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
In 1833 early settler Andrew Jackson Jones deeded four acres of land to be used for a church and cemetery. The earliest marked grave in the cemetery dates from that year. After the first church building burned in 1893, the members of Mount Zion . . . — — Map (db m309551) HM
Located on 3-acres donated in 1883 by E. M. Curtner, N. E. Young, P. H. and N. C. Neal for a cemetery, school, and church. First school (a 2-story building) was 30 yards west of cemetery. First church was about 300 yards south of the cemetery. . . . — — Map (db m309546) 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 m256732) 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
Though the Bridgeport Community dates from 1860, documentation
of early schools is incomplete. There are accounts of schools held
in private homes, some churches, and the Masonic Lodge at its
original site in Old Bridgeport along the Trinity . . . — — Map (db m309587) HM
Born in Ithaca, New York, William Hudson Hunt became a principal figure in the development of Wise County. He came to Texas in 1836, joining the War for Independence. He then served in the Army of the Texas Republic, participating in the Santa Fe . . . — — Map (db m309573) 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
Organized in 1893, the same year the Rock Island rail line reached the Bridgeport area, this congregation first held its worship services under brush arbors and in the Masonic Lodge building. Methodist circuit rider Ben W. Bounds preached the first . . . — — Map (db m309571) 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
Colonel J.T. Brown founded town of Chico in 1876; built this hotel 1888. In ceremony on hotel porch, Governor Charles A. Culberson pardoned Brown for his part in an 1895 fight fatality. Banker-tenant R. Lee Morris owned Brown Hotel from 1908 to 1965. — — Map (db m255053) HM
Organized in 1874 in home of B. F. Booth by Missionary Noah T. Byars (1808-88), assisted by the Reverend Sithemore, who became pastor. Congregation met at Booth's and in the H. P. Morris home until it acquired site east of present church and built a . . . — — Map (db m255056) HM
Alexander Virgil Hanna (1860-1921) erected this native sandstone structure to house his drugstore in 1893. He provided office space in this building for a doctor, lawyer, jeweler, and the first telephone switchboard in Chico. Hanna sold the business . . . — — Map (db m255051) HM
Two of Texas history's best-known Indian captives, 13-year-old T.A. "Dot" Babb (1852-1936) and his 9-year-old sister Bianca (1855?-1950) were stolen by Comanches from their home near here in September of 1865.
While at play one day, the . . . — — Map (db m255057) 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
A surveyor, part-time Methodist preacher, and Wise County's first tax assessor-collector, R. C. Mount (1826-97) began this structure in 1872 to house his large family. Built of rock that Mount and his sons hauled by wagon from Palo Pinto County, the . . . — — Map (db m255050) HM
This log cabin, believed to have been built in the early 1870s, was the first place of worship for area Methodists and served as a schoolhouse. Dr. J. A. Siddons and his wife M. E. Siddons purchased the cabin in 1883 and enclosed it with other . . . — — Map (db m255052) HM
Founded in May 1872 when Robert Calvin Mount (1826-97), his wife, and three other pioneers worshiped in log schoolhouse. Their pastor: The Reverend S.S. Cobb. Mount donated first church site. In 100 years, congregation has had five successive . . . — — Map (db m255054) 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
In the 1850s, A. H. ("Sevier") Fortenberry and his second wife Jane (Odell) moved from Arkansas to the wilderness then existing in this section of Texas. Living as a farmer and stock raiser, Fortenberry joined neighbors in warding off Indian raids . . . — — Map (db m261290) 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
Organized in 1856 under the Rev. J.T. Willis, the church first met in the log cabin of Samuel Perrin in Taylorsville, now known as Decatur. From early on, members were active in the town. By the late 1880s, the Rev. J.F. Young preached both in this . . . — — Map (db m309574) 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
Pioneer settlers came to this area as early as the 1850s. Local tradition states that the Greenwood and Hart families were among the first settlers in the area, and that the community was named for the Greenwood family and the creek was named for . . . — — Map (db m261291) HM
In 1895, members of the fraternal organization, the Freemasons, petitioned the most worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas to establish a Masonic Lodge in their community. The lodge was chartered on December 4, 1895, and found its home . . . — — Map (db m261293) HM
In April 1893, Reverend Josephus Wesley Ford and wife,
James Alexander Ford and wife, Richard S. Ford and wife,
Jessie Garrison and wife and Sister Jessie L. Phillips organized
the New Salem Freewill Baptist Church southwest of . . . — — Map (db m309582) HM
This congregation was organized in 1878 with fourteen charter members by the Reverend Jim Smith and the Reverend E.C. Fullingim. In 1880 the church became part of the Decatur circuit, and the Reverend R.N. Brown served as its first regular pastor. . . . — — Map (db m255059) HM
Oak Lawn Cemetery was officially established in 1878 when William T. Perry deeded property to R. M. Collins, the mayor of Decatur, for a public burial ground for area residents. At that time however, at least one marked grave, that of Eli Lindley . . . — — Map (db m309552) 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
Records do not indicate when a Baptist church was established in
this area, but in a deed dated October 5, 1880, Thomas S. Burton
conveyed four acres for one dollar to "the Baptist church on
Martin's Branch." No mention of a cemetery was made in . . . — — Map (db m309586) HM
The land around this site was deeded to the trustees of the Lee School Community, one of whom was M. W. Preskitt, in April 1885. In August of the following year, the Lee School trustees deeded half that parcel to County Judge W. W. Brady for a . . . — — Map (db m309569) HM
Born a slave near Savannah, GA., Randolph Vesey was body servant to Confederate General William Lewis Cabell during the Civil War. In 1868, while living on the Montague-Wise County line, Vesey was captured by Indians and taken to Kansas. Black . . . — — Map (db m309553) 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 m309556) 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 m256733) 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
Operated 1885-1962 to support and employ dependent or needy citizens and as place for county convicts to work out fines. First superintendent of the 320-acre farm, R. Suffert, managed all land and activities and his wife cooked, washed, and sewed . . . — — Map (db m309559) 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
Trimble Cemetery was the main burial
ground used by the residents of the tiny
community of Flatwood (also known
as Davis City) that existed during the late
nineteenth century. The cemetery is
named for an early owner of the
property, James W. . . . — — Map (db m309578) HM
Georgia native the Reverend Henry Fullingim, his wife Martha, and their 17 children came to northeast Texas in 1849. Henry Fullingim served the area as a circuit-riding Methodist minister. Their son, Archibald, and their son-in-law, John Hale, came . . . — — Map (db m255058) 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
Born in Alabama. Came to Wise County in 1855. Well known as champion of the defenseless. Active in resisting Indian attacks on pioneers. Member and guiding officer in numerous home guard units. Served as sheriff in 1860s, 1870s. — — Map (db m309547) HM
Settled in 1850s by Moses Ball and other pioneers. Tradition says first burial here was an Indian; the second, a small girl who died while her family was migrating through the area. Oldest tombstones are dated 1878. There are many unmarked graves. . . . — — Map (db m309548) HM
Named for a stream that flowed through the area, the community of Rush Creek contained a school, two churches, and a cemetery. The oldest recorded burial is that of Harry Houston, infant son of John and Mary Houston, who died in 1875. The site . . . — — Map (db m309568) HM
Established Sept. 8, 1855. First white settler in Wise County, Benjamin B. Haney, was the first postmaster. Second was Martha E. Marshall, appointed Dec. 5, 1856; third, Nathan Huff, served from March 16, 1860, until office was discontinued on Dec. . . . — — Map (db m309561) 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
As railroads expanded across Texas in the 1880s, the Dallas, Pacific & Southeastern Railway was planned to link Dallas and Albuquerque. The road, which was graded northwest from Dallas to near this site, traversed southern Wise County, including . . . — — Map (db m309583) 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
During the late 1880s, members of this church held home worship services in Old Town, the original Paradise townsite (1.5 miles southwest). The arrival of the Rock Island Railroad sent residents to this location, which was nearer to the rail line. . . . — — Map (db m309549) 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
Robert A. and Molly Paschall settled in this area in 1876 and purchased 160 acres of land near Salt Creek in 1890. In 1902 the Paschall, Texas post office was established in their home which also housed the Paschall-Cottondale Telephone Company. . . . — — Map (db m309760) HM
Settled in the early 1880s, the rural community of Draco was originally called Tylewater. The name was changed when a U.S. Post Office was granted in 1883, with W. J. Mann as first postmaster. The community soon boasted two churches, a school, . . . — — Map (db m309562) HM
This community is one of three in Wise County named Pleasant Grove. The earliest marked graves in the cemetery date from the late 1870s. A community school was started here in 1879 and a frame schoolhouse was built north of the burial ground on 1.5 . . . — — Map (db m309554) 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
J.E. Barnes purchased this site in 1885 from P.J. Hyde and his wife Mary E. Hyde. The earliest marked graves are those of Barnes' wife Dizania (b.1861) and son Felix, both of whom died on December 4, 1879. Many early settlers of the abandoned Jim . . . — — Map (db m254106) 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
A native of Tennessee, Samuel G. Evetts came to Texas in the 1830s. In December 1835 he was wounded at the Siege of Bexar. He later lived in Austin and Coryell counties and received land grants in those counties as well as in the counties of . . . — — Map (db m309555) HM
The Willow Point Cemetery had its origins in 1882 when Anna M. English died on October 23 and was buried on land owned by Samuel G. Evitts. The next year, on July 13, Evitts died and was buried in the same area. The land changed hands several times . . . — — Map (db m309557) HM
