Grand Saline in Van Zandt County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Poletown and Rhodesburg

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, September 2, 2024

1. Poletown and Rhodesburg Marker

Inscription. The first documented mention of a settlement at this site, just west of Jordan's Saline, comes from an 1863 letter by Alice Merrifield. The community was mostly made up of people who fled west to escape the southern battle sites of the Civil War. The small community became known as Poletown, perhaps because of the poles used for home construction, and was one of many such communities formed on unattended land while property owners were away at war. After the war, Poletown residents who were not property owners made arrangements to purchase land or become tenant farmers. A voting precinct was formed in 1873, a school had been established for local children by 1889 and land was deeded to the community for the already existing cemetery in 1900.

In 1895, Tom Alexander honored populist Jacob C. Rhodes by deisgnating a section of his land at Poletown as the new town of Rhodesburg (or Rhodesburgh). The city gained national prominence when Rhodes and his followers changed allegiance to the Socialist Party. Rhodes organized the Socialist Party of Texas, and the first Socialist state convention was held later that year. For over

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

a decade, Socialist Party encampments were held just west of Grand Saline. The Socialist Party of Texas reached its peak of popularity by the time of the 1912 presidential election, and received thirty percent support in Van Zandt County. While the National Socialist Party shifted away from tenant farmers' issues and toward labor union issues, the Texas party, including Van Zandt County, began to fracture and weaken while the Democratic Party strengthened. Soon, most of Rhodesburg's political leaders left the area, while many descendants of the earlier settlers remain.

Erected 2010 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16471.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 32° 40.202′ N, 95° 43.924′ W. Marker is in Grand Saline, Texas, in Van Zandt County. It is at the intersection of County Road 1820 and County Road 1824 on County Road 1820. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1550 Co Rd 1820, Grand Saline TX 75140, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, September 2, 2024

2. Poletown and Rhodesburg Marker

this marker is in the American South

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Creagleville (approx. 1.3 miles away); Wiley Hardeman Post (approx. 1.3 miles away); First Methodist Church of Grand Saline (approx. 1.4 miles away); Benjamin Franklin Wheeler (approx. 1½ miles away); Mercer's Colony Eastern Boundary (approx. 1.6 miles away); Grand Saline, C.S.A. (approx. 1.9 miles away); Jordans Saline (approx. 2½ miles away); Sand Flat Community (approx. 5½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grand Saline.

Additional commentary.
1. Pole Town; Spelling
Perhaps the spelling of Poletown as it were should be Poll Town. It having to do with where voting occurred during the Depression. That would be a definite help to avoid any mistaken presumptions.

Paid Advertisement

Grand Saline has endured enough. Note To Editor only visible by Contributor and editor

— Submitted April 2, 2025, by Jimmy Freeman of Dallas, Texas.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 8, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 3, 2024, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 657 times since then and 164 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 3, 2024, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.