLIEST SETTLERS
HERE WERE MEMBERS OF THE CONCORD MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH,
ORGANIZED IN AUGUST 1844 BY THE REVEREND BENJAMIN WATSON ON
A SITE THAT LATER BECAME THE SHADY GROVE CEMETERY. A LOG
STRUCTURE SOON WAS ERECTED TO SERVE AS BOTH CHURCH AND
SCHOOL. THE GREENVILLE POST OFFICE, WHICH PROBABLY SERVED
SHADY GROVE, WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1847. THE REV. MR. WATSON
AND JAMES A. BURNETT DEEDED ON ACRE OF LAND TO THE CONCORD
CHURCH IN 1852. WATSON ALSO IS CREDITED WITH BUILDING THE FIRST
FLOUR MILL IN HUNT COUNTY IN 1849.
IN THE FINAL DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR, JAMES S. AND ELIZABETH
ALEXANDER SETTLED IN THE COMMUNITY WITH THEIR FAMILY. THEY
GAVE THE LAND FOR A NEW SCHOOLHOUSE. JAMES BURNETT VOTED
TO NAME IT "ALEXANDER" FOR ITS BENEFACTORS, BUT OTHERS
PREFERRED THE NAME SHADY GROVE FOR THE NUMBER OF LARGE SHADE
TREES NEARBY. THE COMMUNITY TOOK ON THE SCHOOL'S NAME.
THE ALEXANDERS ALSO BUILT A COTTON GIN, CORN MILL AND BLACKSMITH
SHOP. A POST OFFICE, STORE AND WATSON'S FLOUR MILL COMPLETED
THE BUSINESS SECTION OF THE VILLAGE. SHADY GROVE METHODIST
CHURCH WAS BUILT IN 1885 WITH THE REV. W. W. MAY AS PASTOR. SHADY
GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH WAS ORGANIZED IN 1888. THE SHADY GROVE
SCHOOLHOUSE WAS CLOSED IN 1918 WHEN THE AREA WAS CONSOLIDATED
WITH MOORE'S PRAIRIE SCHOOLS.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH REMAINS ACTIVE IN 1999. THE STORY OF SHADY
GROVE COMMUNITY IS A VITAL PART OF THE HISTORY OF HUNT COUNTY.

(1999)

7.7 mi. E of Greenville on IH 30; 0.3 mi. N on SH 50/24; 0.4 mi. W on FM 499

SONORA CEMETERY
(1/4 MILE SOUTH)

THE SONORA CEMETERY HAD ITS
ORIGIN IN 1872 WITH THE BURIAL
OF S. B. MCBEE, WHO IS BELIEVED
TO BE A CHILD OF PIONEER SETTLERS.
LOCATED ADJACENT TO THE SITE OF
THE SONORA COMMUNITY CHURCH AND
SCHOOL ON A 3.5 ACRE LOT, THE
BURIAL GROUND COVERED MORE
THAN SEVEN ACRES BY 1880. WHEN
A RAIL LINE WAS COMPLETED
ONE MILE WEST OF THE SONORA
COMMUNITY IN 1887, RESIDENTS
BEGAN TO MOVE TO THE NEW TOWN
OF FAIRLIE. CONTAINING MORE THAN
900 GRAVES, THE SONORA CEMETERY
CONTINUES TO SERVE FAIRLIE AND
THE SURROUNDING AREA.

(1983)

FM 1563 at community road, Fairlie

JOHN L. SOUTHALL
(JUNE 11, 1869-OCT. 6, 1912)

ASSISTANT CHIEF OF POLICE OF
GREENVILLE. WAS KILLED IN LINE
OF DUTY IN ATTEMPT TO ARREST
DRUNKEN GUNMAN. SOUTHALL'S SOFT
NOSED BULLETS WERE INEFFECTIVE
IN BATTLE, AS HIS PRACTICE WAS
TO WOUND AND STOP, NOT KILL.
ALSO KILLED WAS SPECIAL DEPUTY
SHERIFF EMMETT SHIPP.

(1968)

grave marker in East Mount Cemetery, Greenville

STEWART CEMETERY

JOHN AND ELLEN STEWART AND THEIR CHILDREN SETTLED IN THIS
AREA ABOUT 1843. ACCORDING TO ORAL HISTORY, JOHN STEWART IS
CREDITED WITH BUILDING THE FIRST PIONEER HOME IN EASTERN HUNT
COUNTY. OTHER SETTLERS SUCH AS GODFREY SMITH, WILLIAM RIPPY AND
THEIR FAMILIES BEGAN TO ARRIVE IN 1845. JOHN AND HIS NEIGHBORS WERE
COUNTY APPRAISERS, COUNTY CLERKS AND JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
JOHN STEWART DIED ABOUT 1856. ELLEN STEWART AND THEIR CHILDREN
REMAINED IN HUNT COUNTY. THEY SOLD 640 ACRES OF LAND TO WILLIAM
JERNIGAN, CREDITED AS FOUNDING FATHER OF NEARBY COWHILL (PRESENT
COMMERCE). THOUGH EARLIER GRAVES ARE BELIEVED TO EXIST IN STEWART
CEMETERY, THE EARLIEST LEGIBLE MARKER IS THAT OF THREE-YEAR-OLD
ELIF CUMMINS, WHO WAS BURIED HERE IN 1863. TWO OF JOHN AND ELLEN
STEWART'S SONS, R. E. AND JOHN F. STEWART, AS WELL AS OTHER
NEIGHBORS JOINED THE CONFEDERATE ARMY IN 1861. R. E. STEWART, AGED
29, WAS KILLED IN BATTLE NEAR LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS; HE WAS INTERRED
THERE, BUT HIS BROTHER AND OTHER CONFEDERATE VETERANS WERE
BURIED ON THIS SITE.
FARMERS AND CATTLEMEN BEGAN MOVING INTO THE AREA IN LARGE
NUMBERS AROUND THE TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY. SEVERAL OF THE
NEWCOMERS DUG THE GRAVES OF THE EARLIER SETTLERS AS THEY
PASSED AWAY. MANY YOUNG CHILDREN DIED AND WERE BURIED HERE
DURING AN EPIDEMIC IN THE EARLY 1900S.
JULIA STEWART AND MARTIN WILLIAMS OFFICIALLY DEEDED STEWART
CEMETERY TO THE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION IN 1907. GRAVES OF INTEREST
INCLUDE THAT OF STATE REPRESENTATIVE LOUIS LANKFORD, WHO DIED IN
1940. LANKFORD WAS VETERAN OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE FROM HUNT
AND RAINS COUNTIES AND SERVED IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.

(1999)

2 mi. S of Commerce on SH 50, then 1.8 mi. E on FM 1568

CAPTAIN HENRY W. WADE
(1832-1912)

SERVED WITH DISTINCTION IN CIVIL
WAR (1861-65) AS CAPTAIN IN CONFEDERATE
ARMY, CO. B, 6TH TEXAS CAVALRY, ROSS'
BRIGADE. A NATIVE OF KENTUCKY, HE
CAME TO HUNT COUNTY AS A YOUNG
MAN. IN 1859 MARRIED ELIZABETH J.
KUYKENDALL AND MADE HOME ON 640-
ACRE TRACRT OF WHICH THIS CEMETERY
IS A PART. REPRESENTED COUNTY IN
TEXAS CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
OF 1875. IN PRIVATE LIFE RAISED AND
SOLD LIVESTOCK THROUGHOUT STATE.
DESCENDANTS INCLUDE NOTED DALLAS
DISTRICT ATTORNEY HENRY WADE (B. 1914).

(1971)

grave marker in Wade Cemetery, Quinlan

SITE OF WESLEY COLLEGE
(4/10 MILE WEST)

FOUNDED 1905 BY NORTH TEXAS
CONFERENCE OF METHODIST CHURCH
AS THE NORTH TEXAS UNIVERSITY
TRAINING SCHOOL (COEDUCATIONAL),
IN TERRELL, TEX. RAISED IN 1909
TO JUNIOR COLLEGE STATUS AND
RENAMED. WITH SUPPORT FROM LOCAL
PEOPLE, MOVED TO GREENVILLE FOR
THE FALL SESSION OF 1912.
CURRICULUM EMPHASIZED LIBERAL
ARTS. PRESIDENTS WERE THE REV.
J. J. MORGAN; THE REV. S. M. BLACK;
DR. D. H ASTON; S. E. GREEN; DR. G. F.
WINFIELD; DR. J. E. ROACH; DR. G. B.
JACKSON; J. E. BLACKBURN; J. G. ROACH.
BEFORE CLOSING IN 1938, WESLEY
COLLEGE ENRICHED THE LIVES OF
THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS.

(1971)

Erected by the alumni and ex-students association

SH 34, Wesley St., near Poplar St., Greenville
(marker missing)

WESLEY COLLEGE
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING

AFTER ITS OPERATION BY
NORTH TEXAS CONFERENCE OF
THE METHODIST CHURCH IN
TERRELL (TEX.) IN 1905-11,
WESLEY COLLEGE MOVED HERE
1912. THIS ADMINISTRATION
BUILDING, ERECTED 1914-15,
BURNED IN THE 1920S BUT
WAS REBUILT BY THE CHURCH
AND FAITHFUL LAYMEN.

(1971)

Erected by the alumni and ex-students association

Sayle & Poplar Sts., Greenville

WESLEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

METHODISTS WHO SETTLED IN THE
GREENVILLE AREA WERE SERVED BY
OCCASIONAL CIRCUIT PREACHERS AS
EARLY AS 1848. IN 1850 A METHODIST
CONGREGATION FORMALLY WAS
ORGANAIZED WITH THIRTEEN CHARTER
MEMBERS. EARLY WORSHIP SERVICES
WERE HELD IN THE HUNT COUNTY
COURTHOUSE AND IN THE MASONIC
LODGE BUILDING. KNOWN AS THE
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH, AT
GREENVILLE UNTIL 1896, THE FELLOWSHIP
ADOPTED THE NAME WESLEY IN THAT
YEAR. AS GREENVILLE'S OLDEST
ORGANIZED CONGREGATION, WESLEY
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH HAS
PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE
TOWN'S DEVELOPMENT AND HERITAGE.

(1984)

5702 US Hwy 69 S, Greenville

WHITE ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH

THE REV. A. D. MINION, ALONG WITH
THIRTEEN CHARTER MEMBERS
ORGANIZED A CONGREGATION KNOWN
AS PLEASANT VIEW BAPTIST CHURCH
IN 1872. A CHURCH BUILDING WAS
ERECTED IN 1883 AND SERVED THE
CONGREGATION UNTIL 1901, WHEN IT
WAS DISMANTLED AND REBUILDT AT
WHITE ROCK ON LAND PURCHASED
FROM P. W. TITUS. AFTER ITS RELOCA-
TION THE NAME OF THE CHURCH
WAS CHANGED TO WHITE ROCK
BAPTIST CHURCH. IN 1925 A NEW
SANCTUARY WAS BUILDT ACROSS THE
CREEK FROM THE 1901 SITE. WHITE
ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH HAS BEEN A
PART OF HUNT COUNTY HISTORY FOR
OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS.

(1987)

9 mi. N of Greenville, 9 mi. W of SH 34 on FM 1566

WHITE ROCK COMMUNITY

ORIGINALLY NAMED TIDWELL CREEK,
THE SETTLEMENT OF WHITE ROCK
BEGAN AS A STOP ON THE SHERMAN-
JEFFERSON TRAIL. ACCORDING TO
LOCAL TRADITION, THE FIRST SETTLERS
WERE MEMBERS OF THE JONAS
HAVENS FAMILY. A POST OFFICE
WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1857. BUSINESSES
IN THE TOWN INCLUDED STORES,
SALOONS, A BLACKSMITH SHOP, A
MILL, AND A GIN. A SCHOOL WAS
IN OPERATION UNTIL THE 1940S. EARLY
TRAVELING PREACHERS SERVED
THE RELIGIOUS NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY
UNTIL TWO CHURCHES WERE ORGANIZED.
A DECLINE IN POPULATION OCCURRED
AS A RESULT OF RAILROAD EXPANSION
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTY.

(1987)

9 mi. N of Greenville, 1 mi. W of SH 34 on FM 1566

WHITE ROCK METHODIST CHURCH

THIS CONGREGATION WAS FORMALLY
ORGANIZED ON NOVEMBER 25, 1880, BY
THE REV. J. T. STANLEY AND ELEVEN
CHARTER MEMBERS. SERVICES WERE
HELD IN THE WHITE ROCK SCHOOL-
HOUSE UNTIL A CHURCH BUILDING
WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1898. THE
WOOD FRAME STRUCTURE WAS
DESTROYED N A 1907 STORM AND
WAS REPLACED BY A NEW BUILDING.
THE CONGREGATION WAS ACTIVE IN
MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES FROM THE
BEGINNING, AND A MISSIONARY SOCIETY
WAS FORMED IN 1924. MEMBERSHIP
HAS REMAINED STEADY OVER THE
YEARS, AND THE CHURCH CONTINUES
TO SERVE ITS COMMUNITY AS IT
HAS FOR THE PAST CENTURY.

(1987)

9 mi. N of Greenville, 1 mi. W of SH 34 on FM 1566

WOLFE'S MILL

HISTORIC SITE OF WOLFE'S MILL.
GRIST (CORN) MILL BUILT ABOUT 1873
BY PIONEERS LEMUEL P. WOLFE AND
ABBEY WILSON. POWERED BY OXEN,
TREADING INCLINED WHEEL. AREA'S
FIRST POST OFFICE WAS LOCATED IN
MILLHOUSE, WHICH WAS CENTER FOR
THE SETTLEMENT CALLED 'WOLFE'S MILL',
INCORPORATED IN 1886 AS 'WOLFE CITY'.

(1971)

402 S. Mill Street, Wolfe City

Additional Histories

GREENVILLE KATY DEPOT

National Register Narrative History

MAYO HALL

Building History
5 Track Stars who left their mark on Mayo Hall