Tyler in Smith County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Headache Springs, C.S.A.
Medical Laboratory
Photographed by Randal B. Gilbert, December 29, 2015
1. Headache Springs, C.S.A. Medical Laboratory Marker
During the Civil War, as sea blockades cut off imports, a Confederate medical laboratory operated here. One of nine, and only one west of Mississippi River. For the government it made medicines and whiskey. The army at this time was buying medicinal herbs, including poke root, snakeroot, mullein, jimson weed, Jerusalem oak, nightshade, mistletoe and cherry bark. With mineral salts, these were the medicines of desperation.
Erected 1965 by State Historical Survey Committee. (Marker Number 7732.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Science & Medicine • War, US Civil.
Location. 32° 19.98′ N, 95° 14.874′ W. Marker is in Tyler, Texas, in Smith County. It is at the intersection of East 5th Street (State Highway 64) and County Road 273, on the right when traveling west on East 5th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9393 Highway 64 E, Tyler TX 75707, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South, specifically in the Deep 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 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Tyler Junior College (approx. 2.1 miles away); Colonel Thomas R. Bonner / Texas In the Civil War 1861-1865 (approx. 2.7 miles away); Thomas Glover Pollard, Sr. (approx. 3 miles away); Rudolph Bergfeld (approx. 3.1 miles
this page online
Photographed by Wilhelm Von Rosenberg, circa 1863
2. Headache Springs Medical Laboratory 1863 map
A segment of an 1863 military map of a "Reconnaissance of Sabine River and Vicinity - Plate 8" drawn by Captain Wilhem Von Rosenberg for the Confederate District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The map shows the town of Tyler and on the road running to the lower right, Headache Springs shows as "CS Distillery." The map was drawn prior to the establishment of the Camp Ford POW Camp, as it only shows the Camp Ford Training Camp on the west side of the road leading northeast out of Tyler.
Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, September 2, 2024
3. Headache Springs, C.S.A. Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 4, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 29, 2015, by Randal B. Gilbert of Tyler, Texas. This page has been viewed 3,128 times since then and 143 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 29, 2015, by Randal B. Gilbert of Tyler, Texas. 3. submitted on September 2, 2024, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
