For Weary Travelers
During the height of travel along El Camino Real de los Tejas, this site was a frequent rest stop or paraje. It was known as Paraje el Cerrito or Place of the Little Hill. It was probably a popular stop . . . — — Map (db m232415) HM
Circuit riding preachers served the Methodists of this community as early as 1845. The first written records of this church date from 1852, when the Rev. Andrew Cummings (1817-1882), organized the fellowship as a station on the newly established . . . — — Map (db m232105) HM
The Caddo workers who built the earthen mounds gathered the necessary soil from excavations, or "borrow pits", and carried it in baskets. It took many trips from the pit to the village to significantly increase the height of any mound.
Along . . . — — Map (db m232383) HM
This burial mound was about 20 feet tall and 90 feet in diameter when the village was abandoned. A series of archeological excavations beginning in 1939 determined that it was built in successive stages over a period of about 700 years, ending . . . — — Map (db m232392) HM
The U.S. Army built stateside camps by early 1942 to house prisoners of war (POWs). Camp Alto south of this site was a small branch operation of the Camp Fannin base facility in Tyler. The military set up branch camps to address local labor needs . . . — — Map (db m212162) HM
In 1836, General Sam Houston negotiated a treaty with the Cherokees in Texas allowing possession of the lands they occupied in east Texas. The leading figure among the Cherokees at that time was Duwali (also known as Bowl, Chief Bowles and Bold . . . — — Map (db m40654) HM
A Corridor for Commerce, Culture, and Change - Past and Present
You are standing at one small point on a legendary network of roads that arc across Texas - El Camino Real de los Tejas. The main overland route from Mexico, through . . . — — Map (db m232403) HM
Born in Tennessee, Ellis P. Bean came to Texas with Philip Nolan's mustang hunters in 1800. He was captured by Spanish troops in 1801, and taken to Mexico as a prisoner. In 1810 he was freed in exchange for service to the Royalist Army, but he . . . — — Map (db m239035) HM
Big names and bigger dreams have contributed much to the history of Texas. Zebulon Pike, Stephen F. Austin, Davy Crockett, and others traveled along El Camino Real de los Tejas or stayed in the towns like Nacogdoches that grew up along it. They came . . . — — Map (db m232406) HM
This mound was originally at least three times its current length and reached 35 feet tall. It was the spiritual and political center of the village with buildings for worship or government. Archeological evidence suggests that periodically, the . . . — — Map (db m232376) HM
Kings Highway
Camino Real
Old San Antonio Road
Marked by The
Daughters of The
American Revolution
and The State of Texas
A.D. 1918 — — Map (db m219169) HM
Kings Highway
Camino Real
Old San Antonio Road
Marked by The
Daughters of The
American Revolution
and The State of Texas
A.D. 1918 — — Map (db m219176) HM
Kings Highway
Camino Real
Old San Antonio Road
Marked by the
Daughters of the
American Revolution
and the State of Texas
A.D. 1918 — — Map (db m219186) HM
This Low Platform Mound did not have any buildings on it. Based on archeological evidence, it appears that there were important structures at the ground surface which were burned and then covered over to create a platform mound that was ramped . . . — — Map (db m232387) HM
Bulging out of the earth a few yards from this point, three prehistoric Indian mounds interrupt the prevailing flat terrain. Long overgrown with grass, the mounds and adjacent village (covering about 100 acres) constitute one of the major aboriginal . . . — — Map (db m219203) HM
The natural spring located near the village site feeds into the Neches River and is likely a primary reason the Caddo settled here. It provided a continuous supply of fresh water for the local residents. Village women collected water from the spring . . . — — Map (db m232372) HM
Henry and Helena (Dill) Berryman deeded four acres of land at this site to trustees of the Old Palestine Baptist Church in 1853. Seven years later Helena, by then a widow, gave an additional two acres on which a schoolhouse and community graveyard . . . — — Map (db m239036) HM
Ohio native Robert F. Mitchell came to Nacogdoches County, Texas, in 1837. Briefly associated with John Durst in a mercantile firm, Mitchell moved to Cherokee County in 1849 and, soon after, his land on the upland divide between the Neches and . . . — — Map (db m232120) HM
Built before 1835 as a home and trading post by Martin Lacy, Indian agent for the Mexican government.
Used as a place of refuge after the massacre of the Killough family, October 5, 1838. — — Map (db m121259) HM
Originally established as Mission San Francisco de los Tejas in 1690 by Franciscan missionaries for the purpose of Christianizing and civilizing the Neches and other Indians of the region. Reestablished in 1716. Abandoned temporarily due to French . . . — — Map (db m121257) HM
Here at the opening of the 18th century stood a village of the Neches Indians. Their name was given to the river and later to a mission, San Francisco de Los Neches, established near by. With the Cherokees, the Neches Indians were expelled from . . . — — Map (db m121335) HM
Noted as interpreters and messengers of peace, the Delawares were chiefly instrumental in bringing other tribes to the General Treaty at Bird's Fort (in the present county of Tarrant) in 1843. — — Map (db m121258) HM
Moved to Texas, 1908, from Arkansas. Taught in Rusk and Alto before marrying Dr. James C. Hill in 1919. Teacher, civic, social and religious leader who championed her beloved East Texas. Stella Hill Memorial Library honors her name. Recorded . . . — — Map (db m232125) HM
Along El Camino Real de los Tejas
On a good day, a Spanish carreta, or wooden freight wagon, could travel up to 18 miles before sunset along El Camino Real de los Tejas. In the 1750s, a driver might pass a group of Franciscan friars in charge . . . — — Map (db m232420) HM
The village surrounding Caddo Mounds was divided into two distinct living areas, one for the spiritual and cultural leaders and the other for the common villagers. The inner village surrounded the temple mounds and housed the village's spiritual and . . . — — Map (db m232374) HM
The Caddo village served as a major regional trade center, connected to other settlements by a series of long-distance trade routes. The people here exchanged goods with other groups nearby and from hundreds of miles away. The Caddo imported high . . . — — Map (db m232396) HM
Freed African Americans organized the Weeping Mary Community following the Civil War. Two sisters who were born into slavery, Nancy (Ross) Lockhart and Emily (Ross) Skinner, purchased the land on which the settlement developed. The community and . . . — — Map (db m219470) HM
In 1807, under commission from Gen. James Wilkinson, Governor of the Louisiana Territory, Lt. Zebulon Pike led an expedition to explore the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red Rivers and to report on Spanish settlements in the New Mexico area. . . . — — Map (db m121256) HM
The earliest area settlers were Andrew "Andy" Bragg and Nelson Sneed, black farmers who moved here in 1870. Former slaves, they were later joined by other freedman farmers, landowners and tradesmen. The settlement that resulted was known as Andy. . . . — — Map (db m28191) HM
To make farm and kitchen tools needed in wartime, Chapel Hill Manufacturing Co. in 1863 set up plant on this site, processing native iron, used Cherokee limestone to purify the ore. Nearby hardwood supplied charcoal.
Crew included 100 . . . — — Map (db m232780) HM
One of the earliest Texas women to receive a United States patent, Annie Ella (McCallum) Ault (1880-1935) was born in Panola County. She married Charles Wesley (CW) Ault (1861-1949) on January 27, 1900, and they settled at his pineywoods farm in . . . — — Map (db m232297) HM
Organized in 1891 at the Shiloh schoolhouse by members of the Baptist Church of Christ at Corinth, this church was originally called the Baptist Church of Christ at Shiloh. Charter members elected E. M. Carter as the first pastor. The church was . . . — — Map (db m31865) HM
Cherokee County pioneer David Greene Templeton arrived in the county shortly after the legislature organized it in 1846. Settling in the Gum Creek community (later Old Jacksonville), the North Carolina native became a prominent landowner and civic . . . — — Map (db m232776) HM
Elijah Earle (1804-1880) and his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Jarratt Tatum (1824-1904), set aside land for this graveyard in 1858. Elijah selected his own burial site at the time, marking it by carving his initials on a tree trunk. He was buried . . . — — Map (db m122853) HM
Settlement of the Earle's Chapel community began several years before the organization of Cherokee County. W. J. Ragsdale (1811-1884), a veteran of the Texas War for Independence, and his wife Patsy McAdams (1816-1898) had settled on Prairie Branch . . . — — Map (db m122852) HM
This congregation traces it history to the origins of the town of Jacksonville. When the International and Great Northern Railroad promoted the new town of Jacksonville along its rail line in 1872, city lots were set aside for local churches. . . . — — Map (db m122855) HM
Who Served With Honor in the Armed Forces of the United States of America
Reverse Side of 1st Monument
World War I
Frazier Bagley John T. Bagley Marcellus Beeman H. Bradford Henry Coleman Tom Finley Sam F. Glenn . . . — — Map (db m232472) WM
A blacksmith by trade, Kentuckian Jackson Smith came to Texas in the 1830s and participated in the war for independence. He later visited this area as a Republic of Texas scout. In the 1840s, he settled southwest of here in the Gum Creek community. . . . — — Map (db m232778) HM
The East Texas Educational Society was formed in the spring of 1899 to establish and maintain a Baptist college in East Texas which would provide academic and cultural training with a religious influence. The group chose Jacksonville for the college . . . — — Map (db m232669) HM
Jacksonville's early settlers valued education and had a school as early as 1846 at the original townsite. The Texas Legislature authorized creation of county school districts in 1854, and by the 1860s, Old Jacksonville supported at least two . . . — — Map (db m232616) HM
Jackson Smith, a Republic of Texas soldier and scout who first explored the Gum Creek area in 1838, returned in 1847 and built a house and blacksmith shop where F.C. Hardgraves, James G. Earle, David Templeton and others had started a community. . . . — — Map (db m232299) HM
Known as "The Peach King" for his large peach orchards, John Wesley Love was born near Jacksonville in 1858. He and his wife, Texanna (Pickens), had this home built in 1902-03 to accommodate their family of twelve children. The turn-of-the-century . . . — — Map (db m232613) HM
Judge of the 2nd District for over 13 years. Respected for his quiet studious and careful handling of cases.
Taught in country school at 20. Was chosen County School Superintendent, Judge. Served in legislature 1920's- 1930s. Married Mary Ethel . . . — — Map (db m232769) HM
Oldest junior college in Texas. Founded 1873 in Kilgore by Dr. Isaac Alexander, pioneer educator, as Alexander Institute. In 1875 it became property of the East Texas (now the Texas) conference of the Methodist Church. It was moved to Jacksonville . . . — — Map (db m232667) HM
On this nine mile long ridge there are two historic lookout points which command a view of 30 to 35 miles. Between this site, with an elevation of 713 ft., and Point Lookout (1/4 mi. NW), lies a narrow valley. An Indian trail and later a pioneer . . . — — Map (db m31698) HM
William Stanley Allen Thomas L. Ballew Pearl Beard William Flournoy Bence Meddie L. Blanton Harold Columbus Chapman Jimmie Walter Claiborne Joseph Gaston Cook William Sidney Davis Henry Grady Earle John Willie Heermans Donlie . . . — — Map (db m232471) WM
Originally known as the Cherokee Sanitarium, this hospital began in 1919 as a nine-bed facility in a small Jacksonville apartment house. In 1925, a larger facility was constructed, and five years later, the hospital was renamed to honor Nan Travis . . . — — Map (db m232627) HM
The Rev. John Madison Newburn (1868-1926), a native of Mississippi, came to Jacksonville from Neches, Texas, in the winter of 1896 to assume the pastorate of the First Baptist Church. He and his wife Lula purchased property on this site in 1901 from . . . — — Map (db m232694) HM
Originally an Indian trail. Used in 1765 by the Spanish priest Calahorra on an Indian peace mission. Gained importance, 1820s, for use in hauling salt from Neches Saline to Nacogdoches.
Survivors of the Killough family massacre of 1838 fled via . . . — — Map (db m81748) HM
Begun in Texas colonial style, 1857. W.A. Brown (1841-1933), veteran of Gen. N.B. Forrest's Confederate Cavalry, built main structure, 1874. Victorian additions in 1890's.
Lumber, hand-sawn heart pine, cut nearby. Square nails. Brick of local . . . — — Map (db m232302) HM
As a branch of the Boy Scouts of America, sea scouting promotes mental and physical fitness through maritime skills. In 1936, Jacksonville attorney John C. Box, Jr., organized a unit for local boys, sailing the Sea Scouts Ship 400. The Sea Scouts . . . — — Map (db m136138) HM
In 1885 a two-story frame structure was built on this site and served as the first free public school in Jacksonville. It was destroyed by a tornado in 1890. A three-story brick building was erected here in 1910-12. Known as East Side School, it . . . — — Map (db m232624) HM
Former slaves, led by the Rev. T.B. Johnson, organized Sweet Union Baptist Church in 1887 shortly after the establishment of Jacksonville. Members met in a schoolhouse before erecting their own building in 1894. The church moved to this site by the . . . — — Map (db m232303) HM
Born on a farm in Gregg County, Tom Dean became pastor of the First Christian Church in Jacksonville in 1909, four years before graduating from Texas Christian University. He led efforts to establish the town's public library and first Boy Scout . . . — — Map (db m232774) HM
Early Texas artery of travel and transportation. Ran through lands of civilized Indians whose word "Tejas", for friend, gave name to northern part of New Spain, then to the Republic and State of Texas.
Here in 1690, Spanish explorers and . . . — — Map (db m239033) HM
On land inherited by Delilah Dill Durst from Helena Kimble Dill, whose daughter born in 1804 was thought to be first white child native to Texas. Built about 1830 by Delilah's husband, Joseph Durst, who settled in Texas in early 1800s and rose by . . . — — Map (db m239032) HM
In 1906, the Texas State Railroad built to this area for timber to fuel iron manufacturing at the penitentiary in Rusk. The branch prison established at the railhead was called Camp Wright. When Rusk native Thomas Campbell became governor, he . . . — — Map (db m128989) HM
In operation from 1908 to 1912, the Mewshaw State Sawmill at this site produced 35,000 board feet of lumber daily and was staffed by convict laborers from the nearby Rusk Penitentiary. The village of Maydelle later developed on the rail line that . . . — — Map (db m128987) HM
Located on the original homestead of William and Clarissa
Johnson and their family, this community cemetery began in the
1850s. Although there may have been earlier interments (possibly
including Wiliam Johnson), the earliest documented . . . — — Map (db m163906) HM
In 1901, a new townsite was laid out on the Texas & New Orleans Railroad. Promoted by brothers Lee D. and William T. Guinn, it was named Hubb for county surveyor Hubbard S. Guinn. It was renamed Ponta (an adaptation of the Latin Ponte, which . . . — — Map (db m107325) HM
Formed by 15 young single women in 1902 with fewer than 50 books, this library club would later donate to the City of Rusk a volume of books that greatly contributed to an inventory in excess of 23,000 books. The Book Club, originally housed-in . . . — — Map (db m41138) HM
At this site. Housed some of the more than 3,000 Federals captured at Mansfield, La., on April 8, 1864, in Red River campaign to prevent Federal invasion of Texas. Camp Ford, at Tyler, was largest P.O.W. camp west of the Mississippi. Texas had 2 . . . — — Map (db m232128) HM
Established in 1847 as the city cemetery, Cedar Hill Cemetery is located at the south edge of Rusk in Cherokee County, atop a hill surrounded by a dense forest. Some of Rusk's oldest and most prominent residents have stone monuments in Cedar Hill . . . — — Map (db m232131) HM
Cherokee County has a rich and varied history. Spanish and French explorers of the seventeenth century found Tejas and Hasinai Indians living in this area, and Spanish missions were established in the region.
Driven out of the United States, . . . — — Map (db m212151) HM
(front)
Civil War manufacturing, supply and military center. Field Transportation Bureau shop made and repaired wagons, saddles, harnesses. Gun factory produced "Mississippi rifles" and pistols. Two iron works cast plows, skillets, pots, . . . — — Map (db m95136) HM WM
This courthouse, the fourth to serve the citizens of Cherokee County, was built in 1940-41 with the assistance of the Federal Works Progress Administration. Designed by the architectural firm of Gill & Bennett, the modern structure is built of . . . — — Map (db m40618) HM
Left Panel
In Honor of All Veterans
Men and women who answer the call to duty during war and peace, who serve our country with honor. Often making the ultimate sacrifice to insure our nation's freedom
Veterans of the past, . . . — — Map (db m232612) WM
During the Civil War this area along the road from Rusk to Crockett served as a training camp for Confederate soldiers. Located in a bare field with an available water supply from the nearby Pryor Branch, Camp Rusk was used for training new recruits . . . — — Map (db m232136) HM
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Rusk was organized on May 2, 1847, by the Rev. J.B. Harris, with a charter membership of four. A Sunday school was begun in 1850, and existed as a Union school until the 1880s. Ecumenical relationships were . . . — — Map (db m232163) HM
Organized in 1849, this congregation was first served by the Rev. Henderson D. Palmer (1812-1869), a circuit riding minister. Palmer received his license to preach in 1838 in Nacogdoches County.
The first deed for Methodist church property in . . . — — Map (db m232153) HM
In the winter of 1819-1820 Chief John Bowles led about sixty Cherokee families from Arkansas to East Texas. Near this site a small settlement of about six families was established by a Cherokee leader named Little Bean. They remained until 1839, . . . — — Map (db m128988) HM
Birthplace of James Stephen Hogg, son of Lucanda McMath Hogg and Joseph Lewis Hogg. Born March 24, 1851. Died March 3, 1906. First native Texan to serve as governor. Inspirer of the passage of the Railroad Commission Law, Stock and Bond Law, Alien . . . — — Map (db m40474) HM
Wyatt Thomas Norman and William Harrison Shook, both Cherokee County natives, opened a law office on the Courthouse Square in 1898. George Gibson became a partner in 1918. He later moved to Jacksonville and opened a branch there. Wyatt T. Norman's . . . — — Map (db m41085) HM
Built 1865 by C. Chaffee, a New Orleans promoter cotton-buyer. Served 1868-1883 as law office of S.A. Willson, member of 5-man commission to codify Texas law under Constitution of 1876; later judge in State Court of Appeals. In this building, . . . — — Map (db m232159) HM
This venerated bell commemorates a spiritual and educational influence far greater in impact than the size of its origin would indicate. It now serves as a memorial to the East Texas Baptist Institute, chartered 1895 succeeded by the Academy of . . . — — Map (db m232211) HM
Founded 1846. Named for Republic of Texas Statesman Thomas J. Rusk.
Industrial site and supply depot in the Civil War. Notable for iron manufacturing.
Birthplace of Texas Governors James S. Hogg, Thomas M. Campbell. City and county rich in . . . — — Map (db m201999) HM
First built 1861 as the means for residents east of valley to get to town during rainy seasons.
Rebuilt in 1889 by T.H. Barnes, engineer building New Birmingham (now ghost town, to the east).
Maintained by city of Rusk until 1950. Restored . . . — — Map (db m40464) HM
Bill Brunt (1910-1939) was born near Alto on his familys farm off Sand Flat Road in Cherokee County. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Upon honorable discharge, Brunt was hired by Southern Pacific as a railroad detective . . . — — Map (db m210287) HM
Named in honor of Joseph T. Cook Native of North Carolina Early settler in Nacogdoches Owner of land on which a military company under Captain Black built a fort never attacked by Indians On adjacent land, James Cook built a store and . . . — — Map (db m237454) HM
After efforts to relocate a Methodist School to Rusk fell through, the community convinced the Cherokee Baptist Association to establish a school on 12.2 acres donated by local resident Georgiana Bonner. Chartered in 1894, the East Texas Baptist . . . — — Map (db m232135) HM
By 1884 the Rusk Public School District maintained two schools: No. 1 for its Anglo students and No. 2 for its African American students. A yearly average of 50 students met in a small house built here about 1895 to house Rusk Public School No. 2. . . . — — Map (db m232213) HM
Two speeches were delivered by Sam Houston in Rusk. The first, in 1855, was a debate with politician Frank Bowden. Houston, a U.S. Senator, was on a tour through central and east Texas trying to regain public favor after voting against the . . . — — Map (db m128992) HM
New Birmingham was a boom town nearby in the late 1880s built around local iron ore operations. The furnaces, capable of producing 50 tons of iron daily, were named "Tassie Belle," after the wife of the town founder A. B. Bevins, and the "Star and . . . — — Map (db m30033) HM
The first hotel to occupy this site was the Union Hotel, a wood frame building erected in 1849. Renamed Bracken House for a subsequent owner, it continued to serve the city until 1889. Civil War General Joseph L. Hogg, father of future Governor . . . — — Map (db m128991) HM
In the late 1880s the Texas Prison System built a short rail line from the state penitentiary facility in north Rusk, southwestward to hardwood timber stands, where charcoal was made for use in firing the prison's iron ore smelting furnaces. The . . . — — Map (db m128990) HM
Attorney James N. Thomas (b. 1816) erected the one-story portion of this residence before 1851. James I. Perkins (1847-1923) built the two-story wing and added Victorian detailing after he purchased the property in 1883. Head of a leading Rusk . . . — — Map (db m41034) HM
In the late 1860s or early 1870s, Republic of Texas Army veteran James H. Bowman offered one hundred acres of land to the Rev. W.D. Lewis, Sr., of nearby Barsola, on the condition that he move to the Mt. Hope community for the purpose of . . . — — Map (db m40680) HM
As the population increased in Angelina and Cherokee counties in the 1860s, a formal system of roads began to take shape. Until that time, roads were usually forged by farmers and other pioneers carrying goods to market or traveling to new homes, as . . . — — Map (db m28167) HM
Joseph H. Bowman, a veteran of the Texas War for Independence from Mexico, offered one hundred acres of land to the Rev. W.D. Lewis to come to Mt. Hope community and establish a Methodist church and cemetery. The Rev. Mr. Lewis agreed and the . . . — — Map (db m28138) HM