This center-bearing swing bridge, completed in 1940, is only one of a few such highway bridges remaining in Texas. The bridge was the last major component constructed along Texas Highway 87, which was known as the "Hug-The-Coast-Highway" running . . . — — Map (db m172233) HM
In 1940, 28 charter members organized a Baptist church to
meet the spiritual needs of the local community. Though
worshippers had met for services in the area since 1877, the
community, then known as Prairie View, had lacked an
organized . . . — — Map (db m171190) HM
The original charter for a rail line through the Orange area was granted to the Sabine and Galveston Railroad and Lumber Company in 1856. About the same time the New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad Company was building a line west . . . — — Map (db m116867) HM
Born in Louisiana in 1812. Arrived in Texas, 1824. Served in the Army of Texas, 1836. Member of Captain Benjamin J. Harper's Company. Died 1878. His wife, Mary Arthur Jett. — — Map (db m290717) HM
A native of Ireland, Alexander "Sandy" Gilmer came to the United States in 1846 at the age of seventeen. Settling first in Georgia, he worked for his brother John, who had a contract to supply ship masts to the French government. Later the brothers . . . — — Map (db m141239) HM
The Atakapan Indians, a tribe associated with southeastern U. S. bands, lived in this area for centuries. Studies have suggested their presence covered a large region of southeast Texas. Their name comes from the Choctaw Indians, and means . . . — — Map (db m116693) HM
Schools for Orange County’s black children were held in churches and private homes as early as the 1870s. In 1887 a black school was opened in the Duncan Woods community, and another was soon established in Orange. Known as Orange Colored School, . . . — — Map (db m116259) HM
As early as the 1870s, Orange County's African American children attended school in private homes and churches. The Orange County commissioners established 17 school districts in 1887. Schools included the Duncan Woods No. 3, located in the Duncan . . . — — Map (db m116303) HM
John Horace Bland and his wife Edna built this home in 1902. In 1910 John Michael Dullahan bought it and lived here with his parents until 1917. Two years later it was sold to Louis Phillip Bazzano, a local cobbler, and his wife Annie Drucilla . . . — — Map (db m292167) HM
A licensed river captain and the son of a pioneer area shipbuilder, George M. Levingston was a leader in the development of Orange's shipbuilding industry. In 1933, after years of experience in the local shipyards, he formed the Levingston . . . — — Map (db m141637) HM
Well known for his expertise on the guitar and his multi-genre music, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown had a recording career that spanned more than 50 years. Born in Vinton, Louisiana, he and his family moved to Orange when he was an infant. Here, Brown . . . — — Map (db m116271) HM
The town of Orange began as a settlement in the late 1820s on a bend in the Sabine River. By the Turn of the Century, the town had expanded north of the river bend. Thomas C.B. Cox (1856-1929), a civil engineer for the Lutcher and Moore Lumber . . . — — Map (db m116204) HM
In 1852 wealthy Mississippi sawmill owner David Robert Wingate moved his family to a large cotton plantation in Newton County. During the Civil War (1861-65), he donated lumber from his Sabine Pass sawmill to build Fort Sabine and other posts. . . . — — Map (db m141141) HM
South Carolina native Samuel M. Brown served with distinction as a surgeon in the Confederate army during the Civil War. He and his family settled in East Texas in 1866 and in 1871 moved to Orange. He was a respected local physician, often treating . . . — — Map (db m201930) HM
Two in a long line of physicians in their family, William and David Caldwell Hewson were significant figures in Orange County. William was born in Philadelphia in 1801. in 1821, he married Mary Ann Bankson and they moved their family several times . . . — — Map (db m116876) HM
A native of Waxahachie, Texas, Emma Shirley Henderson Wallace (1876-1968) attended school at Prairie View College before becoming a teacher in 1896. She taught in Tyler, Ellis and Jefferson Counties before moving to Orange in 1901 to become one of . . . — — Map (db m116194) HM
The grounds were very important to the Starks. Much as the home changed throughout their lives, the grounds also evolved.
Over the years, they added three greenhouses, or conservatories, a potting shed, lily pond, servants quarters, and more. . . . — — Map (db m118243) HM
Local lore places the first burial in this cemetery as early as 1840. When Robert Jackson purchased 35 acres of land including this site in 1853, at least one grave was already present. Jackson allowed that portion of his land to be used for . . . — — Map (db m140563) HM
In 1879 the Rev. Andrew Peddy helped organize this congregation with 18 charter members. They met in the frame Orange County courthouse and were served for a time by missionary preachers. Sarah A. Finch and Anna and L. L. Bettis deeded a lot in . . . — — Map (db m116190) HM
The First Christian Church of Orange began in 1885 when a group of residents started meeting for worship services. Some of these charter members were baptized in the Sabine River. The church officially organized under the Rev. J.C. Mason in 1894, . . . — — Map (db m140722) HM
Until the industrial revolution reached Orange in the late 1880s, most banking needs in the area were handled through Galveston.The growth of Orange as a lumber center and deep water port, however, necessitated the development of a local banking . . . — — Map (db m140866) HM
The first recorded Methodist activity in Orange was in 1859, when the Rev. Valerious C. Canon was sent here from the Woodville District. By 1871, Orange was on a circuit which included Hardin, Jefferson and Orange Counties. According to legend, one . . . — — Map (db m116208) HM
A veteran of the War of 1812, Georgia native George Alexander Pattillo (1796-1871) migrated to this area in the early 1830s. He served on the local Committee of Correspondence created by the Convention of 1832 and on the General Council of the . . . — — Map (db m116654) HM
The son of German immigrants, Henry Jacob Lutcher (1836-1912) became a successful lumberman in this home state of Pennsylvania. Attracted by the vast timberlands of Southeast Texas he and his partner G. Bedell Moore moved part of their operation to . . . — — Map (db m116245) HM
On December 8, 1887, Henry Jacob Lutcher Stark was born in Orange to William H. and Miriam H. (Lutcher) Stark. His maternal grandfather, Henry J. Lutcher, had amassed wealth as a co-founder of the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Company and as a landowner . . . — — Map (db m116270) HM
The history of Orange County is actually the story of utilization and development of the natural resources of this part of southeast Texas. For more than a century and a half, lumber, agriculture, shipbuilding, oil, and finally chemically related . . . — — Map (db m116339) HM
The Orange, Texas USA Rotary Club was admitted to Rotary International on 1 June 1919. Its first President was H.J.L. Stark. Mr. Stark, together with other influential members of the City of Orange, believed that the community would benefit from . . . — — Map (db m116336) HM
The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, USA, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his . . . — — Map (db m116335) HM
Though rumors of slave cemeteries in Orange County abound, the burial ground on this site is the oldest known African American cemetery in the area. When Mary E. (Merriman) Boneville transferred 2.5 acres of land to William King, trustee of Mt. . . . — — Map (db m116196) HM
Following the example of his father Dr. Samuel M. Brown, Georgia native Edgar William Brown (1859-1917) became a practicing physician in Orange. In 1888 he married Carrie Launa Lutcher (1861-1941), daughter of the successful Orange lumberman Henry . . . — — Map (db m190732) HM
A native of North Carolina, Hugh Ochiltree migrated to Texas in 1840. Settling first in Nacogdoches, he studied law in the office of his cousin William Beck Ochiltree, who became a prominent Justice and Texas statesman. In 1843 he moved to San . . . — — Map (db m116641) HM
Henry B. Jackson, a prominent local banker and businessman, built this home soon after he purchased the property in 1902. In 1909 he sold it to Frank W. Hustmyre, Vice President of the Orange National Bank and manager and secretary-treasurer of the . . . — — Map (db m292127) HM
Born in Orange, J.O. Sims (1874-1961) rose from clerk to Board Chairman during his long career with the First National Bank. He married Mary Alberta Spooner (1879-1948) in 1899 and built this residence in 1902. Originally located one block from . . . — — Map (db m141276) HM
Prominent local jeweler Joe Lucas (1865-1944) and his wife Annie (1879-1978) built this home in 1907 as a modest 2-story vernacular structure. As a result of business success they improved their home by adding a Queen Anne style wraparound gallery . . . — — Map (db m292125) HM
Born in 1790 in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, John Harmon lived at Poste de Attakapas, a Spanish fortification at the present site of St. Martinville. A veteran of the state's defensive actions during the War of 1812, he wed Elizabeth Compstock . . . — — Map (db m116875) HM
Patriarch of the Orange County Stark family, John T. Stark was born in Pebble [sic - Preble] County, Ohio, in 1821 and moved to East Texas in 1840. He settled in Newton County in the 1850s where he read law and ran a mercantile store. In 1861 . . . — — Map (db m141306) HM
This house stands on land purchased in 1900 by J. K. Jorgensen, a hardware store clerk. Construction began in 1907 when Jorgensen removed the front porch and two front rooms from a relative's house and moved them to this location on wooden rollers . . . — — Map (db m292126) HM
A millionaire by his early thirties, Leonard Frederick Benckenstein made his first fortune in Detroit, where he was involved in the insurance, stock, and bond business. His friendship with prominent East Texas lumberman John Henry Kirby led him to . . . — — Map (db m116209) HM
In 1859, three brothers, Samuel, David and John Levingston, arrived in Orange from Ireland and purchased an existing shipyard, where they built wooden ships for more than thirty years. The son of Samuel Levingston, "Captain" George Levingston, . . . — — Map (db m116219) HM
Founded in 1878, the First Presbyterian Church initially occupied a frame structure built in 1883 at Market and Polk Street. In 1912 the congregation moved to this church building which Frances Ann (Mrs. Henry Jacob) Lutcher (1841-1924) had erected . . . — — Map (db m142324) HM
James M. Chandler was a Confederate veteran who brought his family to Texas after the Civil War. About 1890 he built a residence and several outbuildings, including a stable, on this property. In 1896, Chandler's daughter Laura began holding school . . . — — Map (db m292128) HM
The earliest known Black congregation in Orange, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church was started in 1871 as a result of the organizatonal efforts begun by Simon Jones, Peter Minor and William Ruben Minor. Joined later by William Edwards, Boyd . . . — — Map (db m116286) HM
Orange's location at a bend in the Sabine River, adjacent to the immense virgin pine forests of southeast Texas, made it an ideal site for shipbuilding. However, by 1930 all of the easily obtainable timber was exhausted, and the associated sawmills . . . — — Map (db m116218) HM
Old First Orange Baptist Church was organized on September 20, 1857, and is the earliest known religious establishment in Orange County. Charter members were Mr. and Mrs. Hollingsworth, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Finch, Mr. and Mrs. Fietus Finch, Josh . . . — — Map (db m172276) HM
On high point SE, across the Sabine in Louisiana. Busiest East Texas port of entry in the Civil War. Target for enemy movements west across Louisiana repeatedly in 1862-64. Confederate defense post. Supply depot to support constant troop movements, . . . — — Map (db m116679) HM
The Orange Chamber of Commerce traces its history to an 1887 citizens' committee that was formed to promote the area's business potential. A reorganization of the committee resulted in the formation of the city's Board of Trade in 1899. A further . . . — — Map (db m142130) HM
Formed from Jefferson County Created February 5, 1852 Organized March 20, 1852Named for the fruit grown in the district since the earliest settlements near the mouth of the Sabine River. County Seat, Madison, 1852 Named changed to Orange February . . . — — Map (db m116304) HM
Shortly after the voters of Orange County and Texas approved secession in 1861, three military companies were raised in the county for Confederate service-- The Orange Light Guard, The Orange Greys, and Hannah's Company. Additional forces, . . . — — Map (db m116191) HM
Clyde Spears established the Orange Dairy Company at this
site in 1941, where he pasteurized and bottled 800 gallons of
milk every day. The Orange Dairy Company collected raw milk
from at least 16 local dairies, including the Peveto Family
and . . . — — Map (db m142129) HM
From 1908 to 1974, the Orange train depot served Southern Pacific Rail company cars passing through Orange. prior to this time, transportation by road and on water was unreliable and unsafe, which inhibited the growth of Orange. However, the late . . . — — Map (db m141632) HM
Born in 1815 in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, Peyton Bland became a vital figure in Orange County. He migrated to Texas as a young man and at Orange in 1835 enrolled to serve in the Texas Revolution. Bland participated in the Grass Fight and the . . . — — Map (db m304221) HM
The second World War catapulted Orange into a period of unparalleled industrial growth. In 1940, as the nation prepared for possible entry into the war, the U.S. Navy Office of Shipbuilding placed orders with three shipyards: Levingston . . . — — Map (db m116222) HM
This African American congregation held informal worship services in homes and later in a nearby building before church trustees Josiah Hardin, William Holmes, Peter Rogers, Julius Sanders, and Silas Hardin acquired a town lot here for church . . . — — Map (db m292122) HM
Six months after the news of the Emancipation reached Texas in 1865, the Louisiana-Texas-Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church for African Americans, known as the Mississippi Conference, was organized on Christmas Day. In 1868, . . . — — Map (db m116290) HM
A native of northern Ireland, Samuel H. Levingston was born in 1832, the son of George and Margaret Levingston. At the age of fourteen he left Ireland with his brothers, David and John, and his sister, Margaret. They settled in Apalachicola, . . . — — Map (db m140670) HM
A native of Talladega, Alabama, Samuel Sholars moved with his parents to Jasper County in 1858. A Confederate army veteran, Dr. Sholars received his medical degree in 1872. He practiced medicine in Orange, founded Sholars Drugstore, served as . . . — — Map (db m141709) HM
During World War II, over 50,000 German prisoners of war were interned in over 70 Texas P. O. W. camps. Base camps were established at military bases throughout the state. The base camps operated a number of branch camps in their respective areas. . . . — — Map (db m172281) HM
The earliest recorded Catholic Mass in the area was conducted by the Rev. P. F. Parisot in 1853, five years before the city of Orange was incorporated. In 1879 the Rev. Vital Quinon (d.1894), a native of France, came to Orange at the request of . . . — — Map (db m140978) HM
This church was established in 1863 under the leadership of the Rev. Joseph Wood Dunn, an area missionary. The earliest services were conducted in the home of Jerome Swinford. His mother-in-law Mary W. Trumble later donated land at the corner of . . . — — Map (db m140809) HM
With roots in the missionary work of the Roman Catholic society of St. Joseph, this parish first gathered for worship in 1924. In that year, Father Alexis la Plante, Josephite pastor of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Beaumont, said mass for . . . — — Map (db m292121) HM
The first known settlers in what is now the City of Orange were John and Elizabeth Harmon, who arrived in 1828 with their three children. Known first as Green's Bluff, the small farming community that developed along a bend in the Sabine River was . . . — — Map (db m129621) HM
Emmett Beuhler (1853-1943), a native of Alsace-Lorraine, came here in the 1880s, during the lumbering boom. With L. Miller, who came from Germany, he established a cypress shingle mill. They built a railroad to the mill, and had 75 men on their . . . — — Map (db m292129) HM
Daniel Webster Howell (1855-1930), a carpenter and contractor, built this two-story galleried residence in 1900-03 for his wife Amanda (Sellers) (1857-1924) and their ten children. In 1918 they sold the house to Milam L. Linscomb, a local barber, . . . — — Map (db m292165) HM
Albert Neyland (1854-1890), son of Orange pioneers, married Louisa Jett (1855-1914) in 1875 and built a small house at this site. In 1877 Alexander Gilmer (1829-1906) bought the property. Gilmer owned sawmills throughout Texas and real estate in . . . — — Map (db m292123) HM
Tracing its origins to 1875, this newspaper has served Orange for over a century. It began as "The Orange Weekly Tribune" operated by A. P. Harris, general mercantile merchant. Through subsequent owners and mergers with other newspapers, the . . . — — Map (db m117250) HM
Orange County's sawmill and timber industry began with hand-operated logging operations run by pioneer settlers in the 1820s. In 1835 Robert Boothe established the area's first mechanized sawmill, and in 1841 Paine & Bendy established the first . . . — — Map (db m116671) HM
Cultural opportunities were rare for women in the Orange Community at the end of the 19th century. On October 18, 1893, a small group of women met to form "The Ladies' Shakespeare Club" for the study of Shakespeare, history and literature in . . . — — Map (db m116205) HM
The trees have had more historical significance than any other aspect of Blue Elbow Swamp. As one of only a few bald cypress and tupelo gum bottomland hardwood areas along the upper Texas coast, the swamp encompasses the transition zone from . . . — — Map (db m172237) HM
Orange, Texas has a long association with the U.S.Navy. Its shipyards build 39 destroyers, 93 destroyer escorts, 106 landing craft, and numerous other vessels in World War II. Orange was home for 250 "Mothball" ships of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . . . — — Map (db m116193) HM
On September 9, 1940, a federal contract worth $82 million was issued to the Consolidated Steel Company to construct 12 Fletcher class naval destroyers here in Orange, Texas. This and other contracts coupled with the subsequent building of major . . . — — Map (db m116221) HM
At the termination of World War II, the United States had the largest naval force of any country in history. Prudent military leaders decided against scrapping surplus vessels, in favor of preserving them so they could be activiated quickly in case . . . — — Map (db m116232) HM
Eastlake detailing decorates the porches and gables of this ornate Queen Anne style residence, built in 1893-94 for William Henry (1851-1936) and Miriam (Lutcher) (1859-1936) Stark. A financial and industrial pioneer, . . . — — Map (db m118244) HM
Joe Weaver established Joseph Weaver and Son Shipyard in Orange in 1897. George Levingston, later founder of Levingston Shipbuilding Company, acquired an interest in Weaver and Son in 1898, and the company built barges for the Galveston Navigation . . . — — Map (db m116231) HM
West End Park, a baseball field with wooden grandstands, was an institution in Orange for nearly 80 years. The park was originally constructed to draw a professional baseball team to the city for spring training. Orange was the center of Orange . . . — — Map (db m292112) HM
A native of San Augustine County, William Henry Stark (1851-1936) lived in Burkeville and Newton before moving to Orange in 1870. Here he worked in the early area sawmills and became acquainted with every phase of the lumber industry. In 1881 Stark . . . — — Map (db m116243) HM
The Winfree community originated in 1831 as a ranch of the early Texas settler Abraham Winfree. By 1914, the area had grown in population and the scattered rural churches were not adequate for the farming families of the area. After purchasing the . . . — — Map (db m150337) HM
Born in Franklin County, Tennessee, Claiborne West moved as a young man to Louisiana. He married Anna Garner in 1824 and they had nine children. His family immigrated to this area in 1825 and received a land grant in the Cow Bayou settlement. . . . — — Map (db m190730) HM
