On U.S. 287 east of Boyce Road, on the right when traveling south.
Georgia native Thomas C. Neel married Willia E. Latimer in 1848. The couple moved their family to Texas in 1854 and to Ellis County in 1855. They established a cotton and wheat plantation near what would become Ennis. Neel called his wife "Will" and . . . — — Map (db m152969) HM
On Mosely Street (U.S. 77) 0.3 miles south of Lumkins Road, on the right when traveling south.
Named in honor of
Thomas Jefferson Chambers
(1802-1865)
to whom the first land grant within
present Ellis County was made in 1834
by the Mexican government
Also known as Howe's Settlement
in honor of William R. Howe,
first settler in . . . — — Map (db m117286) HM
On West Main Street (State Highway 34) at Couch Street, on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
3 miles northeast
from here was buried
General Edward
H. Tarrant
Veteran of the War of 1812, member
of the Texas Congress and a
courageous Indian fighter • Born
in North Carolina, 1796 • Died in
Parker County, Texas, August . . . — — Map (db m117285) HM
On Couch Street north of North Ward Street, on the left when traveling north.
A soldier in the Army of Texas
in 1836 • Born in Tennessee, Feb-
ruary 2, 1804; died October 15, 1891
His wife
Mary Hardeman
Born in Tennessee, February
12, 1812 • Died February 19, 1857 — — Map (db m117284) HM
Near Water Street 0.2 miles east of North Main Street (U.S. 77), on the left when traveling east.
Served in the Army of Texas in
1836 • Born in Alabama, September
10, 1810 • Died January 11, 1885
His wife
Isabella Weir
McDaniel
Born in Alabama, March
8, 1818 • Died May 4, 1897 — — Map (db m117283) HM
Near Water Street 0.2 miles east of North Main Street (U.S. 77), on the left when traveling east.
Soldier in the Texas Army in
1836 • Born in Tennessee June
17, 1808 • Died November 24, 1880
His wife
Stacy Choate Jordan
Born in Tennessee, October 15,
1816 • Died January 27, 1884 — — Map (db m117282) HM
On Old Highway 287 at U.S. 287, on the right when traveling south on Old Highway 287.
John I. Richardson (1839-1922), county surveyor, Mason, and veteran of the 12th Texas Confederate Cavalry, married Ann Elizabeth Reagor (1849-1923) in 1865. Both were descendants of the family for which Reagor Springs was named. A cousin, Robert S. . . . — — Map (db m152970) HM
On U.S. 77 0.3 miles south of South Central Boulevard (State Highway 342), on the right when traveling south.
Created December 20, 1849
from Navarro County
Organized August 5, 1850
Named in honor of
Richard Ellis, 1781-1846
a Virginian by birth and education
Jurist and statesman of Alabama
1813-1825
Moved to Texas in 1825
President . . . — — Map (db m152372) HM
On South Central Boulevard (State Highway 342) north of Allen Road, on the left when traveling north.
Originally known as the Kemble Cemetery, this graveyard began as a family burial ground. Abraham Kemble acquired the land on which the cemetery is located about 1860. He and his wife Mary were both buried here in 1867. In 1892 Kemble descendants . . . — — Map (db m152247) HM
On Bells Chapel Road 0.3 miles east of Dawn Drive, on the right when traveling east.
Founded 1875. Site for church and cemetery was given on Dec. 27, 1875, by local landowners John and Elizabeth Gibbons. This tract and some later purchases were deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
Church and cemetery were named in . . . — — Map (db m93219) HM
On Bells Chapel Road 0.2 miles north of Farm to Market Road 813, on the right when traveling north.
Robert Russell Graves (1814-1897) came from Alabama to Texas in 1838 with his wife Esther (Hinkle) Graves (1815-1865), their children, and her father Joseph Hinkle (1771-1859). They came to Ellis County in 1857 and settled on 510 acres purchased . . . — — Map (db m139120) HM
On South College Street at East Franklin Street, on the right when traveling north on South College Street.
A tin cornice decorated with Masonic emblems tops this three-story brick building constructed in 1889 for Waxahachie Lodge No. 90, A.F.& A.M. The first floor was rented to retail stores, the second occupied by professional offices, and the third . . . — — Map (db m152271) HM
Near Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard (Business U.S. 287) east of Cliff Street, on the right when traveling east.
Born in Atlanta, Texas, pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman grew up and went to school in a Waxahachie neighborhood a few blocks north of this site. At age 23 she moved to Chicago and first expressed her desire to fly. Since there were no flight schools . . . — — Map (db m152250) HM
On West Main Street (Business U.S. 287) east of South Rogers Street, on the right when traveling east.
Ellis County's first courthouse was made of cedar logs and built here in 1850. A second courthouse was built on this square in 1853 and a third in 1874. In 1894 Virginia native and San Antonio architect James Riely Gordon was commissioned to design . . . — — Map (db m151374) HM
On West Main Street (Business U.S. 287) west of South Monroe Street, on the left when traveling west.
The Rev. J. A. Smiley organized the First Presbyterian Church in 1871 with 16 charter members. The first church building was erected in 1876 and replaced by this structure in 1916-17. After this congregation merged with another church in 1979, the . . . — — Map (db m151236) HM
On South Grand Parkway south of Commodore Road, on the left when traveling south.
Established in 1889, Getzendaner Memorial Park was originally named West End Park as part of Waxahachie’s West End addition. By the early 20th century, it became Chautauqua Park, named for the annual retreat held on its grounds through 1930. . . . — — Map (db m151999) HM
On South College Street north of East Jefferson Street, on the right when traveling north.
Businessman William F. Lewis and Ellis County Judge M.B. Templeton built this Victorian commercial structure in 1890. Decorative brickwork and cast iron columns highlight the facade. William Pitt Hancock (1872-1955), a well-known defense attorney, . . . — — Map (db m152275) HM
Near South Hawkins Street south of Railroad Street, on the left when traveling south.
"Baseball happens to be my hobby"
"I wouldn't trade hobbies with any man"
Henry Curry, from 1927-1961, became the catalyst for baseball activity in Waxahachie and Ellis County. He expended his time, energy, expertise and money for baseball . . . — — Map (db m152115) HM
On West Main Street (Business U.S. 287) west of South Monroe Street, on the left when traveling west.
A native Texan, Dixon Gillespie Thompson received his medical degree from Louisville Medical School in Kentucky and trained at several hospitals in the east. He married Rufa Jones in 1882 and built this residence for his family in 1883 - 84. In . . . — — Map (db m151193) HM
On South Rogers Street north of South College Street, on the right when traveling south.
The Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad
of Texas was incorporated on Dec. 31, 1891.
Track was laid to Waxahachie in 1889 under
the name of the Dallas & Waco Railway Company.
Passenger service was discontinued in 1964.
The line remained in . . . — — Map (db m152303) HM
On West Main Street (Business U.S. 287) east of North Hawkins Street, on the right when traveling east.
A pioneer among privately-endowed Texas libraries. Situated in Getzendaner Park, which had been donated to the city on Dec. 31, 1895, by Capt. W.H. Getzendaner (1834-1909), an attorney, Confederate veteran, banker, and president of the Dallas & Waco . . . — — Map (db m151256) HM
On Wyatt Street at East Parks Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Wyatt Street.
Oak Lawn began as an elementary school for blacks in 1887 on North Aiken Street. In 1893 the school moved to this site. By the end of the 19th Century, High School classes had been added to the curriculum. Two of the first graduates, Prince . . . — — Map (db m135282) HM
On North Rogers Street at Water Street, on the right when traveling north on North Rogers Street.
Due to overcrowding in the existing jail facility, this structure was completed in 1888. The Ellis County Commissioners Court awarded the contract to Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Missouri. A round turret with conical . . . — — Map (db m122133) HM
On Dallas Highway 2 miles north of Butcher Road, on the right when traveling south.
Originally comprised of men from Ellis and surrounding counties. Organized for Civil War service at Rockett's Spring (4 mi. E. of this site), Sept. 1861, unit was trained and commanded by Col. William H Parsons, Mexican War veteran, colorful . . . — — Map (db m52008) HM
On South Hawkins Street south of Railroad Street, on the left when traveling south.
This ballpark has hosted athletic events since the early 20th century. By 1914, local officials began planning for a field to attract a major league baseball team to train in Waxahachie. After various team representatives visited in 1915, local . . . — — Map (db m151261) HM
On West Franklin Street west of South College Street, on the right when traveling west.
By birth and education, a Virginian;
through residence, 1813-1825, an Alabaman jurist
In that year, Texas claimed him
—
As president of the Constitutional Convention in 1836
and as a member of the Congress of the young republic,
he . . . — — Map (db m152358) HM
On South Rogers Street at South College Street, on the right when traveling south on South Rogers Street.
Located on an early Waxahachie Creek fording site that served pioneer settlers of the area, this truss bridge was built in 1889. It was manufactured by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio, and was one of thirteen approved by Ellis County . . . — — Map (db m151995) HM
On South Grand Avenue south of Commodore Road, on the right when traveling south.
Some 25 years after Chautauqua cultural programs originated in New York State, annual Chautauqua assemblies in Waxahachie began in 1899. Large crowds from North and East Texas and Oklahoma camped here, studying literature and the arts, attending . . . — — Map (db m152000) HM
On South Hawkins Street south of Railroad Street, on the right when traveling south.
The first burial here occurred on Jan. 1, 1852, after the death of pioneer merchant Silas Killough (b. 1805), one of the founders of this community. The original 4.16 acre tract was given in 1858 to trustees of the Methodist church by Emory W. . . . — — Map (db m151260) HM
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