Historical Markers and War Memorials in Palestine, Texas
Palestine is the county seat for Anderson County
Palestine is in Anderson County
Anderson County(85) ► ADJACENT TO ANDERSON COUNTY Cherokee County(89) ► Freestone County(38) ► Henderson County(38) ► Houston County(116) ► Leon County(18) ►
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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 North John Street at West Crawford Street, on the right when traveling north on North John Street.
F.H. Eilenberger (1878-1959), a German immigrant, worked at bakeries in Galveston and Fort Worth before starting this company in 1898. Originally located on the corner of John and Oak Streets, the operation was moved to this site in 1918. . . . — — Map (db m246935) HM
On Loop State Highway 256, 0.2 miles south of Moody Street, on the left when traveling south.
First Baptist Church can trace its history to 1851, five years after Palestine was founded as the Anderson County seat. Elders McKane and Zachariah Worley (an ordained minister), John and Sarah Smith, J.E. and Rachel Teague, Thomas V. Smith, Theresa . . . — — Map (db m247006) HM
On East Crawford Street at North Houston Street, on the right when traveling west on East Crawford Street.
Organized in 1847 under leadership of lawyer Joseph A. Clark (founder and administrator of college now T.C.U.) and John F. Taylor, a farmer. Both Clark and Taylor were followers of Campbell-Scott movement for Christian unity. Though 16 charter . . . — — Map (db m246063) HM
On South Magnolia Street at West Reagan Street, on the right when traveling north on South Magnolia Street.
This church began with Methodist classes organized by John Wilson in 1840 and held in this area at the home of John Box. Louisiana Catherine "Aunt Bee" Small helped formally organize a Methodist church in Palestine soon after its selection as . . . — — Map (db m245940) 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 Country Club Road (Farm to Market Road 3309) at North Link Street, on the right when traveling east on Country Club Road.
Methodist missionary efforts in this area date to the late 1830s. Circuit-riding ministers served Methodists in Palestine from the time of its founding as the Anderson County seat in 1848. In 1850 church members built a frame sanctuary and in . . . — — Map (db m247007) 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 South Magnolia Street north of West Reagan Street, on the left when traveling north.
Honored National Statesman from Palestine, congressman A.W. Gregg (1855-1919) lived in this house at height of his career. Gregg, member of a distinguished southern family, graduated from University of Virginia School of Law; practiced in Palestine; . . . — — Map (db m245939) HM
On South Magnolia Street at West Brazos Street, on the left when traveling north on South Magnolia Street.
Established in 1884, the International & Great Northern Railway Employees' Hospital Association built a complex of frame structures at this site adjacent to the railroad tracks. The hospital, which operated on monthly employee dues, provided service . . . — — Map (db m245927) 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 State Road 294 at County Road 2119, on the right when traveling east on State Road 294.
As is often the case with early African American cemeteries because of the status of Africans and African Americans in pioneer and plantation society, documentation of the Magnolia Cemetery's origin is scarce. A strong tradition of oral history . . . — — Map (db m246926) 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 West Dye Street at South Jackson Street, on the right when traveling east on West Dye Street.
Established in 1912, N.A. Banks Elementary School served African-American children of Palestine's South End community. Initially the school served grades one through four and was named for the principal of Palestine's Lincoln High School. Nathaniel . . . — — Map (db m245920) 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 North Queen Street at West Crawford Street, on the right when traveling north on North Queen Street.
Outgrowth of 1853 effort by Judge John Graham Gooch to see circulating library established in Palestine - at first lending his own books.
Original city library was replaced by this structure, built 1914 with aid from the Carnegie Foundation. . . . — — Map (db m246934) 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 Avenue A (Loop State Road 127) west of North Elm Street, on the left when traveling west.
On this site and on the grounds beyond were Palestine High School and Luckett Kolstad Field. From this school and this field of play came some of the leaders of our community and state. — — Map (db m246064) HM
On West Debard Street at North Queen Street, on the right when traveling north on West Debard Street.
Established on November 21, 1846, the Palestine Masonic Lodge is one of the oldest organizations in Anderson County. Established by 22 charter members meeting under a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Texas. The group was officially chartered as . . . — — Map (db m246936) HM
On East Oak Street at North Sycamore Street, on the right when traveling west on East Oak Street.
Land at this site was purchased in 1907 from St. Philip's Episcopal Church for a new post office for Palestine. Architects Deacon Armiger and Dunplap, under the supervision of U.S. Treasury architect James Knox Taylor, drew the plans, and . . . — — Map (db m245976) 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 South Sycamore Street at East Angelina Street, on the right when traveling north on South Sycamore Street.
"Silk Stocking Row" Victorian residence built in 1890. Noted as family home of Mrs. Percy V. Pennybacker (1861-1938), teacher, author of widely used school history of Texas, first Texan president General Federation Women's Clubs.
Purchased 1900 . . . — — Map (db m245937) HM
On Lowe Street at Larry Street, on the left when traveling north on Lowe Street.
In 1880, Reverend Richard Henry Boyd helped organize the Pilgrim Hill Baptist Church. Two years later, the church joined Zion Hill District Baptist Association, an organization also established by Reverend Boyd and others. When the church joined the . . . — — Map (db m245816) HM
On South Fulton Street at West Burkitt Street, on the left when traveling north on South Fulton Street.
Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church organized in 1892 to serve residents of the area of Palestine known as South End. Following the Civil War, many African American moved here, working as laborers in shops and railyards. No church existed in the thriving . . . — — Map (db m245923) 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 Knox Street (Farm to Market Road 1990) 0.1 miles West Oak Street (U.S. 84), on the left when traveling south.
In 1941, Chester Underwood of Pennsylvania-based Knox Glass Bottle Co. called Jim Keller, a company representative in Texas, with plans for a new plant. Product demand in the western United States for bottling and canning operations had increased, . . . — — Map (db m245792) 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.
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 flour, salt, . . . — — Map (db m232591) HM
On West Spring Street (U.S. 287) at North Queen Street, on the right when traveling west on West Spring Street.
Since 1872, the railroad has been a defining aspect of Palestine. During World War II, with the town more than a hundred miles from the nearest military installation, the railroad gave local citizens the opportunity to show their support to . . . — — Map (db m246932) HM
On Tennessee Avenue at West Debard Street, on the left when traveling south on Tennessee Avenue.
The arrival of the railroad in Palestine brought many workers, several of whom were Catholic who wanted religious instruction for their children, St. Mary's Academy began in 1882 when Mother St. Andrew Felton, Superior General of the Sisters of . . . — — Map (db m247005) 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 South Dorrance Street at West Dye Street, on the left when traveling north on South Dorrance Street.
In 1893, the Rev. Richard Henry Boyd (1843-1927), a native of Mississippi, organized the South Union Baptist Church of Palestine with 31 charter members. Boyd, known as the "Cowboy Preacher," had established churches around Texas, including . . . — — Map (db m245921) HM
On North Sycamore Street at East Crawford Street, on the right when traveling north on North Sycamore Street.
During the 1850s, Mrs. Frances Henderson wife of Governor J. Pinckney Henderson, helped found St. Philips as a mission. Upon the petition of the Rev. John Owens, who served part-time as the priest here, the Diocese of Texas in 1860 raised the . . . — — Map (db m245975) 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 South Magnolia Street at Bowers Street, on the right when traveling south on South Magnolia Street.
Originally house of merchant Henry Ash, built 1878; bought 1884 by Andrew L. and Nellie O'Connell Bowers, who had architect-builder W.W. Wainright add cupola, gazebo, circular galleries after 1886. Charles Dunbar was architect in 1897 for ornate . . . — — Map (db m245942) 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
On Ridgewood Drive at West Oak Street (U.S. 79), on the right when traveling north on Ridgewood Drive.
In November 1883, Harriet McClanahan Holmes donated one acre of land to Anderson County and William M. Holmes donated funds for the Holmes Community School, where Minnie Lee Holmes served as the first teacher. In the schoolhouse that year, area . . . — — Map (db m245805) 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
