As early as 1850, Henderson County officials realized the need for a county jail. The first jail was completed in 1856 or 1857. It became known as the log calaboose. A new jail was built in 1874 facing North Common Street. On November 1, 1897, a . . . — — Map (db m187047) HM
Founded 1850. Named for Athens, Greece.
Supply and military training headquarters during Civil War. Sent army about 1,000 men.
Center for manufacturing and agriculture. Home of annual Old Fiddlers' Contest and of Henderson County Junior . . . — — Map (db m186664) HM
After citizens petitioned for its closure, an unofficial burial ground in this area (large lot 13) closed in 1857. That same year, local residents buried prominent planter, Mason and school superintendent William J. Brantley here on one acre donated . . . — — Map (db m31734) HM
Athens Lodge No. 165 A.F. & A.M., founded in 1854, was the first Masonic lodge to be organized in Henderson County. Henderson County had been created in 1846, and the third county seat, Athens, had been founded in 1850. The group emphasized . . . — — Map (db m219472) HM
Settlers began occupying the Baxter area in 1850. At first, schools were informal and community-based, although the Texas Legislature attempted several times to ignite a public school system. In 1876, the Alligator Public School began classes. Early . . . — — Map (db m269215) HM
As the focal point of Athens schools and athletics, Bruce Field has served the community since 1922. Bruce Academy, a leading educational institution at the turn of the 20th century, was established in 1898. Both the school and sports field on the . . . — — Map (db m247190) HM
Clint W. Murchison, Sr. was born April 11, 1895, in Tyler to John W. and Clara (Williams) Murchison. His grandfather, T.F. Murchison, was one of the earliest settlers to arrive in Athens and established the first bank in Henderson County in 1890. . . . — — Map (db m155140) HM
Henderson County was established in 1846, the year after Texas was annexed by the United States. In 1850, after previous reductions in the county's original size, the present boundaries were set by the Texas Legislature. The restructuring resulted . . . — — Map (db m186718) HM
A native of Athens, Georgia, Dulcinea Ann Holland came to Henderson County with her family in 1847. She married E. J. Thompson in 1851. According to local tradition, she named the town of Athens after her birthplace. Following the death of her . . . — — Map (db m31717) HM
An earlier building at this location housed the law offices of Senator J. J. Faulk and Judge W. L. Faulk. In the early 1890s the site was purchased by J. R. Gauntt, a local businessman. The son of pioneer area settlers, he operated a mercantile . . . — — Map (db m187050) HM
In 1855, brothers William, Matthias and Steven Madison
Richardson arrived in Henderson County from Pickens
County, Alabama. The next year, they joined with the families
of George D. Manion, W.H. Martin, Ben F. Jordan, Dr. Robert
Jordan, Dr. . . . — — Map (db m219466) HM
Thomas Murchison was born in Tennessee and grew up in Marshall, Mississippi before moving with his parents to Houston County, Texas around 1848. Murchison moved to Athens around 1855 and worked in a general store. Around 1858, Murchison began his . . . — — Map (db m232805) HM
The Rev. Robert H. Hodge (1805-1866), a native of Tennessee, immigrated in 1850 to Anderson County, Texas. After two years he came to Henderson County. He began Science Hill Academy (15 mi. S). The only classical high school in the area during that . . . — — Map (db m247189) HM
Formed from Houston
and Nacogdoches counties.
Created April 27, 1846,
Organized August 4, 1846.
Named in honor of
James Pinckney Henderson
1808-1858
First governor of
the State of Texas
Buffalo, Centerville and Athens . . . — — Map (db m186666) HM
Front:
Henderson County C. S. A.
Voted 400 – 49 for secession. Sent about 1,000 into Confederate Army, with one detachment of 150 having only 13 live to return. Caldwell's farm, three miles northeast, and Fincastle, 19 miles . . . — — Map (db m26382) HM
The Texas Legislature created Henderson County in 1846. For the next few years, county commissioners met at various locations, including private homes and the communities of Buffalo and Centerville. Samuel Huffer later determined the center of the . . . — — Map (db m186715) HM
Prehistoric Caddoan Indians utilized the abundant deposits of rich clays in this region to make their fine pottery vessels. The modern pottery industry in Henderson County began in 1857, when Levi S. Cogburn (1812-1866), one of a . . . — — Map (db m186709) HM
Introduced in the United States in the early eighteenth century, black-eyed peas, also known as cowpeas, served primarily as animal feed on farms. The hardships of the Civil War, including the scarcity of food in the south, led to increased human . . . — — Map (db m187049) HM
Athens native Joseph William (J.W.) Brownlow (1924-2001) was born to Ed and Annie Lou Brownlow and raised in the Walnut Creek and Oakland communities. He spent 31 years in law enforcement, including 26 years as Henderson County Sheriff. J.W. met . . . — — Map (db m245062) HM
Completing his work as a steel rigger in 1929 employed by Otis Elevator Company on the Texas Power & Light Company in Trinidad, Texas, Jess Sweeten was offered a job as a deputy constable in Henderson County. Bob King was appointed to find a new . . . — — Map (db m187048) HM
North Carolina-born John Matthews McDonald (1827-1883) came to Texas in 1848 and lived first at Larissa, Cherokee Co. and then Mound Prairie, Anderson Co., where his brother Murdoch earlier settled. Two years later, he moved to the young town of . . . — — Map (db m31730) HM
Alderman on Athens' first city council (1901). La Rue (Town 13 mi. SE) was named for him.
Educator, merchant, civic leader, banker, humanitarian, prohibitionist, democrat, historian. Married March 16, 1892, Stella Elvira Parsons. They had . . . — — Map (db m31726) HM
Established 1882 (at site 1.5 mi. NE) by local planter H. M. Morrison, to make building brick. Total original machinery consisted of this press and plunger. Press was hand-operated. A mule-drawn swivel ran the plunger, mixing clay . . . — — Map (db m186712) HM
Mt. Providence Baptist Church was first organized in 1888 in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church under Reverend F.M. Jackson. For a while the church would meet in different churches, homes and brush arbors. On April 19, 1890, church trustees . . . — — Map (db m247188) HM
David Allen Owen came to Texas with his first wife, Mary (Langsdon), who died enroute, and their 5 children. They traveled with family members and others from Randolph County, Alabama to Henderson County, Texas in 1851. Owen served as chief . . . — — Map (db m155485) HM
Constituted in Randolph County, Ala. Nov. 23, 1850; opened services here, a Baptist Branch, Jan. 1851, during resting of 150 Pilgrims in covered wagon caravan led by Samuel Tine Owen, a brother, John Bunyan Owen, and brother-in-law, K.K. Knight. . . . — — Map (db m128109) HM
A native of Falls County, R.C. Fisher graduated in 1913 from what was then Prairie View Normal College. The following year he began his career in education at Blackshear Colored School in Athens. Fisher later became principal of the school, which . . . — — Map (db m247186) HM
Son of Henry Clay and Dana (Moss) Craig, was born on November 17, 1889, in Shiloh, Kentucky. He began setting type in a print shop at the age of 10 and at the age of 16 became the youngest licensed printer in Kentucky. He worked as a printer for . . . — — Map (db m285769) HM
James Madison Shelby (1814-1889), a native of North Carolina, moved with his large family from Alabama to Texas in the 1870s. They first lived in Smith County, then moved to southeastern Henderson County. There they established a Presbyterian church . . . — — Map (db m247185) HM
Born in Athens on April 25, 1891, Sid Williams Richardson became known as the "Billionaire Bachelor." When he was 16, Sid traveled to Louisiana, to purchase cattle with money he saved. A natural trader and negotiator, Richardson sold the calves . . . — — Map (db m155141) HM
Athens' first public school for African Americans was established in 1876-77. Athens Colored School held classes in a Baptist church and later in a 2-room schoolhouse erected at this site. Richard C. Fisher, who joined the school's faculty in 1914 . . . — — Map (db m247187) HM
Following the close of the Civil War in 1865, Armstead Barker brought his family to this area. Other African American families followed, and their settlement became known as Gum Creek. By the mid-1880s, African American children in the area attended . . . — — Map (db m269216) HM
As the geographic center of the newly redrawn Henderson county lines, Athens became the county seat in 1850. Charles H. and Lillian (Barksdale) Hawn arrived with a load of lumber on the first train to stop in Athens in 1881. Charles Hawn quickly . . . — — Map (db m232810) HM
Known as first white child born in Terrell; daughter of Confederate army surgeon, Dr. Homer Lee Parsons (M.D., Yale University) and wife, Margaret C. R. R. Parsons.
In role of wife and mother "Mammy La Rue" was beloved of family and . . . — — Map (db m31728) HM
"The Athens Review" was established as a weekly newspaper by J. B. Bishop and George M. Johnson, editors and owners, on Dec. 24, 1885. The earliest newspaper in Henderson County, "The Athens Bulletin," had been founded by printer J. H. Cox and . . . — — Map (db m31689) HM
Henderson County Methodists were first organized in 1852 by the Rev. Hezekiah Mitcham. Worshipers met in homes and brush arbors around the county. In 1854, the Rev. W.M. Sansom was assigned to this circuit, and in 1859 he formally organized 12 . . . — — Map (db m247191) HM
Granddaughter of prominent businessman, Clint W. Murchison
Sr., Virginia "Ginger" Murchison was born in Dallas to John Dabney
(1921-1979) and Lucille Hughes "Lupe" (Gannon) Murchison (1925-2001).
Ginger attended school in Dallas and at Henderson . . . — — Map (db m285768) HM
Born in South Carolina, William Richadson moved to Pickens County, Alabama in 1830. There he married Mary "Polly" Kilpatrick (1813-1889) on Feb. 13, 1834. Children born to them were John K., James J., Sara F., Margaret C., Martha E., William A., . . . — — Map (db m37035) HM
After migrating from Norway in 1845, Ole Reierson bought the land that included this cemetery site (1.1 mi. ESE). He chose the spot for his burial and carved several of the plain brown gravestones before he died in 1852. The . . . — — Map (db m31633) HM
Rock Hill Cemetery has served this area since the late 1800s. It is located on land granted to pioneer Alexander J. Clayton, who migrated here from Alabama with his wife, Martha (Carver), and his children in 1854. Clayton, who was born in North . . . — — Map (db m31618) HM
First Norwegian colony in Texas. Founded in 1845 by Johan Reinert Reierson (1810-1864) and Ole Reierson, of Holt, Norway.
In "Christianssandsposten", J.R. Reierson urged Norwegians to find "a rich life" by migrating to Texas. His associate . . . — — Map (db m31634) HM
Driven from Eastern states by white settlers, Cherokee Indians migrated to the East Texas area, becoming established by 1820. In 1822, they unsuccessfully sought title to their land from Mexico.
The years following were ones of an . . . — — Map (db m293928) HM
The Chandler United Methodist Church dates back to the 1870s when a group of Methodists came to Stillwater, about two miles north of Chandler, on the Upper Athens-Tyler stagecoach road. A.H. Chandler, who settled in the northeastern part of . . . — — Map (db m293952) HM
In 1830, John Crane applied to be a part of Joseph Vehlein's colony. Reportedly from Virginia, he was a veteran of the War of 1812. He moved his wife and seven children to what is now Walker County, Texas, in 1834. There, he organized men and became . . . — — Map (db m31567) HM
Julius Rosenwald was a Jewish American philanthropist. He believed the most serious problem of the United States was the plight of Black Americans. Dr. Booker T. Washington, though having been a slave, rose to become the nationally respected . . . — — Map (db m229538) HM
Occupied since 1903 by Charles Richard and Nannie Jane Spear Yarborough and 3 generations of descendants. Birthplace in 1903 of United States Senator Ralph Webster Yarborough.
In this house Charles R. Yarborough, as Justice of the Peace, . . . — — Map (db m307811) HM
By 1860, David Thompson acquired land in this vicinity on the original Hezekiah Mitcham land survey. He established a grist mill and cotton gin on Wildcat Creek. Thompson's sons conveyed land at this site for Union Church and School purposes. By . . . — — Map (db m247221) HM
Replaced Buffalo as county seat, 1848, due to central location in county; on land donated by James Harper Starr (1809-90), Texas statesman. Clerk's records were kept in a log cabin courthouse. When county was reduced in area, 1850, county seat was . . . — — Map (db m310426) HM
In the late 1850s the Ralph Hunter League in eastern Henderson County was divided among David O. Warren's heirs and settlement of this area began in earnest. According to local history, John Dickey Morrison (1830-1896), though not an ordained . . . — — Map (db m269072) HM
In 1894, the Reverend Monroe F. Jackson came to Malakoff and founded this congregation. He named it Good Hope Baptist Church. The same year, church trustees Sam Robinson, Monroe Porter, and Governor Wilson acquired land at this site for a church . . . — — Map (db m61228) HM
Organized in 1852 by the Rev. Hezekiah Mitcham (1800-1865), this fellowship began with six charter members who first held services in various locations throughout the county. In 1854 the small congregation erected one of the first Methodist church . . . — — Map (db m61226) HM
Henderson County pioneer Davis Reynolds (1800-1869) came to Texas in 1856 with his wife Catherine (1802-1871) their unmarried children, James, Julia, Catherine, and John H., and several slaves. Traveling by wagon and foot, they journeyed from Gordon . . . — — Map (db m269214) HM
The New York Cemetery, established in the 1870s near the local Methodist Church, grew from a tiny burial ground through the generous land donations of area settlers. The earliest marked grave is that of Enoch Tunnell (1816-1879). Twelve more graves . . . — — Map (db m269209) HM
A native of Georgia, Thomas Hunt Hall came to Texas in 1854 and settled in Smith County. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he became a Methodist minister. He enlisted in the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the Civil War . . . — — Map (db m269213) HM
Little physical evidence remains of the early Henderson County community of Fincastle. The pioneer cemetery and church building at this site stand as reminders of the once-flourishing trade center.
In 1851 Dr. Pleasant P. Adams deeded 1,091 . . . — — Map (db m269064) HM
The Texas & New Orleans Railroad laid out the town of Poynor when it reached the area in 1901. The post office opened the following year, and the town immediately began to grow. Early residents met in a Union church building for worship services, . . . — — Map (db m269063) HM
Poynor overlooks the valley of Caddo Creek in the southeast corner of Henderson County, and was established along the Texas and New Orleans railroad in 1901. Originally, Poynor was known as "David" in honor of David Marion Dickerson (1822-1902), . . . — — Map (db m269068) HM
A native of North Carolina, Durham Avant came to Texas in 1834 with his wife, Susan (Winsett), and after a time they settled in present day Henderson County. Avant served as a Texas Ranger and in 1850 helped survey and determine a central location . . . — — Map (db m309684) HM
In August 1893, T.H. Cobble donated property (now part of
Tool Cemetery) for a school in the Hog Fork Community in
January of the following year, area residents organized
the Providence Missionary Baptist Church and began
holding services in . . . — — Map (db m309675) HM
Alabama born William Avant grew up in what is now Henderson County after coming to Texas with his parents in 1834. At the age of 14, he served with his father, Durham, as a Texas Ranger. In 1849 he was issued a land grant in the Mercer colony (NE of . . . — — Map (db m309685) HM
A sandstone image of a human head - carved by prehistoric men - was found near here in 1929 by workmen of Texas Clay Products Company. It was dug from gravel pit now under Cedar Creek Lake.
The carving weighed 98 pounds, was 16 by 14 inches, . . . — — Map (db m30027) HM
Three main tributaries - the West, Elm, and East forks - feed the Trinity from headwaters in North Texas. Discovery of prehistoric Malakoff Man carved stone heads near this site in the 20th century revealed that humans inhabited the Trinity valley . . . — — Map (db m30029) HM
