On County Highway 2602 at County Highway 2601, on the left when traveling north on County Highway 2602.
Originally part of a Mexican land grant awarded to Jose de Jesus Grande in 1828, land at this site was later granted to early area settler Henry Rampy. Rampy, who had come to this part of Texas in 1848, deeded 5 acres of his land in 1859 for a . . . — — Map (db m181660) HM
On West Parker Street (State Highway 294) 0.2 miles west of Hemby Street.
After the Civil War, the Cromwell family moved to Elkhart in Anderson County. Finding no organized Baptist church in the community, J.W. Cromwell decided to organize a Baptist church. In April of 1886, Cromwell and six other charter members founded . . . — — Map (db m207084) HM
On East Parker Street (State Highway 294) at Church Street, on the left when traveling west on East Parker Street.
The first Methodist service held in this area was in 1840. When a group of citizens formed a small congregation that met in private homes. In 1878 a Methodist mission was established in Elkhart. The Rev. J.F. Henderson, a circuit riding minister, . . . — — Map (db m207066) HM
On State Highway 294 at Farm to Market Road 319, on the right when traveling east on State Highway 294.
Organized in Illinois in 1833
by Daniel Parker
Members moved to Texas
First meeting in
Stephen F. Austin's Colony
January 20, 1834
Log church built December, 1839
Old graveyard adjoins.
Present church fourth on the same site . . . — — Map (db m36924) HM
On West Parker Street (State Highway 294) 0.1 miles west of Davis Street, on the right when traveling west.
Despite adverse conditions, African Americans in Texas in the late 19th century worked hard to provide their children with an education. Students in this area attended Mt. Moriah, Boxes Creek, Beulah, Washington Chapel, Union Hope and New Mt. Zion . . . — — Map (db m212161) HM
Near West Main Street at South Elm Street (State Highway 155).
In 1900 the Texas & New Orleans Railroad built a line through this area and plotted a townsite here on land owned by Frankie Miller. The town was named for "Miss Frankie" who donated this site, known as the Town Square, for a city park. By 1908 a . . . — — Map (db m161088) HM
On South Elm Street (State Highway 155) at South Miller Street, on the right when traveling south on South Elm Street.
In 1900 the Texas & New Orleans Railroad, now part of the Southern Pacific line, platted the town of Frankston. The station was first called Frankport and the post office Ayres. Both were renamed Frankston in 1902 for Miss Frankie Miller, who gave . . . — — Map (db m102007) HM
On County Highway 436 at County Highway 435, on the left when traveling south on County Highway 436.
Early denominational records indicate that this congregation was in existence as a mission church as early as 1880. In 1896, A.L. and Susanna Herrington donated one acre to the county to be used for a free school. A one-room school building was . . . — — Map (db m161100) HM
On Farm to Market Road 19 at Road 320, on the right when traveling south on Road 19.
Here General Thomas J. Rusk with 200 Texans on October 16, 1838, attacked a band of hostile Indians and allied Mexicans, molestors of frontier settlements, and routed them. — — Map (db m102008) HM
On Highway 19, 3.5 miles Highway 321, on the left when traveling north.
In area known as Beaver Valley, settled about 1853 -- the year that pioneer P. G. Oldham built his home a half-mile northwest of this marker. This was on the Palestine-Athens Road, the route taken by mail hacks in early days. To the east was a . . . — — Map (db m155482) HM
Near Cemetery Road (County Highway 4440) 0.2 miles south of State Highway 155.
The earliest marked graves in this cemetery date to the late 1850s. Although settlement of the Mound Prairie community occurred much earlier. Mound Prairie, once the home of a Baptist College known as Mound Prairie Institute, declined during the . . . — — Map (db m161101) HM
On Farm to Market Road 2574 at Neches Street, on the left when traveling north on Road 2574.
Murdoch McDonald was born in North Carolina on February 15, 1810, the son of Scottish immigrants. About 1832 he went to Georgia, where he met Dr. George Lester. In 1839, McDonald, along with Lester and his family, came to Texas. Settling in the . . . — — Map (db m136105) HM
On Loop State Highway 256 at Moody Street, on the left when traveling south on State Highway 256.
Alonzo Marion Story (1882-1966) was born in New Orleans to parents John and Mary Story. He attended public schools and graduated from Louisiana's Leland College before doing post-graduate work in Texas and Colorado.
Story came to Texas at the . . . — — Map (db m232792) HM
On North Mallard Street (State Highway 19) at East Poplar Street, on the right when traveling south on North Mallard Street.
Created March 24, 1846,
from Houston County
Organized July 13, 1846 with
Palestine as the county seat
Named in honor of
Kenneth Lewis Anderson
Vice-President of the
Republic of Texas
1844-45 — — Map (db m128942) HM
On North Church Street (State Highway 19), on the right when traveling north.
Created by the Texas Legislature on March 24, 1846, Anderson County was named for former Republic of Texas Vice President Kenneth L. Anderson. The first court in the new county was held in a log house at nearby Fort Houston in 1846.
The first . . . — — Map (db m128934) HM
On North Jackson Street at West Oak Street, on the left when traveling north on North Jackson Street.
After the creation of Anderson County in 1846, most settlers came from southern states, shaping the county’s destiny in the Civil War. When Texas became the seventh state to secede from the Union on March 2, 1861, the county vote, 870 to 15, was . . . — — Map (db m182382) HM
On East Murchison Street at East Calhoun Street, on the right when traveling west on East Murchison Street.
According to local tradition this congregation traces its origin to informal services held in various homes in Palestine as early as 1856. Although referred to as "Antioch Under the Hill" the congregation was formally named Antioch Baptist Church in . . . — — Map (db m219435) HM
On West Spring Street near North Howard Street, on the right when traveling west.
Born in Palestine on April 22, 1946, Steven Logan Bennett grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana. He graduated from Youngsville High School in 1964 and then enrolled at Southwestern Louisiana State (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) where he . . . — — Map (db m219475) HM
On West Spring Street at West Oak Street, on the right when traveling west on West Spring Street.
Born in Palestine in June 1850, Christopher Columbus Rogers was a noted and controversial lawman. Although his family moved to a rural area, Rogers returned to Palestine and lived with his sister, Eliza, and her husband, James Ewing. Rogers was 13 . . . — — Map (db m219281) HM
On North Mallard Street (State Highway 19), on the right when traveling south.
Born in Kickapoo (Anderson Co.) in 1901, Homer Garrison was the son of Mattie (Milam) and Homer Garrison, Sr. The family moved to Angelina County, where Homer, Sr. served as District Clerk. Homer, Jr. graduated from Lufkin High School and worked for . . . — — Map (db m128944) HM
On East Crawford Street at North Cedar Street, on the right when traveling west on East Crawford Street.
Donald Ray Hastings, born in 1936 in Palestine, was the son of William Benjamin and Grace (Jenkins) Hastings. He attended local schools and graduated from Palestine High School in 1954. The previous year, the local theater screened "The Iron . . . — — Map (db m232798) HM
On South Micheaux Street, on the right when traveling north.
Bonner Frizzell was born in the Pine Grove Community, near Athens, in 1882. He was the son of William Asachel and Frances Missouri (Knight) Frizzell. Bonner attended high school at Bruce Academy in Athens and then moved to Tyler to attend Tyler . . . — — Map (db m128978) HM
On Avenue A near East Oak Street, on the left when traveling west.
Organized Nov. 3, 1849, with 18 charter members, by the great pioneer leaders, Revs. Daniel Baker and John May Becton, home missionaries. This Gothic building of handmade brick was erected in 1888; enlarged since by two additions.Recorded . . . — — Map (db m219436) HM
On West Reagan Street at Knox Street, on the right when traveling east on West Reagan Street.
A fort and stockade built about 1836 on the public square of the town of Houston (then in Houston County), as a protection against the Indians, by order of General Sam Houston, Commander-in-Chief of the Texan Armies. The town was abandoned in 1846 . . . — — Map (db m182048) HM
On West Reagan Street at Knox Street, on the right when traveling east on West Reagan Street.
A stockade and blockhouse of the Republic of Texas. Built in 1835-1836 to protect settlers who founded Houston, a pioneer town, now in Anderson County.
Friendly Indians would come to trade at the site, but wary settlers often slept inside the . . . — — Map (db m182049) HM
On Harcrow Road, on the right when traveling south.
In 1835, Joseph Jordan and William S. McDonald donated about 500 acres of land in this area for the town of Houston, later known as Fort Houston. An early map of the townsite shows a section designated as a "public burying ground." The infant . . . — — Map (db m181890) HM
On North Church Street (State Highway 19) at East Lacy Street, on the right when traveling north on North Church Street.
Born near Rusk in Cherokee County, Thomas Mitchell Campbell was the son of Thomas Duncan and Rachel (Moore) Campbell. He financed his education by working for the County Clerk in Longview. In 1878 Campbell was admitted to the Bar and opened his law . . . — — Map (db m128941) HM
On East Hodges Street at North Church Street, on the right when traveling west on East Hodges Street.
In the 1870s, after the International & Great Northern Railroad line reached Palestine, brothers A. B. and Dan Hodges moved here from Tennessee Colony settlement and became leading merchants. This house was built in 1895 by Dan Hodges for his wife . . . — — Map (db m219437) HM
On East Park Avenue at Crockett Road (U.S. 287), on the right when traveling west on East Park Avenue.
John Henninger Reagan, son of Timothy and Elizabeth Lusk Reagan, was born on October 18, 1818, in Sevierville, Tennessee. He joined the Republic of Texas Army in 1839 and served in the Cherokee War. In the early 1840s, he held several public . . . — — Map (db m128981) HM
On North Jackson Street at West Oak Street, on the left when traveling north on North Jackson Street.
John Henninger Reagan, son of Timothy and Elizabeth Lusk Reagan, was born on October 18, 1818, in Sevierville, Tennessee. He joined the Republic of Texas Army in 1839 and served in the Cherokee War. In the early 1840s he held several public . . . — — Map (db m182822) HM
On East Park Avenue at Crocket Road (U.S. 287), on the right when traveling west on East Park Avenue.
(Front):John H. Reagan (Right):"The Old Roman's highest ambition was to do his full duty; consciousness of having done it was his ample reward." (Left):"A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor . . . — — Map (db m17496) HM
On West Oak Street near North Sycamore Street, on the left when traveling west.
Soren Kolstad (1823 - 1918), a skilled artisan and clockmaker, migrated to Texas from his native Norway in 1852. He settled in Palestine, where he opened a jewelry store in 1853. The store has occupied four locations. Mahogany display cases, . . . — — Map (db m182449) HM
On North Perry Street (Loop State Highway 127), on the right when traveling south.
Little is known about this Anderson County pioneer until he married Elizabeth Van Winkle in Crawford County, Illinois, in 1820. The Mains lived in the Illinois township of Palestine until 1833, when, drawn by a favorable change in the Mexican . . . — — Map (db m128935) HM
On East Calhoun Street at Head Street, on the left when traveling east on East Calhoun Street.
Freedmen organized this African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1873. The first sanctuary, a frame building at Mulberry and Birch Streets, was shared with a group of Missionary Baptists. In the late 1870s the Methodists built their own chapel at this . . . — — Map (db m232793) HM
On East Crawford Street at North Cedar Street, on the left when traveling west on East Crawford Street.
The crossroad of Crawford St. and the Wells Creek or Indian Creek has been a major part of Anderson County history.
1836 and earlier The Indians and settlers first traveled and traded along the creek making encampments and trading zones. . . . — — Map (db m232800) HM
On East Palestine Avenue (State Highway 19) at North Laura Street, on the right when traveling east on East Palestine Avenue.
Native American photographer, artist and writer Osjetea Briggs was born on December 14, 1917, to Simeon Singleton Briggs (1877-1974) and Docia Augusta (Gant) Briggs (1894-1969) in Groesbeck, Limestone County, Texas. Following her high school . . . — — Map (db m186131) HM
On Avenue A (State Highway 127) at North Elm Street, on the left when traveling east on Avenue A.
Palestine, founded 1846, acquired fire department when International & Great Northern Railroad extended line here in 1872. Early fire-wagon was horse-drawn flatbed loaded with hose. Motor truck and city water were introduced 1918. Bell from 1895 . . . — — Map (db m232794) HM
On South Micheaux Street, on the right when traveling north.
A public school system in Palestine was established in 1881 under control of the municipal government. The first classes were held at the old Palestine Female Institute (built in 1858), then a high school was built in 1888 at the Institute site on . . . — — Map (db m128980) HM
On North Church Street (State Highway 19) at East Crawford Street, on the right when traveling north on North Church Street.
(Front and southwest side): Located 6.5 miles southwest during the Civil War this salt works was assigned to produce salt for the Confederacy at a fixed price of eight dollars for a hundred-pound sack. Private customers from East Texas, . . . — — Map (db m31881) HM
On East Lacy Street, on the right when traveling east.
P.L. Chism’s devotion to education was unsurpassed. From the time of his youth, through his many years as a teacher, principal, superintendent and supervisor, he never stopped challenging himself and others for education. Purvey Lee Chism was born . . . — — Map (db m128938) HM
On South Micheaux Street, on the right when traveling north.
As a coach of athletics and a youth mentor, Robert (Bob) Knight positively influenced the lives of countless Palestine citizens. He was born in Iredell (Bosque County) in 1909, the last of eight children of William and Missouri Jane (Hand) Knight. . . . — — Map (db m128977) HM
On South Micheaux Street, on the right when traveling north.
Roy B. Wallace was born in Coolidge, Limestone County, on October 13, 1901, to Benjamin C. Wallace, Sr. And Mae McCoy Wallace. Roy attended school in rural Limestone County and attended Texas Christian University prior to earning his Bachelor’s . . . — — Map (db m128979) HM
On West Oak Street at North Queen Street, on the right when traveling west on West Oak Street.
Successor to 1874 Church of St. Joseph, built on site given by International & Great Northern Railway, and destroyed by fire in 1890. This building of handmade brick was begun later that year; Nicholas J. Clayton of Galveston was the . . . — — Map (db m219438) HM
On East Kolstad Street east of North Elm Street, on the left when traveling east.
Built in 1848 as the home of Judge John B. Mallard, first lawyer in Palestine. Became the home of Judge William Alexander in 1857. Alexander was Chief Justice of Anderson County 1860-1865, and a trustee of the first school in Palestine. . . . — — Map (db m185721) HM
On Avenue A at East Main Street, on the left when traveling west on Avenue A.
James B. McKnight moved to Anderson County in 1848. In 1876 and 1879, he bought land at this site from J.H. Mead. Here, he operated a saddlery and farrier business. McKnight died in 1907, and in 1910, the property was sold to the Farmers and . . . — — Map (db m232802) HM
On State Highway 294 at County Road 2117, on the right when traveling east on State Highway 294.
(one-half mi.S) Founded in 1840s as a ferrying point on the Caddo Trace; later became a major landing for flatboats and steamers on the Trinity River, where cotton and other products were shipped by a four-day trip to Galveston to be exchanged for . . . — — Map (db m232591) HM
On State Highway 294, 0.5 miles east of U.S. 79, on the right when traveling east.
Woodhouse School began with the consolidation of the Long Lake, Tucker and Magnolia schools into Consolidated Common School District No. 7. These were all small schools, each with two teachers: one for grades one through four and another for grades . . . — — Map (db m136004) HM
On Park Road 70, on the left when traveling south.
Micam Main of Illinois was granted a league of land by the Mexican government in 1835. One of the area's first brickmakers, Samuel M. Warden, died while working on Main's estate on Christmas Eve in 1847. He was interred on this site. According to . . . — — Map (db m128982) HM
On Park Road 70, on the left when traveling south.
The Texas Prison System built a short rail line from the Rusk State Penitentiary to hardwood timber stands where charcoal was made for firing the prison's iron ore furnaces. The rail line became the foundation of the Texas State Railway, organized . . . — — Map (db m128983) HM
On West Spring Street at West Oak Street, on the right when traveling west on West Spring Street.
Established as Anderson County seat in 1846 by the Texas Legislature, Palestine grew steadily throughout the remaining 19th century, nearing 9,000 residents by 1900. The town first centered on trade facilitated by the Trinity River, with . . . — — Map (db m155447) HM
On East Lacy Street, on the right when traveling east.
Born the son of a runaway slave, Smith yearned for a better life. He attended Prairie View A&M College and received a degree in Vocational Agriculture. He became a teacher, educating the children of North Carolina and Texas for 42 years. He also . . . — — Map (db m128939) HM
Near Moody Street east of Birch Street, on the right when traveling east.
William Freeman was born a slave in Anderson County on August 1, 1863, to Charlotte Freeman. His mother was a slave and the maid at the Jacob Hunter Plantation near Mound Prairie. After the slaves were freed in 1865, they moved to Palestine. . . . — — Map (db m186069) HM
