Land originally owned by James Ball, Sr. (1789-1867), member of pioneer family. Used as burial ground for family and friends. Deeded 1890, by J.S. and Nancy Ball to Audubon community. Incorporated as cemetery association 1962. — — Map (db m245769) HM
In the mid-1800s, proximity to Indian reservations made Wise County a flashpoint of confrontation between Native American tribes and Anglo American settlers. On September 20, 1865, eight-year-old cousins James (Bud) Ball and William (Willie) Ball . . . — — Map (db m245768) HM
By 1882, when the Fort Worth & Denver Railroad built a line to this area, a small agricultural community had developed here on an old Indian trail. First known as Nina, the town was renamed Alvord in 1883, probably in honor of J.B. Alvord, President . . . — — Map (db m245765) HM
Originally organized as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1884, First United Methodist Church has been serving Alvord for 130 years. In March 1884, construction began on the new church building with Rev. F.W. Morton serving as the first . . . — — Map (db m245766) HM
Acknowledged world leader in petroleum conservation.
A third generation Texan, born here in Alvord. Left college to enter service in World War I, earning a battlefield commission as Lieutenant Colonel - at the time the youngest in American . . . — — Map (db m245767) HM
In 1874, 35 charter members organized Hopewell Baptist Church. The congregation’s first building was located about one mile south at Hopewell Cemetery. In 1887, the church moved here, near the Landmark Hill named Lone Mound. Members built a new . . . — — Map (db m245770) HM
The oldest known graves here, dating from as early as the 1860's, are those of the Randall and Rowlett families. Finis Dudley Beauchamp (1825-1893), a Confederate veteran from Mississippi, donated the 3-acre site to the newly formed Aurora Lodge . . . — — Map (db m183377) HM
More than 6,000 United States military pilots flew gliders during World War II. Several training and auxiliary landing fields were established throughout Texas and the United States. Gliders were unpowered aircraft dependent on wind and lift. The . . . — — Map (db m192229) HM
Georgia native George Lawson Bledsoe (b. 1805), a carpenter and cotton gin builder, came to Texas in 1834. A veteran of the Texas Revolution and the Battle of San Jacinto, he received a pension for his military service and patented land grants in . . . — — Map (db m183376) HM
Named for John Teague, a veteran of the War with Mexico (1846-48), who came from Missouri with his family in 1858 and settled this land. Teague also served on the frontier during the Civil War. Teague’s mother, or a son, was possibly the first . . . — — Map (db m195868) HM
Named for the natural landmark nearby. Settled about 1854 by pioneers Sam Woody and Tom McCarroll. Population grew as they were joined by several of Woody's former neighbors from East Texas.
Along the creek, farmers raised cotton, corn, and . . . — — Map (db m184112) HM
For over 100 years beginning in 1882 this cemetery has been the sole graveyard serving the community of Keeter. The oldest recorded gravesite in the cemetery is that of Ida Mae Ryan (1881-1882). Albert Lafayette Keeter, for whom the community of . . . — — Map (db m146879) HM
Once a staple of Bridgeport's economy, coal was discovered here in later part of 19th century. Diggers hit vein 60 feet deep while seeking water. Mine No. 1 lies under northeast Bridgeport, and entire area is honeycombed with tunnels and shafts. . . . — — Map (db m180406) HM
On December 12, 1884, the Bridgeport Masonic Lodge was granted a charter by the Grand Lodge of Texas. The twenty-seven charter members consisted primarily of local coal miners, ranchers, and businessmen. The group met in a tin building on the old . . . — — Map (db m178254) HM
In 1882, Rev. Alphus Hawkins, W.W.
Cannon and 23 charter members
started this church in old town
Bridgeport. After meeting in the
schoolhouse and two other sites, the
church moved to their own one-room
building here in 1895. Coal . . . — — Map (db m220244) HM
In 1893, the Rock Island Railroad established a line close to Bridgeport on the banks of the West Fork of the Trinity River and soon the town began to grow. In 1895, the family of J.A. Weakley moved from Decatur to Bridgeport and as charter members . . . — — Map (db m200136) HM
In June 1841, Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar commissioned an effort to increase Texas' political, military and commercial influence in Santa Fe, then a part of Mexico claimed by the Republic of Texas. A party of 321 men set out from . . . — — Map (db m200134) HM
In the 1890s, large Catholic communities were established in north Texas. Father J.J. O'Riordan from Henrietta traveled to Bridgeport once a month by train to hold mass, so a mission was established. The mission of St. John the Baptizer was the . . . — — Map (db m200135) HM
When Butterfield Overland Mail traversed this area (1858-61) on St. Louis to San Francisco route, a crossing over West Fork of the Trinity was a necessity. Colonel W. H. Hunt on February 11, 1860, obtained a charter and built a toll bridge here (50 . . . — — Map (db m220240) HM
The watershed of the West Fork of the Trinity River is fed by a large acreage located in Jack and Wise counties. This flows southeastward downriver toward Tarrant and Dallas counties where it eventually merges with the Clear, Elm and East Forks . . . — — Map (db m178180) HM
During the Prohibition era, organized crime increased. Big-name gangsters like Al Capone ruled the streets while public enemies such as Bonnie and Clyde swept across the country. One of the most infamous criminals of this time was George Francis . . . — — Map (db m201974) HM
Area's oldest settlement.
Platted by landowner B. F. Banks,
who also gave lots for public
use. Named, 1875, for lush growth
of cotton planted by John Bridges,
blacksmith, to finance a trip to
Alabama to bring back his bride.
Paradise . . . — — Map (db m146871) HM
On November 10, 1837, a company of eighteen Republic of Texas soldiers led by Lt. A.B. Benthuysen engaged in a battle with approximately 150 Indians near this site. Ten Texas soldiers were killed in the battle, and the Indian casualties were . . . — — Map (db m108546) HM
Through Decatur passed the Butterfield Overland Mail Line connecting St. Louis and San Francisco with semi-weekly stage and mail service, 1858-1861. The length of the route, 2,795 miles and the superior service maintained made this a pioneer . . . — — Map (db m105419) HM
Captain George W. Stevens was born in Lowndes County, Alabama, on July 12, 1830. He lived in Arkansas briefly where he married Martha McDonald in 1852. The couple moved to the Wise County area in 1855 and Stevens became a leader in the efforts to . . . — — Map (db m108526) HM
Near this site ran one of the many "feeder" branches of the famous Chisholm Trail, best-known of all the cattle trails that once linked the vast grasslands of Texas with the meat-hungry markets of the north.
The original trail, which . . . — — Map (db m108532) HM
A leading public man in Texas, 1896-1939. Born in Wise County to early (1854) settlers. After two years at Texas A. & M., read law and began practice in 1886. Served 1888-92 as Decatur City Attorney; 1892-96 as County Attorney; 1896-1901 and . . . — — Map (db m108521) HM
Absalom Bishop (1804-1883) began his military service as a Captain of Militia in the Seminole War in Florida. He later attained the rank of Colonel. Bishop lived in several states before arriving in Hopkins County, Texas, in 1852, and then in what . . . — — Map (db m108529) HM
World’s first institution to be planned (in 1898) as a junior college. This hall was built in 1892 for an earlier school.
(plaque)
Entered in the National Register of Historic Places — — Map (db m108536) HM
Organized in 1862, this congregation is the oldest in Decatur. The Reverend J. R. Bellamy conducted the first services in a vacant store on the south side of the town square. Other churches were not started in the community until after the Civil . . . — — Map (db m184095) HM
The tumultuous years of the Great Depression were much the same in Decatur as in other small towns throughout the United States. Massive unemployment, bank closures, school closures and loss of farms and homes prompted President Franklin D. . . . — — Map (db m198795) HM
Born in Illinois, William Renshaw studied medicine and set up practice in Sparta, Tennessee. His wife Sarah received from the Mexican government a grant of land in Texas, where her father Samuel Worthington lost his life in a colonization attempt . . . — — Map (db m201914) HM
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Wise and several surrounding counties had few African American citizens. Yet regulations at the time required separate facilities for African Americans. Most African American families in Decatur lived in a . . . — — Map (db m220247) HM
Oldest original church building in Decatur. Consecrated by great missionary bishop, the Rt. Rev. A.C. Garrett. Erected facing Main Street (2 blks. w. of square) in 1889.
Known as "The Little Church with the Crosses", by 1912 it had . . . — — Map (db m108544) HM
This financial institution was organized in 1883 by Decatur bankers Dan Waggoner, Henry Greathouse, and other pioneer businessmen. Waggoner's son, W. T. Waggoner (b. 1854), a prominent Texas cattleman and oilman, served as bank president from 1904 . . . — — Map (db m108543) HM
Remnant of bois d'arc hedge which encircled the log cabin of Stephen M. Gose (1824-77), early Justice of the Peace, blacksmith, and leader of Methodist church, who came to Texas from Missouri in 1859. The spiny trees, planted 1861, . . . — — Map (db m187225) HM
Famous western frontier outlaws, who had many Texas hideouts along a line from the Rio Grande to the Red River. The camps—extending into Missouri, their home state—were used for hiding stolen horses until posses could be thrown off the . . . — — Map (db m108533) HM
First stone house in Decatur. Erected by prison labor about 1859. Main house was residence of sheriff or deputy. Basement was used as jail. Meals were sent down a dumb-waiter located outside the east end of the house.
County sold property in . . . — — Map (db m108539) HM
Respected Negro citizen and homeowner. Champion pioneer fiddler, popular at Forts Belknap, Griffin and Richardson and over county. Once when he was an Indian captive, held in Kansas, Texans sent ponies to ransom him. He is buried in Oaklawn, . . . — — Map (db m108524) HM
Tennessee pioneer Sam Woody (1826-1920) migrated to Texas in the 1840s. He brought his family to Wise County in 1854. This cabin, located near Deep Creek, was the first dwelling in the area. After Woody cut the logs, friends and relatives helped . . . — — Map (db m108540) HM
A center of pioneer culture in North Texas, drawing crowds to meet here at good spring of water issuing from beneath hill that gave community its name. First church (Methodist) in territory to become Wise County was organized in home of Jim . . . — — Map (db m184108) HM
Named for John Slidell, one of the Confederate diplomats in the "Trent Affair" (1861), this community was established to supply goods and services to nearby farmers. The post office was started in 1884. Garrett Fletcher, donor of land for a . . . — — Map (db m230202) HM
This historic church formed in the
spring of 1882. A group of women, led
by Missouri Brown, began a Sunday
school and later initiated the
organization of a new church. The
first church building was used as a
school and became a center for . . . — — Map (db m220246) HM
Dedicated and courageous. Born in Indiana; reared in Missouri. Wounded twice in Confederate service during the Civil War.
On reorganization of Texas Rangers, 1874, was commissioned first lieutenant; promoted 1875 to captain, Company A, official . . . — — Map (db m108537) HM
Local businessman E.F. Boydston (1888-1945) purchased this site, a former feed lot, in 1927 for $400. Recognizing a potential business opportunity in offering services to the traveling public, he built a wooden shed and gas station in 1927. . . . — — Map (db m101511) HM
Born in Gibson County, Tennessee, S. W. Tilghman (1846-1913) came in 1870 by wagon train to Wise County. In 1872 he married a Decatur native, Eliza Bland Miller (1856-1931), and became father of a daughter and three sons. A master builder, he . . . — — Map (db m184085) HM
The Confederate veterans of Wise County are said to have held occasional reunions in the 1860s-1870s. Old settlers invited both the Confederate veterans and Wise County pioneers to an 1881 reunion at Cold Springs. This was on July 12, the . . . — — Map (db m108538) HM
County named for Henry A. Wise, U.S. Senator from Virginia who supported Texas annexation, later Governor and C.S.A. general. Wise County was part of District One of 33 brigade districts of Texas established to recruit men for Confederate and state . . . — — Map (db m108530) HM
Third built since creation of the county in 1856.
Erected, 1895. Of pink Texas granite, with interior of Vermont marble. Has been called architecturally perfect. Has commanding height of 1,112'.
Bonded cost paid in full April 10, 1945. . . . — — Map (db m138077) HM
Started by William Forster in 1880, the "Messenger" was published in Paradise (10 mi. SW) and Alvord (11 mi. NW) before a permanent move to Decatur in 1885. Early editions included poems, love stories, and lists of strayed animals and mail at the . . . — — Map (db m108535) HM
Honoring all who served so well and dedicated to the everlasting memory of those from Wise County who made the supreme sacrifice in World War I 1917-1918 and World War II 1941-1945 — — Map (db m108597) WM
The Mounts family first arrived in Denton County in the 1850s from Virginia. W.H. Mounts (1833-1889) and his wife, Martha Elizabeth (Mattie) Mounts (1838-1914), were early residents of the new county seat of Denton, which had been moved from New . . . — — Map (db m154096) HM
During the late 1850s, Indians on the North Texas frontier became
increasingly restive about continued white settlement on their lands. As a result, numerous attacks on Anglos occurred during the years from 1859
to 1875. One such incident took . . . — — Map (db m147088) HM
Pioneer physician and preacher. Born in Kentucky. As Army surgeon in Texas Revolution (1836), treated Gen. Sam Houston at Battle of San Jacinto. Served in the 1st and 7th Congresses of the Republic. Took part in Mexican War (1846). A firm Unionist . . . — — Map (db m146921) HM
George Lafayette Ramsdale (1820-1884) was a native of Devonshire, England. By 1836, he had come to Texas and enlisted in the Army during the War for Independence from Mexico. After the Revolution, Ramsdale, his wife, Elizabeth (1825-1909), and . . . — — Map (db m146880) HM
This community was called "Illinois Settlement" by the early families who immigrated here. Later, it became known as "Fairview". J. F. Thurmond (1853-1945) and his wife Amanda Elizabeth Merrifield arrived in 1880 from Dallas County, Texas. In . . . — — Map (db m192227) HM
Organized in the 1880s under the direction of the Reverend F. V. Evans, this church held early services in the Prairie Point Schoolhouse, under brush arbors and in a tent. The first building was completed in 1903 from funds raised by the . . . — — Map (db m192228) HM
When the U.S. was drawn into World War II in 1941 the federal government increased the number of training facilities across the nation. The area around Lake Bridgeport (built in 1931) made for an ideal site to train airmen and test equipment without . . . — — Map (db m137872) HM
The town sprang up after the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and Southern Railroad made a junction here in 1890. Named for the Appalachian Mountains, in the heart of which it stands, it was incorporated in 1906; the streets were laid out in 1907. . . . — — Map (db m90888) HM
Big Stone Gap. Big Stone Gap takes its name from a large stone, visible
in a gap. Wagoners who followed Daniel Boone’s trail
said: “It’s a day's ride from the Big Stone Gap to
Cumberland Gap.” Fiddlers, banjo players, and . . . — — Map (db m90913) HM
Big Stone Gap, originally known as Three Forks, received its carter February 28. 1888. A postoffice was established April 12, 1856. In the early nineties it became the center of iron and coal development. It was the home and workshop of John Fox, . . . — — Map (db m90914) HM
Carl Martin was born in Big Stone Gap in April
1906. He grew up in Southwest Virginia and
moved to Knoxville, Tenn., in 1918. He performed
regionally on the guitar, mandolin, bass, and
violin at coal camps, dances, and in traveling
shows. In . . . — — Map (db m90912) HM
John Donelson’s Line, surveyed after the Treaty of Lochaber with the Indians, 1770, crossed the road here. This line separated Indian territory from land open to settlement. Violations of the line by settlers contributed to Dunmore's War, 1774. — — Map (db m44396) HM
This was the site of the Gilley famly farm,
settled by John and Mary Barger Gilley about
1790. The family cemetery was located just
south at the end of Graveyard Alley. Named
Imboden after Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden when
it was laid out on . . . — — Map (db m90891) HM
This museum is located in a mansion built by
lawyer and industrialist Rufus Ayers, Virginia
attorney general in the 1880s.
Newman and her brother, C. Bascom Slemp, former U.S. Congressman and private secretary
to President Calvin . . . — — Map (db m90897) HM
The town stands on the site of one of Christopher Gist’s camps when he was returning from his exploration of the Ohio Valley about 1750. Big Tom and Little Tom Creeks are named for him and his son. The name of the town comes from W. W. Coe, chief . . . — — Map (db m90868) HM
Beginning in 1774, Chief Benge led a part of
the Shawnee from the Ohio River on raids
along the frontier. Benge, who was part white
and part Cherokee. frequently captured slaves
and then resold them; he also seized white
women and children who . . . — — Map (db m44232) HM
Entering the town of Lieutenant Daniel Webster Dotson, born Sept 25, 1920; died May 2, 1953. A veteran of the Korean War and World War II. Virginia’s second-highest decorated soldier and Wise County’s most decorated soldier in the Korean War. — — Map (db m90777) HM WM
Entering the town of Lieutenant Daniel Webster Dotson, born Sept 25, 1920; died May 2, 1953. A veteran of the Korean War and World War II. Virginia’s second-highest decorated soldier and Wise County’s most decorated soldier in the Korean War. — — Map (db m90795) HM
Entering the town of Lieutenant Daniel Webster Dotson, born Sept 25, 1920; died May 2, 1953. A veteran of the Korean War and World War II. Virginia’s second-highest decorated soldier and Wise County’s most decorated soldier in the Korean War. — — Map (db m90844) HM
Capt. Jefferson Scott Dotson - USAF
Aug 06, 1944 – Aug 09, 1969
1st Lt. Daniel Lee Mullins - USA
Oct 21, 1943 – Aug 31, 1967
Scott and Danny, graduating classmates of 1962, were excellent students as well as outstanding athletes . . . — — Map (db m228664) HM WM
Francis Gary Powers (1929-1977) was raised here
in Pound and graduated from Grundy High School.
Powers enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950 after
graduating from Milligan College in Tennessee. In
1956, the Central Intelligence Agency . . . — — Map (db m90846) HM
Leonard Woods, a black coal miner from Jenkins, KY, was lynched near here on the night of 29-30 Nov. 1927. Officers had arrested Woods for allegedly killing Herschel Deaton, a white man from Coeburn, VA, and had taken him to the Whitesburg, KY jail. . . . — — Map (db m217840) HM
Pound Gap probably was named for nearby
grain pounding mill. Christopher Gist, returning
from the Ohio River where he surveyed land
for the Ohio Company, crossed the gap in 1751.
During the Civil War, Pound Gap gained
strategic importance as a . . . — — Map (db m90797) HM
High School Principals in The Pound
Christopher Gist High School
(Present-day Town Hall)
1924-1930 Luther Addington • 1930-1953 O.M. Morris
Pound High School
1953-1964 O.M. Morris • 1964-1972 Marvin B. Barker • 1972-1974 Danny C. . . . — — Map (db m228655) HM
In Honor of Fallen Comrades
World War 1
Edward Stidham • Houston Meade • James S. Hamilton
WWII
Everette Balthis • Ira Short • Maynard Stallard • Bart Belcher Jr. • Clifford Bentley • Harold Bentley • Ralph Hubbard • Milton . . . — — Map (db m228666) WM
Christopher Gist explored the area later known as
The Pound—likely derived from a family name—in 1751. The name became established following
the construction of a pounding mill after 1815.
According to tradition the oldest settlement . . . — — Map (db m90779) HM
Sunnydale Farm, just to the north, was the home
of Chant Branham Kelly (1894-1979), known as the
“Father of Pound.” Kelly grew up here, served in
the U.S. Army during the Mexican Expedition
(1916-1917) and World War I, and returned in . . . — — Map (db m228647) HM
WWI
Edward Stidham • Houston Meade • James S. Hamilton
WWII
Everette Balthis • Ira Short • Maynard Stallard • Bart Belcher Jr. • Clifford Bentley • Harold Bentley • Ralph Hubbard • Milton Ellison • Raymond Hopkins • Carl Baker • . . . — — Map (db m228660) WM
Kentucky Unionists considered Pound Gap second
in importance only to Cumberland Gap as a strategic gateway to southwestern Virginia and eastern
Tennessee. On the frigid morning of March 16,
1862, Union Gen. James A.
Garfield, the future . . . — — Map (db m90781) HM
From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Coalfields region, southwest Virginia is blessed with historic and contemporary music venues, musicians, and fretted instrument makers. Historically isolated, the region retained its strong musical legacy by . . . — — Map (db m90782) HM
Wise County. Wise County was formed in 1856 from Lee, Scott,
and Russell Counties. It was named for Henry
Alexander Wise who was governor of Virginia
from 1856 to 1860. The county seat is the town
of Wise. After the Civil War the town of . . . — — Map (db m90800) HM
Dedicated to all
Veterans in all wars
who brought honor
to our country
and promise
to our dreams
All gave some
Some gave all
World War I
Total deaths - 116,516
World War I
Total deaths - 116,516
World . . . — — Map (db m119072) WM
Gladeville (present-day Wise) served for a time
in 1862 as the headquarters for Confederate Gen.
Humphrey Marshall, who directed operations in
Southwest Virginia. Despite its relative isolation
in this part of the state, the community . . . — — Map (db m90856) HM
Napoleon Hill was born nearby on 26 Oct. 1883.
At age 13, he became a “mountain reporter” for small
town newspapers. He left Southwest Virginia in 1908
to write magazine profiles of such business leaders as
Andrew Carnegie, Henry . . . — — Map (db m90860) HM
The college was founded at 1954 as Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia, through the efforts of local citizens and University of Virginia officials including President Colgate W. Darden, Jr.; Samuel H. Crockett, extension services . . . — — Map (db m90859) HM
Wise. Known variously through the years as Big Glades, Gladesville, and Gladeville, Wise took its current name in 1924 after Henry Alexander Wise, Governor of Virginia before the Civil War. Located on the road between Union
Kentucky and the . . . — — Map (db m90857) HM
The town of Wise was known as Big Glades
when a post office was established here in
1850,
Before being incorporated as Wise in 1926 it was also called Gladeville and Wise Court House. Since the creation in 1856 of
Wise County, named for Henry . . . — — Map (db m90847) HM
