In 1930, Henderson was a sleepy cotton town struggling through the Great Depression. Then came C.M. 'Dad' Joiner, a 70-year-old wildcatter with a stubborn belief that there was oil nearby, even though major oil companies had drilled dry holes and left. People thought he was a fool. He drilled two failed wells, ran out of money, and was plagued by equipment failures. But on his third try, the Daisy Bradford No. 3, something happened. On October 3rd, 1930, about eight miles west of here, on the Miller farm where the town of Joinerville would soon rise, the well erupted, spewing black gold into the air. Joiner hadn't just found oil; he'd tapped into the largest oil field ever discovered in the lower 48 states. Overnight, Henderson became a chaotic boomtown. Fortune seekers poured in, money flowed like oil, and this small East Texas town found itself at the center of the world's energy map.

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Henderson's Darkest Day RoadyGoat

On March 18, 1937, the ground shook about a dozen miles from here. In New London, a natural gas explosion had obliterated the local school, killing close to 300 students and teachers. It remains one of the deadliest disasters in Texas history. Within minutes, Henderson was part of the response. Sirens wailed as doctors, nurses and ambulances raced toward the scene, and buildings all over Henderson were turned into makeshift first-aid stations and morgues — the same thing happening in Overton, Kilgore, Tyler and Longview, while thirty doctors and a hundred nurses came in from Dallas. Citizens turned their cars into ambulances and their homes into triage centers. It was a day of unimaginable grief, but it was also a day that revealed this town's character, as the people of Henderson dropped everything to help their neighbors in a time of desperate need.

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The Secret of the East Texas Oil Field RoadyGoat

The East Texas Oil Field, discovered near here, shouldn't have existed according to the science of the 1920s. Geologists were trained to find oil in 'anticlines,' which are dome-like structures in the rock that trap oil and gas. They drilled these structures all around Henderson and found nothing. But the geology here is tricky. The oil wasn't in a dome; it was in a 'stratigraphic trap.' Imagine a huge, tilted sponge—that's the Woodbine Sandstone formation. Millions of years ago, this sandstone layer was sealed off on its upper edge by a dense, impermeable layer of Austin Chalk. This created a massive, angled trap where oil, migrating upward, got stuck. It wasn't a dome, but a pinch-out. 'Dad' Joiner, the wildcatter who found it, wasn't using advanced geology; he was drilling on a hunch. He accidentally discovered a type of oil field the experts had completely missed, proving that sometimes, the greatest discoveries are made when you break the rules.

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Cowart, Dax S.

1973

Dax S. Cowart, Texas trial lawyer and patient's rights advocate, originally named Donald Herbert Cowart, was born to Thomas Ray Cowart and Ada Bernice (Triplett) Cowart on December 16, 1947, in Harlingen, Texas, where his parents raised Santa Gertrudis cattle . Due to a heavy drought, his family moved from the Rio Grande Valley to the East Texas town of Henderson, where Cowart spent his youth. Nicknamed "Donny Boy" by his father, Cowart excelled in high school athletics at Henderson High School. He was captain of his high school varsity football team and performed in rodeos as a bull and bronco rider. After graduation from high school, Cowart attended Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) before enrolling at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a bachelor's degree in finance in 1970. Following graduation, Cowart was drafted into the United States military. He elected to join the U. S. Air Force and flew C-141 aircraft during the Vietnam War. He was discharged from active duty in 1973 but continued to serve as a pilot in the Air Force Reserve. In July 1973, when he was twenty-five, Cowart was involved in an accident in East Texas. A leaking propane gas pipeline caused an explosion that killed his father and left Cowart with severe burns to approximately 65 percent of his total body surface area, with third-degree burns to his face, ears, and hands. It also resulted in the loss of both of his eyes, severe damage to his hearing, and the loss of all of his fingers except for part of his left thumb. Cowart was first admitted to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and later treated at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston . He continuously expressed the desire to decline the extremely painful burn treatment procedures but was overruled by professional caregivers. The 1974 documentary Please Let Me Die , showed Cowart, although heavily medicated, exercising rational arguments in favor of making his own personal treatment decisions. Cowart was released after having been subjected to fourteen months of surgeries, skin grafts, and other treatments. Suffering from depression, he attempted suicide in the wake of his treatment. Ten years later in 1984 Cowart appeared in another documentary, Dax's Case , as a forceful advocate for the right of competent adults to exercise autonomy in making their own medical decisions. With the aid of assistive devices, Cowart earned his doctor of jurisprudence from the Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock in 1986. He established his own law practice in Henderson, Texas, and successfully sued the oil company responsible for his burns. During this period, Cowart legally changed his name to "Dax"; he stated that the name was easier to hear and distinguish from the name of "Donald." In 1996 Cowart joined Hilliard & Munoz, a Corpus Christi law firm that specialized in personal injury cases. As he had no fingers to read Braille, he focused on listening to lectures and case law and mastered information by memory. Cowart also served as a trial skills teacher at Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyer's College in Dubois, Wyoming, and participated as a trial counsel and strategy advisor for other attorneys, including Samantha Berryessa, whom he married in 2003. Two earlier marriages-to Sharla L. Stone in 1971 and Karen Bolton in 1983-ended in divorce. After his last marriage he lived on a ranch near San Diego, California. Motivated from his personal experience and using his professional background, Cowart became a prominent patient's rights advocate. He continuously argued for patient autonomy and the right to choose, even if that choice meant death. Cowart's experience has become a famous bioethics case and multiple films have been made to document his journey. These include: Please Let Me Die (1974), Dax's Case (1984), the 20/20 segment titled "Dax's Story" (1999), and Dax Cowart: 40 Years Later (2013). He died of cancer in Fallbrook, California, on April 28, 2019.

Tsha Handbook →

East Texas Oilfield

1930

The East Texas oilfield, located in central Gregg, western Rusk, southern Upshur, southeastern Smith, and northeastern Cherokee counties in the east central part of the state, is the largest and most prolific oil reservoir in the contiguous United States. Since its discovery on October 3, 1930, some 30,340 wells have been drilled within its 140,000 acres to yield nearly 5.2 billion barrels of oil from a stratigraphic trap in the Eagle Ford-Woodbine group of the Cretaceous. The source of its primary recovery was a strong water drive. Because the field is so large geographically the first wells, located several miles apart, were originally regarded as discovery wells in separate fields. After the spaces between the first wells were drilled, it was revealed that all sectors drew oil from the same Woodbine sands. The giant field was named for its geographic region. The first discovery in the East Texas field came in Rusk County. It was there in the summer of 1927 that Columbus Marion (Dad) Joiner , a sixty-seven-year-old promoter from Ardmore, Oklahoma, took mineral leases on several thousand acres of land with the intention of selling certificates of interest in a syndicate. Joiner presented a kind and gentle appearance, which belied his shrewd ability to use the labor, property, and money of others in his ventures. Joiner transferred 500 acres of mineral leases into the syndicate and offered a one-acre interest in the lease block and a pro-rata share in a drilling test for twenty-five dollars. He mailed copies of a misleading report, prepared by a nonprofessional geologist, to hundreds of names on his sucker list. The duplicitous report promised the existence of oil-productive geological structures in Rusk County and incorrectly claimed that major oil companies were actively leasing there. Joiner's real motivation, as evidenced by a later lawsuit, was the sale of his syndicate shares. Because he needed a drilling test to serve as a prop for impressing potential investors, Joiner commenced a lackadaisical poor-boy drilling operation with rusty, mismatched, and worn-out equipment. But, Joiner's unstable rig and his oil-rich promises appealed to the generosity and dreams of the hard-scrabble farmers and townspeople who donated their labor and traded supplies for syndicate certificates. Joiner and driller Tom M. Jones spudded the Bradford No. 1 on an eighty-acre tract belonging to Daisy Bradford in the Juan Ximenes Survey of Rusk County. After drilling for six months without finding a show of oil, the hole was lost to a stuck pipe. Joiner abandoned the well at a depth of 1,098 feet. By April 14, 1928, he formed a second syndicate from another lease block of 500 acres and sold certificates of interest through another mail promotion. A second well, the Bradford No. 2, was spudded by Joiner and driller Bill Osborne at a site 100 feet northwest of the original well. Joiner's certificates again were bartered for supplies and labor for the well, becoming an accepted medium of exchange in the poor economy of Rusk County. After eleven months of intermittent drilling, the Bradford No. 2 reached a depth of 2,518 feet, where the drill pipe twisted off and blocked the hole. Before abandoning the site, Osborne returned to test a shallower horizon at 1,437-1,460 feet where gas had been reported. When no evidence of production was found, the well was abandoned. After abandoning the Bradford No. 2, Joiner formed a third syndicate and managed to oversell the shares of interest in a third test as he had in the first two. On May 8, 1929, driller Ed Laster skidded the rig to a new location, 375 feet from the second site, and spudded the Bradford No. 3. After two days of drilling, the well reached a depth of 1,200 feet, using the same rachitic rig, weary equipment, and farmers as rig hands. The boilers were fed green wood from the beginning and old automobile tires at the end. In late August Laster and farmer-rig hand, Jim Lambert, were seriously burned

Tsha Handbook → · 3.6 mi away

Joiner, Columbus Marion [Dad]

1930

Columbus Marion (Dad) Joiner, oilman, the son of James and Lucy Joiner, was born near Center Star, Lauderdale County, Alabama, on March 12, 1860. He began a law practice in Tennessee in 1883 and was a member of the legislature of that state from 1889 to 1891. He moved to Oklahoma in 1897, where he made and lost two fortunes in oil before moving to Texas in 1926. Despite the contrary opinion of geologists, Joiner was convinced of the possibility of oil deposits in Rusk County, and in 1930 he drilled eight miles west of Henderson, using a flimsy pine rig and battered tools. His first two wells were unsuccessful, and he and his associates went further in debt, but the third well, Daisy Bradford No. 3, came in on October 3, 1930, thus opening up the largest oilfield in the world up to that time, the East Texas oilfield . As "father" of the field, Joiner was given the nickname Dad. He became involved in several lawsuits and after 1940 lived in retirement in Dallas. Beset by financial problems, he went into voluntary receivership and sold his well and leases for $1 million to Haroldson L. Hunt . He married twice, the second time to Dea England on September 8, 1933. Joiner died on March 27, 1947, and was buried in Dallas. Though his estate had an estimated value of $3 million as late as 1938, Joiner's personal and real property at the time of his death was described as only of "nominal value." The town of Joinerville was named for him.

Tsha Handbook → · 3.6 mi away

The 1860 Henderson Fire

1860

The fire of August 5, 1860 in Henderson, Texas, marked the beginning of the end of the Union in Texas. As a successful agricultural and commercial center, Henderson was one of the most important cities in Texas. Fires erupted all over Texas during the extremely hot summer of 1860, and Texans were becoming afraid and angry that their towns were burning at the hands of northern abolitionists and slaves. By the time the fire in Henderson burned the entire business district of the town, people all over the state were ready to fight for their way of life. This fire is argued to be what ignited Texan secession. By September of 1860, news of the Henderson fire had reached all over the country, from New York city to San Francisco. Fifty-two citizens were selected in Henderson to investigate the fire, and they hanged Green Herndon and his female slave for setting the fire. Evidence of guilt or innocence is unknown. Louis T. Wigfall wasted no time using the fire to rally Texans to the banner of secession. “the secession flood in Texas” was too strong for leaders like Sam Houston to resist, and a draft of Texas’ formal Declaration of Causes for Secession was drawn up by Texas delegates, among them Rusk County’s Malcom D. Graham. Graham laid the blame for the fire on northern abolitionists and their political allies. The delegates approved Graham’s Declaration and when compiling a chronology of events leading to secession, listed the burning of Henderson first, as the end of the Union in Texas.

Historical Marker →

Howard-Dickinson House

1855

First brick home in county. Built 1855 by brothers, David P. and Jas. Logan Howard, settlers from Richmond, Va. The Howards made bricks with mud mill and later with a patented machine and kiln on the premises. (Howard bricks and carpentry went into the old courthouse on Square-- and most of the city's major construction in later 1800s.) Structure is iron-reinforced; has hand-wrought woodwork and oldest plastered walls in city. A frequent visitor in early years to this house was Texas statesman Sam Houston, a cousin of Martha Ann (Mrs. Dave) Howard. The home was bought 1905 by Mrs. M. C. Dickinson, the daughter of Dr. Alfred Graham, a pioneer physician of Rusk County. To the original house, the Dickinsons added frame wing at the rear.

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Henderson

1843

Founded as the county seat for the newly created county of Rusk in 1843, Henderson was named for Republic of Texas pioneer and statesman James Pinckney Henderson, who would later become the first Governor of the State of Texas. Land for the town was donated by W. B. Ochiltree, who stipulated that it be named for his friend Henderson, and by Republic of Texas General James Smith, who is known as the "Father of Henderson." Town lots were sold soon after the city was established, with land set aside for both churches and schools. A wooden courthouse was built in the center of town in 1849, and the town grew steadily as homes and businesses were constructed. A disastrous fire destroyed much of the central business district in 1860. Following the Civil War and the arrival of the railroads in this area in the 1870s, a large number of brick structures were built in the downtown area. The discovery of the vast East Texas oil field in 1930 caused an economic boom in Henderson. The population increased from 2,000 to 10,000 within a matter of months. The town continues to serve as a center of commerce and civic activities.

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Things to Do in Henderson

historical 16.9 mi away

Kilgore, Texas (c. 1939, Russell Lee)

Everything Near Henderson

272 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

The Well That Changed the World
In 1930, Henderson was a sleepy cotton town struggling through the Great Depression. Then came C.M. 'Dad' Joiner, a 70-year-old wildcatter with a stubborn belief that there was oil nearby, even though major oil…
The Heroism of Joe Delaney
Joe Delaney was born right here in Henderson on October 30th, 1958, the third of eight children, and he grew up to be a force of nature on a football field. His family's life was across the line in northwestern…
Henderson's Darkest Day
On March 18, 1937, the ground shook about a dozen miles from here. In New London, a natural gas explosion had obliterated the local school, killing close to 300 students and teachers. It remains one of the deadliest…
The Secret of the East Texas Oil Field
The East Texas Oil Field, discovered near here, shouldn't have existed according to the science of the 1920s. Geologists were trained to find oil in 'anticlines,' which are dome-like structures in the rock that trap oil…
Henderson, TX
One of the most notable events in Henderson's history was the discovery of oil in 1930 by C. M. 'Dad' Joiner. The Daisy Bradford #3 Discovery Well, located 6 miles northwest of the city, led to a booming economy and a…
Hardeman-Griffin House · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Hardeman-Griffin House in Henderson, built back in 1884. <break time="400ms"/> This beautiful home showcases a blend of Eastlake and colonial revival styles, with some really intricate woodwork…
Cowart, Dax S. · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
Dax S. Cowart, Texas trial lawyer and patient's rights advocate, originally named Donald Herbert Cowart, was born to Thomas Ray Cowart and Ada Bernice (Triplett) Cowart on December 16, 1947, in Harlingen, Texas, where…
The 1860 Henderson Fire · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
The fire of August 5, 1860 in Henderson, Texas, marked the beginning of the end of the Union in Texas. As a successful agricultural and commercial center, Henderson was one of the most important cities in Texas. Fires…
Brown, Richard · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, near Henderson, and right here is where Richard Brown spent the last decades of his life. Brown came to Texas in 1836, fighting for the Republic. He was captured at the Battle of Mier…
Hathcock, Alfred Jason [Johnny] · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, maybe near Henderson, where a legendary songwriter named Johnny Hathcock got his start. Born Alfred Jason Hathcock in 1919, he was a migrant farm kid who found his voice in music.…
Lincoln, Thomas Blodget · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, near Henderson. This area was the heart of a big railroad dream in the 1850s, led by a man named Thomas Blodget Lincoln. He was an entrepreneur, a promoter, and a high-ranking member…
Henderson, TX · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Henderson, Texas, the county seat of Rusk County. This town owes its explosive growth to the discovery of the great East Texas oilfield, right here in Rusk County, back in 1930. Imagine this: the…

Show all 200 nearby places

Henderson, TX · 0.4 mi
The oil industry has been a defining feature of Henderson's economy since the discovery of the Daisy Bradford #3 Discovery Well in 1930. This event led to a rapid increase in the city's population and has continued to…
Brown, Robert T. · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, maybe near Henderson, where Judge Robert T. Brown spent his career. For twenty-seven years, he sat on the bench, hearing an estimated 25,000 cases, many involving land boundaries and…
Ector, Mathew Duncan · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, maybe near Henderson, where a man named Mathew Duncan Ector made his mark. He wasn't just a lawyer and judge; he was a Confederate general who saw intense action. Ector fought at…
Likens, James B. · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, maybe near Henderson, where James B. Likens started his life. He was a lawyer, sure, but also a soldier who saw action in two major wars. He fought in the Mexican-American War, then…
McCord, James Ebenezer · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, perhaps near Henderson, where James Ebenezer McCord settled in 1853. He learned surveying here, but soon he was leading expeditions to map new Texas counties on the wild frontier.…
Redwine, Hullum Duke Erasmus · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Henderson, Texas, a town whose growth was fueled by a Confederate cavalry officer named Hullum Duke Erasmus Redwine. He started as a druggist here, but when the Civil War broke out, Redwine raised…
Richardson, Charles Bruce · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, Texas, near Henderson. Right here, in 1863, Charles Bruce Richardson arrived as a refugee. He fled his Louisiana plantation when Confederate troops flooded it to stop Ulysses S.…
White, Mark Wells, Jr. · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, near Henderson, the birthplace of Mark White Jr. He went on to become Texas's 43rd governor, but you might remember him best for his education reforms. In 1984, he championed House…
Bagley, Nathan Green · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Henderson, Texas, and right here is a piece of local history that still stands. Nathan Green Bagley, a lawyer and legislator, built this house back in 1852. It was only the second brick home ever…
Brachfield, Charles Louis · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, and right here in Henderson, you're passing through the hometown of Charles Louis Brachfield. Born in Mississippi in 1871, his family moved to Henderson when he was just six.…
Flanagan, James Wainwright · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
Right here in Henderson, Texas, you're driving past the birthplace of James Wainwright Flanagan, a man who built his fortune far from home. Flanagan left Texas in 1888, working in railroads and mining across Cuba,…
Flanagan, James Winwright · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, not far from Henderson, where James Winwright Flanagan made his home. He wasn't just any resident; Flanagan rose to become Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1869, then jumped to the U.S.…
Garrison, Fleming Hodges · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, Texas, where Fleming Hodges Garrison carved out a life before and after the Civil War. He came here in 1840, farmed, and raised a family. But when war broke out, Garrison answered the…
Jones, James Henry · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, near Henderson, where Colonel James Henry Jones once called home. Jones was an attorney who answered the call to arms when the Civil War broke out. He raised his own company and…
Milner, Robert Teague · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, not far from Henderson, and you're passing through the legacy of Robert Teague Milner. Milner, a teacher and newspaper editor, also served in the Texas House of Representatives. While…
Birdwell House · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past what was once the Birdwell House, built in the early 1840s. It's a fantastic example of 'saddle bag' architecture – a story-and-a-half double house. Allen Birdwell, who lived here, served as a county…
Capt. Robert Smith · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Captain Robert Smith's marker. He was a soldier in the Texas War for Independence, fighting at the pivotal Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. Remember his service as you roll through Rusk…
Boggess, Jiles Sanford, Jr. · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, near Henderson, where Jiles Sanford Boggess, Jr. made his home. Before the Civil War, he ran a saloon with his brothers. But when war broke out, Boggess enlisted and rose through the…
Camp, Thomas · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County right now, and maybe passing near Henderson. Back during the Civil War, Thomas Camp was a merchant here, but he answered the call to serve the Confederacy. He rose to the rank of major…
Flanagan, David Webster · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Henderson, Texas, a town that owes a lot to David Webster Flanagan. He moved here with his family when he was just eleven, back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1843</say-as>. Flanagan…
Garrison, Caleb Jackson · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, and right here is where Caleb Jackson Garrison, a lawyer and future legislator, took on a vital role defending the Texas frontier. In 1856, while also serving as clerk of court, he…
Graham, Malcolm Duncan · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, not far from Henderson, where Malcolm Duncan Graham made his home. Graham was a lawyer and a judge, but he's best known for his time in the First Confederate Congress. While he…
Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, near Henderson. Back in 1874, this was the site of a big railroad project – the Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad. It was meant to be a sixteen-mile line connecting Overton to…
McClarty, John · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, near Henderson, where John McClarty lived. He was a lawyer and politician who answered the call to arms not once, but twice. First, he led Texas infantrymen in the Mexican War under…
Parsons, Jesse H. · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, not far from Henderson, where lawyer and state representative Jesse H. Parsons made his home. Born in Tennessee in 1821, Parsons arrived in Texas by the early 1850s and quickly became…
Rusk County · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, a place with a rich history stretching back thousands of years to the Caddo culture. But its modern story really kicks off in 1829 with the first Anglo-American settlers. Land grants…
Stedman, Nathan Alexander · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, maybe not far from Henderson, where Nathan Alexander Stedman was born back in 1854. He became a railroad lawyer and judge, a key player in shaping Texas transportation law. Stedman…
Stroud, Mark · 0.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, near Henderson, where Mark Stroud made his mark. He wasn't just a farmer; he was a voice for this area in the Texas Legislature. Stroud served twice in the state House, first in the…
Howard-Dickinson House · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
First brick home in county. Built 1855 by brothers, David P. and Jas. Logan Howard, settlers from Richmond, Va. The Howards made bricks with mud mill and later with a patented machine and kiln on the premises. (Howard…
Henderson · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
Founded as the county seat for the newly created county of Rusk in 1843, Henderson was named for Republic of Texas pioneer and statesman James Pinckney Henderson, who would later become the first Governor of the State…
Morris, William Wright, Judge · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Henderson, home of Judge William Wright Morris. Born in North Carolina in 1805, Morris moved to Alabama, where he became a lawyer and judge. In 1847, he packed up his mother, widowed sister, her…
Craig, William, Rev. · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Henderson, and right here is the area where Reverend William Craig made his home. Born in South Carolina in 1785, Craig was a dedicated Methodist circuit rider who entered the ministry at just 18.…
Merritt Building · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through downtown Henderson, and right here is the Merritt Building. Jesse F. Merritt bought this lot back in 1883, intending it for his Sunny South Saloon. Local brickmasons Dave and Logan Howard built…
East Texas Musical Convention · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Henderson, where a unique musical tradition took root. Sacred harp singing, with its shaped notes and dispersed harmony, was brought west by settlers. The East Texas Sacred Harp Singing Society,…
Rusk County Agriculture · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
As you drive through Rusk County, you're passing through land that's seen a major shift in its economy. Once dominated by large plantations, it transitioned to small farms growing cotton, sugar, grains, and fruits after…
Masonic Lodge Building · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through downtown Henderson, past a building that's seen a lot of history. Constructed in 1884, it was bought by the Masons in 1893, who met upstairs until 1936. The ground floor housed a grocery store for…
First United Methodist Church of Henderson · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Henderson, where the First United Methodist Church began in 1842. Organized by Rev. Preston W. Hobbs, it was renamed Henderson in 1843. Early ministers included circuit rider William Craig, and J.…
A Governor Who Went to War · 0.6 mi
Picture this: your state elects its very first governor, and within months he asks permission to leave the capitol and personally lead troops into a war in another country. That actually happened, and the man was James…
The Man Who Won Over France · 0.6 mi
The name on this town belonged to a young lawyer who talked kings and ministers into believing in a brand-new country. Before Texas was a state, it was its own republic, and it desperately needed the world to take it…
How Texans Fought House to House · 0.6 mi
The town's namesake was in the middle of one of the ugliest kinds of fighting there is, and Texans there taught the whole army a hard lesson in how it works. In September of eighteen forty-six, Governor James Pinckney…
Two Hendersons, One Man · 0.6 mi
Here is a little Texas puzzle that trips people up. This town, Henderson, is not in Henderson County. It sits in Rusk County, and Rusk County is named for a completely different man, Thomas Jefferson Rusk. Meanwhile,…
From a Governor's Name to a Gusher · 0.6 mi
The name of a governor put this town on the map, but it was black gold that made it boom. Just to the northwest of Henderson, in the early nineteen thirties, a wildcatter named Columbus Marion Joiner, everybody called…
Named by a Friend · 0.6 mi
Here is the honest story behind the name on the sign. When Rusk County got its start in eighteen forty-three, the town that would become its seat needed a name, and it got one because of a friendship. A man named…
Henderson City Cemetery · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Henderson City Cemetery, believed to be the oldest in town, established in the mid-1840s. Look for the graves of notable figures like Timothy Pillsbury, a soldier and legislator, and Archie A.…
Henderson Depot · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Henderson, and right here is the site of the old Henderson Depot. On June 1st, 1877, the very first train pulled into town on the Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad. At first, it was just a…
Kangerga, Michael · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Kangerga House in Henderson, a fine example of turn-of-the-century design. It was built in 1901 by Michael Kangerga, who came to Texas all the way from Croatia in 1887. He and his brother Rade…
Railroad in Rusk County · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, where the railroad finally arrived after the Civil War, long after plans were first drawn up in 1852. Overton became the hub in the 1870s when the International & Great Northern line…
Trammell, Mattie · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former home of Mattie Trammell, a certified teacher who turned her house into a classroom for etiquette. Built in 1892 by her daughter and son-in-law, this house was where Mattie taught young men…
Walling, T. J. · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the T. J. Walling cabin, a solid piece of Rusk County frontier history. Built in 1841 by Thomas Jefferson Walling and his wife Nancy, this one-room log structure was typical of pioneer homes.…
Arnold Outhouse · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Henderson, and just ahead is a marker for the Arnold Outhouse. Now, this isn't just any outhouse! In 1908, prominent businessman John R. Arnold moved his family here and added a second story to…
Clinton Lodge No. 23, A. F. & A. M. · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Henderson, the site of Clinton Lodge No. 23, chartered way back in 1845. For years, they shared a building with the First Methodist Church. Later, a lodge building constructed in 1868 also hosted…
First Baptist Church of Henderson · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past First Baptist Church of Henderson. Begun in 1845 by the Rev. Lemuel Herrin (d. 1852), pioneer missionary Baptist minister from Tennessee, this church was reorganized in 1850 by Elders John B. Renfro…
Rogers- Craig House · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Rogers-Craig House in Henderson. Built around 1890, this home has seen quite a bit of history. It sits on land that once held the Fowler Institute. The original owner, Anna Caroline Montgomery…
General James Smith · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the resting place of General James Smith, a co-founder of Henderson. A veteran of the War of 1812, he moved to Texas in 1835 and fought in the Republic's Indian Wars and the Mexican War. He even…
Mission Springs Baptist Church · 2.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Mission Springs Baptist Church. Several members of Ebenezer Baptist Church established this congregation in 1894, naming it for the springs where they held early services. The church was…
Ebenezer Cemetery · 2.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Ebenezer Cemetery, a resting place for pioneers in Rusk County. The first known burial here was Julia Kitchens in 1886. The cemetery continues to serve descendants of those early families, with…
East Texas Oilfield · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
The East Texas oilfield, located in central Gregg, western Rusk, southern Upshur, southeastern Smith, and northeastern Cherokee counties in the east central part of the state, is the largest and most prolific oil…
Joiner, Columbus Marion [Dad] · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Columbus Marion (Dad) Joiner, oilman, the son of James and Lucy Joiner, was born near Center Star, Lauderdale County, Alabama, on March 12, 1860. He began a law practice in Tennessee in 1883 and was a member of the…
Bradford, Daisy Miller · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, likely near Henderson, and right here is the story of Daisy Miller Bradford. She wasn't just a farm owner; she was the namesake of the very first discovery well in the massive East…
Hendricks Lake · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Hendricks Lake is an oxbow lake one and one-half miles south of the Sabine River and about four miles northeast of Tatum in Rusk County, Texas (32.371864°N, 94.493190°W). The lake is located in the extreme northeastern…
Joinerville, TX · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Joinerville is on State Highway seven miles west of Henderson in western Rusk County. It was originally called Cyril and then Miller, likely for the family of Andrew Miller or his son John Cherry (J. C.) Miller. The…
Angelina River · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, near the Angelina River. This waterway, named for a Hasinai Indian girl the Spanish missionaries called Angelina, was once a vital highway for commerce. In the 1840s, pioneers like…
Black Sacred Harp Singing in East Texas · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, and right here, you might have passed the communities where a unique musical tradition once thrived: Black Sacred Harp singing. African Americans here developed their own distinctive…
Hunter, John Dunn · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, not far from where a Cherokee leader named John Dunn Hunter met his end. Hunter, who lived with the Cherokee for years, even traveled to England and wrote a book about his 'captivity.'…
Monte Verdi Plantation · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, not far from where one of the largest plantations in Texas once stood. This was Monte Verdi, the antebellum estate of Julien Sidney Devereux. He began buying land here around 1845,…
Smith, Robert W. · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once the frontier, a land of conflict and shifting loyalties. Right here, Robert W. Smith, a soldier in the Texas army, found himself in a deeply personal battle. At the Cherokee War's…
Fredonia, TX (Gregg County) · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what used to be Fredonia, a Texas town founded by Haden Edwards, the same man embroiled in the Fredonian Rebellion. He filed the survey for this site back in 1838, right on the Sabine River.…
London, TX (Rusk County) · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, and you might be passing through a place called London. But this isn't the London you're thinking of. Settled around 1850, this Texas community was originally known as Bunker Hill. It…
Patrick, TX (Rusk County) · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, not far from Minden and Pine Hill. Right here is the site of Patrick, a community born from faith and a wagon train. In 1854, three brothers, James Moore, John Thomas Campbell, and…
Williams, Thomas · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what is now Rusk County, but back around 1819, this was the wild Texas frontier. Thomas Williams, a settler who'd already lived in North Carolina and Tennessee, brought his family across the Red…
Davis, William C. · 3.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, heading past the final resting place of William C. Davis. Davis arrived in Texas from North Carolina way back in 1835, settling right here. He fought in the Indian wars of the late…
Brachfield, TX · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Brachfield is five miles southwest of Pinehill in far eastern Rusk County. The community was called Murvall, for its location on Murvall Creek, when it was settled in the 1860s. It was preceded by a settlement called…
Harmony Hill, TX · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Harmony Hill is fifteen miles northeast of Henderson and three miles southwest of Tatum in northeastern Rusk County. It was laid out in the 1840s on land donated by John W. Kuykendall, a prosperous plantation owner who…
Leverett's Chapel, TX · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Leverett's Chapel is on State Highway 42 four miles from Overton and seven miles south of Kilgore in northwestern Rusk County. At one time a large Cherokee Indian village was located a mile southwest of the site.…
Millville, TX · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Millville is a ghost town on what was once known as Chickenfeather Road nine miles northeast of Henderson in north central Rusk County. During the 1830s, when it was first settled, the area was known as Liberty Hill. In…
Pinehill, TX · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Pinehill, also known as Pine Hill, is on a hill covered with pine trees eleven miles east of Henderson in far eastern Rusk County. It was first settled in 1844 by "Uncle" Henderson Hillin and received its nickname, Rake…
Barrett, John W. · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, and right here in New Salem, John W. Barrett, editor of the Harrison Flag newspaper, was fighting a battle of words. In late 1860, as Texas teetered on the brink of secession, Barrett…
Martin Creek Lake State Park · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, maybe heading towards Tatum. Right here is Martin Creek Lake State Park. It wasn't always a park, though. Back in the early 1970s, Texas Utilities built this 5,000-acre lake, not for…
Redwine, Hullum Duke · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, Texas, where Hullum Duke Redwine served in the Eighth Texas Legislature. Born in Georgia in 1809, Redwine moved around Mississippi before finally settling here in Rusk County in 1852.…
Glenfawn, TX · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Glenfawn, on Farm Road 2753 some sixteen miles southwest of Henderson in southwestern Rusk County, may have been named by plantation owner Julien Sidney Devereux , who lived in the area before the Civil War . It is also…
Laneville, TX · 3.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Laneville is near the Angelina River twelve miles south of Henderson in south central Rusk County. The community grew up in the 1880s at the intersection of four roads leading north, south, east, and west. From these…
Burton, George W. · 5.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Henderson, Rusk County, where George W. Burton made his mark. Born in South Carolina and a Confederate veteran, Burton moved to Texas around 1880. But his real impact came later, serving in the…
Gaston Public School · 6.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Gaston Public School, a testament to Texas' oil boom! Back in the early 1930s, Henderson saw a massive influx of people thanks to oil, and the local schools were swamped. The Gaston…
Hunt Cemetery · 6.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, near Henderson. This is the Hunt Cemetery, set aside by Thomas Hunt, Sr. and his family when they arrived from Tennessee in 1851. The oldest marked grave is from 1856, though many…
Antioch · 6.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Antioch, a community founded by freed slaves right after the Civil War. In 1866, they organized Antioch Baptist Church, which became the heart of their settlement. This church wasn't just…
Pleasant Hill Cemetery · 7.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, and right here is Pleasant Hill Cemetery. It began in 1845, when Captain Robert W. Smith, a Texas Revolution veteran, donated this land. Initially, it was the resting place for…
Lockridge Cemetery · 7.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Lockridge Cemetery near Henderson. Henry T. Lockridge settled here in the 1850s and served in the Confederate Army. His family established this cemetery, with the oldest marked grave dating to 1881,…
Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church · 7.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, passing the site of Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church. This spot has a history stretching back to 1845, when Captain Robert W. Smith, a Texas Revolution veteran, donated this…
Strong, John and Mary Ann · 7.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, passing the resting place of John and Mary Ann Strong. These Georgia natives arrived in Texas around 1849, becoming vital pioneer settlers in this eastern county. They didn't just…
Strong Cemetery · 7.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Strong Cemetery, originally established for the family of pioneer John Strong. The earliest marked grave here belongs to his grandson, John A. Young, who died in 1853. The cemetery was officially…
Crim's Chapel Cemetery · 7.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Crim's Chapel Cemetery. It's believed people were buried here before 1882, but Jo Anna Crim, wife of Abraham B. Crim, has the earliest marked grave, dating to that year. Abraham Crim formally set…
New Prospect Baptist Church and Cemetery · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving near Henderson, where the New Prospect Baptist congregation and its cemetery were established in the 1850s. Many of the founding members, like Thomas Ballenger and B.F. Montgomery, came here from…
Joiner No. 3 Daisy Bradford · 7.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Henderson, Rusk County, and right here is the site of the Joiner No. 3 Daisy Bradford, the well that kicked off the East Texas Oil Field! Imagine this: C.M. Joiner, a 70-year-old Oklahoman, had a…
Church Hill United Methodist Church · 7.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Church Hill United Methodist Church. This congregation organized way back in 1839 with the Rev. Claugh Waterfield as pastor. The church building itself went up in 1879, with about a…
Millville Cemetery · 8.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Millville Cemetery, a resting place with a unique look. Back in the 1840s, Jesse Walling, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, donated land for this community's church, school, Masonic lodge, and…
Wright's Cemetery · 8.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Wright's Cemetery, a final resting place established by a veteran of the Republic of Texas Army. Hansel Wright arrived in East Texas in 1836, earning land for his service. By 1846, he and his family…
Richard Brown · 8.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the story of Richard Brown, a Republic of Texas soldier who saw action in 1836. He later joined the Mier Expedition in 1842, was captured, and escaped a firing squad by drawing a white bean, enduring…
Pine Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church · 8.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Pine Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church, organized around 1850 by the Rev. Archibald Watkins. The congregation first met in a log cabin near Martin's Creek. This building was…
Blossom Hill United Methodist Church · 9.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Blossom Hill United Methodist Church, established in 1879. It was the first church in the Chapman community, originally named Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church. For many years, this church…
Bridges Cemetery · 9.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Bridges Cemetery, a final resting place that began with a pioneer family's promise. Eli Buckner left land for public burial in 1861 after his wife Eliza died here. Later, Reverend Bridges bought the…
Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church & Cemetery · 9.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church. Back in 1867, Augustus Ferguson gave land for this church and a school. The congregation officially formed in 1868, with Reverend John Sparkman…
Welch Cemetery · 9.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Welch Cemetery. The first burial here was Anna Welch in 1877, who chose this hillside for her final resting place. Her son, Civil War veteran Andrew Jackson Welch, later formally designated it a…
The Day the Earth Shook · 10.5 mi
On the afternoon of March 18, 1937, the New London School was a source of immense local pride. It was a modern, steel-framed building, paid for by the wealth of the oil boom. Inside, hundreds of students were finishing…
The Engineering of a Warning · 10.5 mi
The New London disaster was a catastrophic failure of engineering and chemistry. The school’s heating system was an improvised, unregulated piece of infrastructure. To save about $300 a month, the school board had a…
New London, TX · 10.5 mi
A notable event in New London's history is the London School Explosion on March 18, 1937, which resulted in the tragic loss of 270 children and 24 adults. This event led to nationwide changes in safety regulations,…
The Smell of Safety · 10.5 mi
The tragedy of the New London School explosion has a legacy that keeps you safe today. In the investigation that followed the blast, experts quickly determined the cause: a massive, undetected leak of natural gas. The…
A Young Reporter's First Big Story · 10.5 mi
When news of the explosion broke, newsmen from all over rushed to the scene. One of them was a 20-year-old reporter for the United Press out of Dallas named Walter Cronkite. He arrived to find chaos and heartbreak under…
A Monument to Memory · 10.5 mi
If you want to understand the heart of New London, you need to see the memorial. Right on Highway 42, at the site of the school, stands a tall pink granite cenotaph, carved by sculptor Herring Coe. Etched into its…
London Baptist Church · 10.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the London Baptist Church, which traces its history back to 1856. For a time, church members shared a jointly owned building with the Odd Fellows Lodge. The church saw growth when oil was…
New London School Explosion · 10.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, and right here is the site of one of the deadliest school disasters in American history. On March 18th, 1937, the New London Junior-Senior High School was obliterated by a massive…
New London School Explosion · 11.1 mi · Historical Marker
On the afternoon of March 18, 1937, a teacher at the New London Consolidated School turned on an electric sander in the shop class. The spark ignited a pocket of natural gas that had been leaking into the crawl space…
Hays, William C. · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Minden, Texas, where William C. Hays lived a long and eventful life. Born in Kentucky in 1806, Hays enlisted for Texas independence in 1835, fighting bravely at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto…
Brachfield · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through what used to be a community known by many names, right here near Minden. It started as Gibsontown, then became Murval when a post office opened way back in 1853. By the 1890s, folks were calling…
Patrick Community · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, passing the site of what was once the Patrick Community. It all started in 1854 when the Patrick brothers, James, John, and Minor, led Presbyterian families from South Carolina to…
Patrick, John T. C. · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Patrick Community, right here in Henderson. Back in 1854, John Campbell Patrick, his wife Eleanor, and their five children packed up and moved here from South Carolina. Patrick bought…
Maple Grove Cemetery · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Maple Grove Cemetery, which began in 1879 when the Rettig family buried their infant son here on their land. By 1883, it had become a community burial ground, and today it covers three acres with…
New London School Explosion · 11.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Rusk County, near New London, where in 1937 stood one of the richest rural school districts in America. That March 18th, students were preparing for a competition, the PTA was meeting, and a…
New London, TX · 11.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through New London, Texas, a town that owes its existence to oil, but is forever remembered for a horrific tragedy. For decades, this was a quiet farming community. Then, in 1930, the East Texas oil boom…
Buckner Cemetery · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Buckner Cemetery near Pinehill. This burial ground tells the story of a family that settled here before 1850, arriving from Georgia. John S. Buckner was laid to rest here in 1870, but it was his…
Liberty Missionary Baptist Church · 11.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Liberty Missionary Baptist Church. Organized in the Sugar Hill community in 1866, it was accepted into the Mt. Zion Baptist Association just two years later. The congregation grew…
Richardson-Lowe House · 12.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Richardson-Lowe House, built in the 1850s. Look for its Greek Revival style, complete with a central hallway. The handmade bricks were fired right here on the property. It was first home to Dr.…
When the World Rushed In · 12.4 mi
For its first fifty years, Overton was a sleepy farm town of about 400 people. Then, in 1930, a gusher blew in just miles away, revealing the East Texas Oil Field. Overton was sitting right on top of it. What followed…
Free lots lured Jamestown to Overton · 12.4 mi
If you look at a map of Overton, you'll see the town split right down the middle by the railroad. That's no accident -- this town exists because of it. Overton was laid out brand new in 1873 at the planned junction of…
The Scentless Danger · 12.4 mi
Just a few miles down the road from Overton lies the town of New London, site of one of the worst disasters in Texas history. On March 18, 1937, the New London school, a modern steel-and-concrete building funded by oil…
The Slanted Ocean of Oil · 12.4 mi
The oil boom that transformed Overton wasn't just luck; it was the result of a perfect geological trap. Deep beneath the East Texas soil is a massive, porous layer of sandstone called the Woodbine Formation. Millions of…
Overton, TX · 12.4 mi
Overton's history is marked by its transformation from an agricultural community to an oil-based economy. Initially, the town was intended to be a crossroads for two railroads, which brought it significant growth when…
McCune Cemetery · 12.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the Chinquapin Community, near Laneville, where you'll find McCune Cemetery. This resting place dates back to 1852, but its roots go deeper. Pioneer James L. McCune arrived in Texas in 1835, part…
Sardis Baptist Church · 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through what used to be Pleasant Grove, also known as Shake Rag. In 1911, the community organized a Baptist Church, sharing space with Methodists in the local schoolhouse. By 1921, Rufus and Mary Allen…
Howze, Robert Lee · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Right here in Overton, Texas, was born Robert Lee Howze, a man who would earn the nation's highest military honor. On July 25, 1891, Howze received the Medal of Honor for his bravery during a campaign against Sioux…
Mayfield, Earle Bradford · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, not far from where Earle Mayfield got his start. In 1922, Mayfield, a pro-Prohibition candidate, faced a bitter fight for the U.S. Senate nomination. His opponent, James E. Ferguson,…
Overton, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Overton, Texas, a town that owes its very existence to the railroad. Laid out in 1873, it was strategically planned as a junction for two rail lines. Early settler Frank Overton donated land, and…
First Methodist Church of Overton · 13.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Overton's First Methodist Church. Many members of a nearby Jamestown church formed this congregation in 1873, building a small frame church here that same year. Later buildings, including…
Miszner, Joseph Charles · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Mt. Enterprise, Rusk County, and you might be passing the former home of Joseph Charles Miszner. Born in Prussia in 1822, Miszner was a student of the legendary composer Franz Liszt and a graduate…
Shiloh Cemetery · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Shiloh Cemetery, a resting place for Rusk County pioneers, community leaders, and war veterans. Its story begins in 1853 with the burial of Maranda Gilbreath. Four years later, Josiah Johnson…
Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church South Cemetery · 13.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, near New Salem. This cemetery, established in 1873, is the final resting place for early settlers of the Pleasant Grove community, also known as 'Shake Rag.' It includes Dr. Richard…
Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Overton (Overton) · 14.1 mi
Overton (Overton, TX) placed on the 2A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Rylan Holleman (2 HR).
Sugar Hill Cemetery · 14.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Sugar Hill Cemetery, a final resting place for folks since the mid-1800s. It's believed that Elijah Wyatt, who came to Texas in 1838, is buried here, with his son-in-law reserving land for the…
Smyrna Baptist Church · 14.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Smyrna Baptist Church. This congregation grew from the pioneer Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, organized in 1858. Smyrna Baptist Church itself was formed in 1873 at Chinquapin Spring. They…
Waldrop Cemetery · 14.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Waldrop Cemetery, which local history says began in 1872. Jemima Guest Gentry died that year and was buried here, at her family's request, on land granted by landowners James C. and Lucretia Harris…
Sartain Homestead · 14.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former Sartain Homestead, a home that literally moved! John Grayson Sartain bought land here in 1868 and started building. But later, neighbors hitched up oxen and mules to drag the entire frame…
Henry's Chapel Community · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Cherokee County, just outside Troup. Look around for the remnants of Knoxville, a town that boomed and busted. It was platted in 1854 by investors, but the railroad changed everything when it…
Mays Cemetery · 15.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Mays Cemetery, a quiet resting place for the New Salem Community. This burial ground has roots stretching back to the 1850s, when the area boasted a stagecoach stop and even an academy. The Mays and…
Forest Home Baptist Church · 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Forest Home Baptist Church, organized in 1889 by Reverend J. R. Goode and eight charter members. Their first sanctuary was a simple log structure, later replaced by a frame building that…
Lou Della Crim No. 1 · 15.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Lou Della Crim No. 1 well, the discovery that proved the massive East Texas oil field. J. Malcolm Crim drilled this well on his mother's land after the initial East Texas oil…
Allison Chapel United Methodist Church · 15.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Allison Chapel United Methodist Church. Reverend Littleton Fowler is believed to have organized this congregation between 1837 and 1839. The church was originally named Bethesda, but…
Harmony Hill Cemetery · 15.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Harmony Hill Cemetery, where the oldest grave dates back to 1844. That's the resting place of J. W. Hall, marked by a large rock when the land was first donated by John W. Kuykendall in 1852. Over…
Kilgore's Unofficial Cheerleader · 16.0 mi
Along the U.S. Highway Two Fifty Nine relief route through Kilgore, the road carries the name Charles K. Devall Memorial Highway. Devall was born in Mount Vernon, Texas, in nineteen oh eight. His father ran the Mount…
Driller Park · 16.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Kilgore's Driller Park, a place that hit a home run with the community. On April 24th, 1947, over 3,000 fans packed this stadium for the grand opening of baseball's postwar return, cheering on the…
Concord Cemetery · 16.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Concord Cemetery in Troup. Settlers arrived in this part of Texas in 1845, seeking inexpensive land and water. Reverend Richard Martin and Reverend W.P. Henry established the Trinity Presbytery…
Lewis, Guy Vernon · 16.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, not far from where a legend was born. Guy V. Lewis grew up near Arp, and went on to coach the University of Houston basketball team for thirty years. He helped break down racial…
Arp, TX · 16.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Arp, a town with a name that changed as much as its population. Originally known as Jarvis Switch when the railroad came through in 1872, it was renamed Strawberry in 1898. Just a year later, it…
The Old Wildcatter Who Struck the Big One · 16.2 mi
On October 3, 1930, an aging, nearly broke wildcatter named Columbus Marion Joiner, who everyone called Dad, brought in a well known as the Daisy Bradford No. 3. And it almost didn't happen. He had already drilled two…
Thousands of Wells, One Giant Pool · 16.2 mi
Here's the surprise that took people years to fully understand. All those thousands of East Texas wells, drilled by hundreds of different owners across a huge area, weren't tapping separate pockets of oil. They were all…
Learning to Not Pump It All at Once · 16.2 mi
Here's the engineering lesson the East Texas field taught the whole world, and it was learned the hard way. In the early 1930s, everyone pumped as fast as they possibly could, and it backfired twice. So much oil flooded…
Anadarko Rosenwald School · 16.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Rusk County, past the site of the Anadarko Rosenwald School. This wasn't just any school; it was the first public school for African Americans in this area, starting right in the Anadarko…
Lyles-Sanders Cemetery · 16.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Lyles-Sanders Cemetery, established in 1860 with the burial of infant Susan Lyles. What began as a family plot soon served communities like Iron Mountain and Oak Flat, officially becoming a…
Kilgore College Administration Building · 16.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Kilgore College Administration Building. In the midst of the Great Depression, Kilgore residents voted to start a junior college in 1935. Classes were held in the high school until this building…
First Prestyterian Church · 16.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Kilgore, and right here is the First Presbyterian Church. Organized way back in 1850 as Gum Spring Presbyterian Church, this congregation moved to Kilgore in 1874. But the real story here is the…
Peatown Christian Church · 16.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Peatown Christian Church. It traces its history back to a Disciples of Christ congregation organized near Camden in 1852. This church itself was organized in 1871 with twelve charter…
Chalk Hill Community Church · 16.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Chalk Hill, where worship services started in the schoolhouse around 1917. A community church building went up in 1921, funded by donations, and the women even sold baked goods and quilts in 1925…
The World's Richest Acre · 16.5 mi
If you head downtown, you can find what was once called the 'World's Richest Acre.' It's a single city block that perfectly illustrates the insanity of the Kilgore oil boom. Drilled in the 1930s, before well-spacing…
The Kilgore Rangerettes · 16.5 mi
Kilgore is home to a true American original: the Rangerettes. Back in 1940, a visionary educator at Kilgore College named Gussie Nell Davis wanted to create something to keep fans in their seats during halftime at…
The Well That Started It All · 16.5 mi
The Kilgore boom began with a stubborn old man named Columbus 'Dad' Joiner, drilling in a field about ten miles southwest of here. Joiner was a wildcatter, a relentless optimist who believed there was oil where all the…
The Lawless Boomtown · 16.5 mi
For a few years in the early 1930s, Kilgore was one of the wildest, most dangerous towns in America. The discovery of oil turned this village of 700 into a chaotic metropolis of 10,000 almost overnight. The streets,…
An Engineering Fix for a Salty Problem · 16.5 mi
Drilling for oil here created a massive environmental problem: saltwater. For every barrel of oil pumped from the East Texas field, several barrels of highly saline water came with it. In the early boom days, companies…
From Lignite Seams to Light Switches · 16.6 mi
As you near Tatum, you'll likely see the massive Martin Lake Power Plant, an engineering marvel that turns rock into electricity for a couple of million homes. For decades it began in surface mines, where giant machines…
Friday Night Dynasty · 16.6 mi
In Texas, high school football is more than a game, and in Tatum, it’s a dynasty. For a small Class 3A school, the Tatum Eagles have built a football program that rivals the giants. Drive past the high school, and…
Tatum, TX · 16.6 mi
Tatum was founded in the 1840s by Albert Tatum and his wife, Mary C. (Rippetoe) Tatum. In 1848, they built a large plantation in the area. The town was officially divided into individual lots in 1885 when the Santa Fe…
TTU, TX · 16.6 mi
Lubbock, Texas, and by extension, Texas Tech University – TTU – owe their names to a remarkable figure: Thomas Saltus Lubbock. He wasn't a local rancher or a dusty pioneer, but a Confederate Colonel and brother of…
Kilgore Public Library · 16.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Kilgore Public Library, a building that's more than just books. It all started in 1933, thanks to two determined local women's clubs who wanted a public library for their town. With a boost from…
Allis-Chalmers Pumps · 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past what's left of Kilgore's oil boom! It all kicked off on December 28th, 1930, when the Lou Della Crim Number One well exploded to life, making Kilgore a major player in the East Texas oil field. These…
New Deal Era in Kilgore · 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a remarkable transformation in Kilgore. Back in the 1930s, oil was discovered, and suddenly thousands of people, displaced by the Great Depression, descended on this area, creating a…
Martin Cemetery · 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Martin Cemetery, a place with roots stretching back to around 1833, when Daniel Martin and his family settled here. It's adjacent to the old Trammel's Trace. The oldest documented burial is from…
First Baptist Church of Kilgore · 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the First Baptist Church of Kilgore. It was formed in 1902 by five charter members and held its first sanctuary construction in 1906. The current brick structure was completed in 1933,…
Kilgore Rangerettes · 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
In 1940, Kilgore College had a problem: fans kept leaving at halftime of football games. The dean hired a physical education instructor named Gussie Nell Davis and asked her to create something that would keep people in…
Alexander Institute · 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Alexander Institute, a school that was once a beacon of education in East Texas. Founded as the New Danville Masonic Female Academy in <say-as interpret-as="date"…
St. Luke's United Methodist Church · 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Kilgore, and right here is the site of St. Luke's United Methodist Church. The story of Methodism in Kilgore really kicks off in 1873. Many folks from the nearby town of New Danville moved here…
East Texas Oil Field · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
Every major oil company geologist said there was no oil in East Texas. Columbus Marion 'Dad' Joiner, a seventy-year-old wildcatter running on charm and borrowed money, drilled anyway. On October 3, 1930, his third well,…
World's Richest Acre · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Kilgore, and right here is a spot that changed Texas forever. This tiny 1.195-acre patch, known as the World's Richest Acre, was developed before modern spacing rules. It became the most densely…
The World's Richest Acre · 16.9 mi
When the boom hit Kilgore, it hit downtown. There were no spacing rules yet, no laws about how far apart wells had to be, so people drilled wherever they could buy or lease a scrap of land, even the lots between…
Kilgore - Forest of Derricks · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
In 1930, Dad Joiner's well came in east of Kilgore and revealed the largest oil field in the world at that time. The East Texas field stretched forty-three miles long and up to twelve miles wide, and Kilgore was right…
Kilgore, Texas (c. 1939, Russell Lee) · 16.9 mi · Things to Do
Kilgore National Bank Building · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Kilgore National Bank Building, a symbol of the town's prosperity during the 1930s oil boom. Built in 1937, its Art Moderne and Art Deco design was meant to project progress. The bank operated…
Kilgore, TX · 16.9 mi
Kilgore's story is etched in black gold, but its foundations run deeper than the oil boom of the 1930s. It began as a railroad stop, named for Constantine Buckley Kilgore, a figure who symbolized the promise of…
Hickory Grove Baptist Church · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the Cross Roads Community, where in 1911 folks decided they needed a church and a cemetery. Land was bought in 1912 next to the existing Hickory Grove Cemetery, and construction began that same…
Crim, Lou Della · 17.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a home that became a temporary headquarters during one of Texas's biggest oil booms. Built in 1920 for Lou Della Crim, this bungalow once stood where the Hearne Hotel used to be. But its…
Kilgore · 17.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Kilgore, Texas, once known as the 'Oil City of the World'! This boomtown got its start in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1872</say-as>, right when the railroad rolled in. It’s named for…
Kilgore I&GN-Missouri Pacific Railroad Station · 17.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Kilgore I&GN-Missouri Pacific Railroad Station. The town of Kilgore was platted by the International Railroad Company after it purchased land for a townsite from C. B. "Buck" Kilgore, who had donated…

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Henderson, Texas

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The Well That Changed the World RoadyGoat

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Cowart, Dax S.

East Texas Oilfield

Joiner, Columbus Marion [Dad]

The 1860 Henderson Fire

Howard-Dickinson House

Henderson

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