Benjamin Franklin Wheeler, namesake for the Ben Wheeler Community, contributed to the development of communications across the region in his mail-carrying career and influenced land ownership in the area. He was born in 1818, in Adair County, . . . — — Map (db m255899) HM
The church and cemetery at this site are all that remain of the once-thriving community of Corinth. Settled during the 1800s, Corinth boasted a gin, grist mill, blacksmith shop, doctor's office, sawmill, stores, and a school during its early years. . . . — — Map (db m255907) HM
Land for this cemetery was first deeded in 1886 by James Richardson (1814-1887), on whose land grant the Corinth community had developed. Over the years, additional acreage for the graveyard has been given by members of the D. D. Richardson, Oliver, . . . — — Map (db m255908) HM
The rural community of Creagleville traces its beginnings to the 1840s. It was named for German native Henry Creagle (1826-1872), who settled in Van Zandt County about 1847. The community was located on the Dallas-Shreveport Road, a major east-west . . . — — Map (db m255906) HM
Methodists living in Grand Saline during the early years of its settlement traveled to Creagleville (3 mi. W) to attend worship services. In 1889, after Grand Saline experienced a period of growth due to industrial and business expansion, a . . . — — Map (db m237012) HM
The large saline deposit was a major source of salt in Texas during the Civil War. Salt was first obtained by the Indians. In 1854, works were built. Sam Richardson, the owner in 1861, went to war and left his wife to run the works until the . . . — — Map (db m237013) HM
John Jordan established the community of Jordans Saline when he settled here in 1844 and joined with A.T. McGee in organizing a salt company. When Van Zandt County formed in 1848, Jordans Saline was named temporary county seat. Although the county . . . — — Map (db m237020) HM
In 1844 Charles Fenton Mercer led an effort to colonize an area in north central Texas equal to portions of 18 current Texas counties. His contract to settle 500 families in five years was complicated by various legal issues, but land certificates . . . — — Map (db m255902) HM
The first documented mention of a settlement at this site, just west of Jordan's Saline, comes from an 1863 letter by Alice Merrifield. The community was mostly made up of people who fled west to escape the southern battle sites of the Civil War. . . . — — Map (db m255905) HM
Providence Community comprised mostly of small family
farms, is located in the far northeast section of Van Zandt
County straddling the Smith County line. Since 1845,
colonization of the area was encouraged with land
grants, and many immigrants . . . — — Map (db m237026) HM
A settlement first grew in this area of Van Zandt County beginning in the 1850s, at the junction of the Dallas-Shreveport Road and the Crockett’s Bluff Road. The community was first known as Chrestman, after John W. Chrestman, who purchased property . . . — — Map (db m255898) HM
Pioneer aviator Wiley Hardeman Post was born on November 22, 1898, in the community of Corinth in Van Zandt County, to William Francis and Mae Laine Post, who moved to Oklahoma when Wiley was a boy. Wiley was inspired as a youth to learn to fly. In . . . — — Map (db m237015) HM
