Old Town

Old Town. The crossroad of Crawford St. and the Wells Creek or Indian Creek has been a major part of Anderson County history., 1836 and earlier The Indians and settlers first traveled and traded along the creek making encampments and trading zones., 1846 Anderson County was formed and town of Palestine chosen as its seat. The State Legislature dictated that the county seat has to be within a mile of the center of the county. The current courthouse location was selected. The land was acquired from James R. Fulton and Johnston Shelton who operated an Indian trading post and a grist mill out of a log building near the present Gatewood-Shelton Gin., The first town plat of 100 acres, now known as Old Town contained 241 blocks; two blocks extending in each direction from a central courthouse square., 1840s Old Shelton Gin at site of the current Gatewood-Shelton Gin, followed by the Eureka Cotton (later named Morris Company) which ultimately closed in 1935. , 1846 The road, now called Crawford St, was the Old Magnolia Road which went to a place on the Trinity River called Magnolia where the river boats landed with goods and people. This crossroad on the creek became a commercial site with a sawmill and various light commercial businesses to serve the traffic between the county seat and Trinity River., 1850 Census for town of Palestine was 212 citizens. Growing cotton was the foundation of local economy which continued almost uninterrupted through the Civil War., 1872 City of Palestine was officially incorporated., 1872 The International and Great Northern Railroad arrived in 1872 moving commercial enterprise to a new business district a mile south of Old Town area along the tracks. Later, the creation of Ave A to the East of Crawford, from the courthouse to the railroad was intended to connect the Old Town and New Town areas as the "New" area flourished., 1884 The Eureka Cotton Gin established a factory for the manufacture of ginning equipment next to it gin establishing Old Town's commercial areas. Along with many other gins in the city, cotton ginning in Palestine was a major industry., 1884-87 Ave A Nickel Babtist Church was constructed with donations of nickels: No longer a church, it still sits on Ave A alongside the Creek., 1900 Crawford Street was a dirt road on which cattle were driven to the stockyards by the railroads., 1900 to 1930's The Old Town area gins, blacksmiths, sawmill, lumberyard, feed store, tractor stores and related business served the agricultural communty. Most of the existing historic buildings date to this period., 1990 Efforts began to renovate historic properties such as the Gatewood Shelton Gin and the tractor stores., 2002 The Creek Revitalization Project was formed clearing the debris and overgrowth in the Wells Creek and creating sidewalks while encouraging retail stores and restaurants.