During the Great Depression, Hicks Jobson set aside eight acres of his farm to allow the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal work relief programs, to establish a local camp. Located 1/4 mile east of . . . — — Map (db m244932) HM
In 1881, fifteen area residents organized the Mesquite Presbyterian Church. These charter members originally worshipped in a home where the Rev. George L. Blewett, a noted circuit riding preacher, held services. The congregation completed their . . . — — Map (db m150871) HM
John P. (1827-1899) and Martha (Oden) (1835-1872) Potter, pioneer citizens of the Republic of Texas, bought a farm near the Haught's Store Community in 1860. When their son William L. Potter died in July 1861 he was the first to be buried on this . . . — — Map (db m150880) HM
Zachariah Motley migrated to Texas (1856) from Kentucky with his family and slaves. He and his wife Mary, five sons and three daughters helped settle this area and built their home some 200' northeast of this site, a one-half acre portion of the . . . — — Map (db m92012) HM
The son of an original member of the Mercer colony, Stephen Decatur Lawrence (1853-1934) received about 640 acres of farmland on his twenty-first birthday. He began building the first structure, a small home, on this site in 1874. In 1882 . . . — — Map (db m147582) HM
This congregation first met in members' homes at the end of the 19th Century. In 1907 three trustees of the church -- Chester Williams, G. M. Purcell, and Claude Hocker -- purchased property near what would become Fair Park. An existing white . . . — — Map (db m151568) HM
A post-World War II population boom transformed the metroplex, including Mesquite, with a population then numbering about 1,600. In 1947, as new roads and subdivisions connected previously rural communities, the city's first park was developed. . . . — — Map (db m150862) HM
David W. (1848-1932) and Julia Savannah (Beaty) Florence (1850-1914) built the first portion of this ranch house in 1871-72 after moving here from Van Zandt County. Elaborate wood trim decorates the gallery of the simple frame structure. The house . . . — — Map (db m97699) HM
In May 1873, Texas & Pacific Railroad engineer A.R. Alcott platted a new depot town named Mesquite. The post office opened the following year. The community developed along the rail line, with businesses initially facing Front Street. As the town . . . — — Map (db m150835) HM
In 1857, prior to the incorporation of the town of Mesquite, a group of area residents began gathering occasionally for Methodist worship services led by circuit riding preacher W. K. Masten. Services were held in a nearby building known variously . . . — — Map (db m150878) HM
Three generations of a Mesquite family made important contributions to the city's commerce, schools and fine arts. Tennessee native Nathaniel A. Holley (1861-1947) came to the area in 1884, farming 40 acres near Balch Springs and raising sugar . . . — — Map (db m147583) HM
This burial ground was in use well before the Texas and Pacific railroad established the city of Mesquite in 1873. The earliest marked grave is that of Britanna Santifee Chapman (1856-1859), who shares a plot with pioneer residents Davis G. . . . — — Map (db m150861) HM
Founded in 1885, the Mesquite community school served students until the first building of the newly formed Mesquite Independent School District was completed on this site in 1902, beginning with 200 students. Through strong community support, a . . . — — Map (db m150837) HM
Sam Bass - with Seab Barnes, Hank Underwood, "Arkansas" Johnson, and Frank Jackson - held up a Texas & Pacific train here, April 10, 1878. They took $152, but missed hidden shipment of $30,000. In planning a bank robbery 3 months later, Bass was . . . — — Map (db m147578) HM
Confederate veteran Benjamin Franklin Galloway (1833-1912) And his wife Eliza (Fletcher) (1852-1883) came to Texas from Tennessee in 1872. Their son Bedford Forest is said to have been born in a covered wagon at Duck Creek (Garland) in 1873. They . . . — — Map (db m150827) HM
