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Lindale, Texas

Everything Lindale is known for

7 songs mention this city 3 artists from here

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Lindale, Texas, a city in East Texas, has a notable connection to country music. It is recognized as an Official Texas Music-Friendly Community and is known for its live music scene. Country music star Miranda Lambert, who grew up in Lindale, often references her hometown in her songs, including "Famous in a Small Town" and "The House That Built Me." Other country artists, Chris Colston and Daniel Andrews, also call Lindale home.

Music in Lindale

Songs About Lindale

Bluebird
miranda lambert
45%
Gunpowder & Lead
miranda lambert
45%
Kerosene
miranda lambert
45%
Mama's Broken Heart
miranda lambert
45%
The House That Built Me
miranda lambert
45%
Like You That Way
Canaan Smith
7%
"Girl, you’re Miranda Lambert crazy and I like you that way"
Famous in a Small Town
Miranda Lambert
2%
"I made the front page of the "Turner Town Gazette""

Artists From Lindale

M
Miranda Lambert
country
C
Chris Colston
country
D
Daniel Andrews
country

Rivers & Roads in Song near Lindale

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Lindale.

Interstate 20 13 songs Sabine River 13 songs Neches River 2 songs Kickapoo Creek 4 songs

Musical Heritage

Miranda Lambert RoadyGoat

Before the platinum, there was a red envelope. Miranda Lambert grew up in Lindale, out in East Texas, and she and her father Rick just drove — town to town, gig to gig, trying to get somebody to hear her. One of those demos, packaged in a red envelope, landed her an opening slot in Dallas for Roger Creager. At nineteen she opened for Willie Nelson at the Gypsy Tea Room, down in Deep Ellum. She took third on the show Nashville Star, then signed with Sony and dropped her debut, Kerosene, in 2005. Six platinum albums later, with Grammys for Platinum and for Wildcard on the shelf — it all traces back to a girl, her dad, and a Texas highway.

RoadyGoat →

History of Lindale

Lindale, TX RoadyGoat

Lindale, Texas, a small town in Smith County in the piney woods of East Texas, punches well above its weight for famous people.

Lindale, TX RoadyGoat

In the early 19th century, the Caddo and Cherokee Indians inhabited the area where Lindale, Texas now stands. The Cherokee were forced out when the Republic of Texas was founded in 1836. After the Civil War, Richard B. Hubbard, a former Confederate officer and plantation owner, sought a better way to ship his produce. He convinced railroad officials to lay track between Tyler and Mineola. His brother-in-law, Elijah Lindsey, opened the town's first general store in 1871, and Lindale was born. Lindsey became the town's first mayor a year later.

Lindale, TX RoadyGoat

Lindale's story is deeply intertwined with the land and its bounty. While these days you might know us for Miranda Lambert or the convenience of that I-20 corridor stretching between Dallas and Shreveport, the real heart of Lindale has always been agriculture, particularly roses and berries. The gently rolling hills and sandy loam soil, coupled with our East Texas climate, create the perfect conditions for growing things. You see, after the railroad came through in the 1870s, folks realized the potential of this land. While cotton was initially king in this area, farmers began experimenting with fruit crops. By the early 20th century, strawberries, blackberries, and dewberries were shipped out by the railcar load, and eventually, roses joined the party. The sandy soil that drains well is perfect for roses, and a whole industry grew up around them. Even though the rose farms aren’t as prevalent as they once were, the spirit of hard work and connection to the land remains. It's a legacy built on the sweet smell of berries and the delicate beauty of roses, a reminder that even in a changing world, the roots of this town run deep.

Hubbard Family Cemetery

1854

This site once overlooked the plantation home of Richard B. Hubbard (1800-1864) and his wife Serena Carter, who came here from Georgia in 1854. They operated a prosperous 720-acre plantation with 44 slaves. Their son Richard Bennett Hubbard (1832-1901), later a governor of Texas, had graduated from Harvard Law School and set up his practice in Tyler. While young Hubbard served with the Confederate army during the Civil War, his wife and children moved to the plantation. His twin daughters Mattie and Hattie died in 1863 and were buried on this hill. Also interred here are Hubbard's father, his infant daughter Claudia and his wife Eliza (d. 1868). The last interment was his nine-year-old son Bennie in 1877. Slave burials are marked with ironstone in this family plot. Hubbard served as lieutenant governor, 1874-1876, and governor, 1876-1879. He was a railroad promoter and a leader in the state and national Democratic Party. President Grover Cleveland appointed him United States Minister to Japan. During his service there, 1885-1890, his second wife Janie Roberts died of cholera. She and Hubbard, along with other members of the family, are buried in Tyler's Oakwood Cemetery.

Historical Marker → · 3.3 mi away

Duck Creek Soil Erosion Project

1929

In 1929, one of ten erosion control research stations in the United States was set up southeast of this site for the purpose of studying erosion problems and the effectiveness of erosion control methods. This was one of the first organized efforts to solve the nation's soil erosion problems in a planned, scientific manner. Five years later, in 1934, the Duck Creek watershed near this site was approved as a demonstrational project for working with all known methods of erosion control. In cooperation with the landowners in the 25,000-acre area, a plan of conservation treatment was devised for each farm. Much of the labor used in carrying out these plans, such as building dams and fences and planting trees and pasture grass, was provided by a nearby Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp. The success of the Duck Creek project attracted much attention and many visitors to the area. Duck Creek was used by the Soil Conservation Service as a training ground for agronomists, soil surveyors, engineers, biologists, foresters, economists, and others who carried knowledge learned here to many other states across the country.

Historical Marker → · 3.7 mi away

Site of Flora

1845

James K. Beene settled in this area in 1845 and established a post office called Flora in 1849. John and Delila Austin and their daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Willis Jones, bought adjacent farms in 1850. Flora community grew up around their properties on the Dallas-Shreveport Road. By 1853, James Monroe Luckey had opened Flora's first store and Carmel Baptist Church was organized nearby. The first sale of a town lot in Flora was recorded in 1855. By 1860 the town boasted three doctors, two blacksmiths, a Masonic lodge and three stores. The hardships of the Civil War years brought about the decline of the thriving community. By 1871 all the businesses were gone, the Masonic lodge had moved to Garden Valley, and Flora became a ghost town. (2001)

Historical Marker → · 4.0 mi away

Wilson, Arthur [Dooley]

1942

Dooley Wilson, actor and musician, was born Arthur Wilson in Tyler, Texas, on April 3, 1886. Some sources list 1894 as the year of his birth, but Wilson's gravestone gives 1886. Wilson's career spanned more than forty years. He began at age twelve with performances in vaudeville as a minstrel player. Around 1908 he performed in black theater in Chicago and New York. It was during this time that he got his nickname, "Dooley," as a performer in Pekin Theatre in Chicago. The name was taken from "Mr. Dooley," Wilson's signature song at the time. During the 1920s he led his own band—the Red Devils—in which he performed as a singing drummer on a nightclub tour of Paris and London. He returned to the United States in 1930 and gave up his drums for an acting career. He performed with Orson Welles and John Houseman in Federal Theater productions and then landed a Broadway role in the musical Cabin in the Sky . Wilson made his film debut in 1939. Although his roles were primarily supporting ones, he made film history as Sam, the pianist–singer in Casablanca who performs "As Time Goes By." Director Hal Wallis wanted a woman for the role but chose Wilson instead, although Wilson "couldn't...play piano." The director allowed Wilson to sing, but the piano playing was dubbed. Wilson was under contract to Paramount and on loan to MGM. His film credits include Keep Punching (1939); My Favorite Blonde , Night in New Orleans , Take a Letter Darling , Cairo , and Casablanca (1942); Two Tickets to London , Stormy Weather , and Higher and Higher (1943); Seven Days Ashore (1944); Triple Threat and Racing Luck (1948); Free for All and Come to the Stable (1949); and Passage West (1951). In 1945 Wilson had a prominent role in the New York musical Bloomer Girl . He also acted in Beulah , one of the first television series starring black actors, in 1951. He was on the board of directors of the Negro Actors Guild of America. He died in Los Angeles on May 30, 1953, shortly after his retirement, and was buried in Angelus Rosedale Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Estelle.

Tsha Handbook → · 15.0 mi away

Hogg, Ima

1913

Ima Hogg, philanthropist and patron of the arts, daughter of Sarah Ann (Stinson) and Governor James Stephen Hogg , was born in Mineola, Texas, on July 10, 1882. She had three brothers, William Clifford Hogg , born in 1875; Michael, born in 1885; and Thomas Elisha Hogg, born in 1887. According to family history, Ima was named for the heroine of a Civil War poem written by her uncle Thomas Elisha. Her name became a part of Texas folklore, along with the myth of a fictitious sister supposedly named Ura. Ima Hogg was affectionately known as Miss Ima for most of her long life. She was eight years old when her father was elected governor; she spent much of her early life in Austin. After her mother died of tuberculosis in 1895, Ima attended the Coronal Institute in San Marcos, and in 1899 she entered the University of Texas. She started playing the piano at age three and in 1901 went to New York to study music. Her father's illness drew her back to Texas in 1905. After his death in 1906 she continued her music studies in Berlin and Vienna from 1907 to 1909. She then moved to Houston, where she gave piano lessons to a select group of pupils and helped found the Houston Symphony Orchestra , which played its first concert in June 1913. Miss Ima served as the first vice president of the Houston Symphony Society and became president in 1917. She became ill in late 1918 and spent the next two years in Philadelphia under the care of a specialist in mental and nervous disorders. She did not return to Houston to live until 1923. In the meantime, oil had been struck on the Hogg property near West Columbia, Texas, and by the late 1920s Miss Ima was involved in a wide range of philanthropic projects. In 1929 she founded the Houston Child Guidance Center, an agency to provide therapy and counseling for disturbed children and their families. In 1940, with a bequest from her brother Will, who had died in 1930, she established the Hogg Foundation for Mental Hygiene, which later became the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas. In 1943 Miss Hogg, a lifelong Democrat, won an election to the Houston school board, where she worked to establish symphony concerts for schoolchildren, to get equal pay for teachers regardless of sex or race, and to set up a painting-to-music program in the public schools. In 1946 she again became president of the Houston Symphony Society, a post she held until 1956, and in 1948 she became the first woman president of the Philosophical Society of Texas . Since the 1920s she had been studying and collecting early American art and antiques, and in 1966 she presented her collection and Bayou Bend, the River Oaks mansion she and her brothers had built in 1927, to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. The Bayou Bend Collection, recognized as one of the finest of its kind, draws thousands of visitors each year. In the 1950s Miss Ima restored the Hogg family home at Varner Plantation near West Columbia, and in 1958 she presented it to the state of Texas. It became Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historical Site . In the 1960s she restored the Winedale Inn, a nineteenth-century stagecoach stop at Round Top, Texas, which she gave to the University of Texas. The Winedale Historical Center now serves as a center for the study of Texas history and is also the site of a widely acclaimed annual fine arts festival. Miss Hogg also restored her parents' home at Quitman, Texas, and in 1969 the town of Quitman established the Ima Hogg Museum in her honor. In 1953 Governor Allan Shivers appointed her to the Texas State Historical Survey Committee (later the Texas Historical Commission ), and in 1967 that body gave her an award for "meritorious service in historic preservation." In 1960 she served on a committee appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower for the planning of the National Cultural Center (now Kennedy Center) in Washington, D.C. In 1962, at the request of Jacqueline Kennedy, Ima Hogg served on an advisory panel t

Tsha Handbook → · 10.3 mi away

Things to Do in Lindale

food 0.2 mi away
LaCascio's Scratch Italian

Italian fine dining in tiny Lindale at 75 Miranda Lambert Way — named for the town's famous daughter. Scratch kitchen, fresh-baked bread, upscale-casual…

Everything Near Lindale

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

  • Lindale, TX

    Lindale, Texas, a small town in Smith County in the piney woods of East Texas, punches well above its weight for famous people.

  • Miranda Lambert

    Before the platinum, there was a red envelope. Miranda Lambert grew up in Lindale, out in East Texas, and she and her father Rick just drove — town to town, gig to gig, trying to get somebody to hear her. One of those…

  • LaCascio's Scratch Italian · 0.2 mi · Things to Do

    Italian fine dining in tiny Lindale at 75 Miranda Lambert Way — named for the town's famous daughter. Scratch kitchen, fresh-baked bread, upscale-casual…

  • Miranda Lambert's Hometown · 1.2 mi

    You’re in Miranda Lambert country now. The multi-platinum country music star isn’t just from Lindale; she’s a part of its modern soul. Raised here by her parents, Rick and Bev, Miranda’s formative years in East Texas…

  • The Cannery: From Blackberries to Ballads · 1.2 mi

    One of the most important buildings in Lindale is the old fruit cannery. For decades this was the economic heart of the town, and by 1950 Lindale had earned the title 'Blackberry Capital of the World.' The canneries…

  • The Science of the Cannery · 1.2 mi

    Lindale's fame as the Blackberry Capital of the World wasn't just about farming; it was a feat of food science. The town had a canning factory standing by 1892, and by the middle of the last century the Woldert and Star…

  • Lindale grew in the right order · 1.2 mi

    The center of Lindale grew up in the right order, whatever you may have heard. The post office opened right here in 1873 — spelled Lyndale then, with John M. Davis as postmaster — and the spelling settled into Lindale…

  • Lindale, TX · 1.5 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Lindale, a town that started as a simple post office in 1873. Just a year later, the name changed to Lindale, and it became a stop on the International-Great Northern Railroad in 1875. By 1884, it…

  • Damascus Baptist Church · 3.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Damascus Baptist Church, organized in 1890 with 12 charter members. Services were held in a schoolhouse until 1895 when the congregation grew and began planning this building. The first…

  • Making the Lakes · 3.3 mi

    As you look out over the lakes of Hideaway, it's easy to assume they're natural. They aren't - they're a piece of 1960s land development. This was once plantation land settled by the family of future Texas governor…

  • Hideaway, TX · 3.3 mi

    Once a part of a large plantation owned by Texas governor Richard B. Hubbard, the land that is now Hideaway, Texas, underwent a significant transformation. In 1967, developer James Fair purchased the land and planned…

  • Hubbard Family Cemetery · 3.3 mi · Historical Marker

    This site once overlooked the plantation home of Richard B. Hubbard (1800-1864) and his wife Serena Carter, who came here from Georgia in 1854. They operated a prosperous 720-acre plantation with 44 slaves. Their son…

Show all 200 nearby places
  • Sabine Methodist Church · 3.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Sabine Methodist Church, organized back in 1894 by the Rev. W. L. Pate and named for its proximity to the Sabine River. Land for the church, school, and cemetery was donated by Joe…

  • Bethesda Presbyterian Church and Cemetery · 3.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Bethesda Presbyterian Church. In 1879, the Henderson family arrived from Alabama and soon began holding worship services here. The congregation was officially recognized in 1881, later…

  • Duck Creek Soil Erosion Project · 3.7 mi · Historical Marker

    In 1929, one of ten erosion control research stations in the United States was set up southeast of this site for the purpose of studying erosion problems and the effectiveness of erosion control methods. This was one of…

  • Site of Flora · 4.0 mi · Historical Marker

    James K. Beene settled in this area in 1845 and established a post office called Flora in 1849. John and Delila Austin and their daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Willis Jones, bought adjacent farms in 1850. Flora…

  • Milburn-Gary House · 4.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Milburn-Gary House, a testament to 19th-century Texas craftsmanship. Built in 1855 by Reverend Williamson Milburn, this home was constructed with hand-picked, knot-free lumber, featuring solid…

  • Hopewell Baptist Church · 5.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Hopewell Baptist Church, organized in 1858 with 30 members. Harvey Yarborough deeded land for the first structure, built in 1859. The congregation celebrated its 140th year of continuous…

  • Here Was the Camp of the Army of the Republic of Texas · 5.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Here Was the Camp of the Army of the Republic of Texas. Under Generals Kelsey H. Douglass, Thomas J. Rusk, Edward Burleson and Colonel Landrum, from which the soldiers returned to their homes on July…

  • Vial-Fragoso Trail · 6.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through East Texas, near Lindale, where a historic trail once stretched. In 1788, Pierre Vial and Francisco Xavier Fragoso blazed the Vial-Fragoso Trail. Their mission? To travel from Santa Fe, New…

  • Flewellen-Thweatt Cemetery · 6.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Smith County, past the site of the Flewellen-Thweatt Cemetery. This quiet resting place began in 1861, when Frances Maria Drake Flewellen was buried here after moving to Texas from Georgia and…

  • Camp of the Army of the Republic of Texas · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through East Texas, not far from where the last Cherokee War Camp of the Republic of Texas once stood. Imagine soldiers under Generals Rusk and Burleson, mustering out after a decisive victory. It was…

  • Antioch Baptist Church · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Antioch Baptist Church, established by the Smith County Baptist Association back in 1851. Members met in homes and the schoolhouse until their first sanctuary was built in 1857. The…

  • New Harmony Baptist Church · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, passing the site of New Harmony Baptist Church. This congregation was established in 1867 and accepted into the Cherokee Baptist Association in 1869. Seven of its charter members are buried…

  • Garden Valley · 7.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Garden Valley, a town founded by James L. Davidson in 1851. It quickly grew, getting a post office and roads, with Davidson building a store and a mill. By the 1870s, it had both Methodist and…

  • Reagan's Name Across East Texas · 8.1 mi

    Interstate Twenty, from the Dallas and Kaufman county line all the way east to the Louisiana border, is the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway. The Legislature extended the name across East Texas in two thousand seven. An…

  • Smith Chapel United Methodist Church · 8.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Smith Chapel United Methodist Church. Organized around 1885 as Davis Chapel, it was renamed Democrat Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and finally Smith Chapel. The current sanctuary was…

  • Caddo Indian Communities in Wood County · 8.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Wood County, following the Sabine River, a place that's been home to the Caddo people for over a thousand years. <break time="400ms"/> By the early 1800s, American settlers were moving in, finding…

  • New Hope Cemetery · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Wood County, passing the New Hope Cemetery. It began around 1864, linked to the New Hope Baptist Church. The earliest marked grave is from 1875, but leaders sold the land to the church for a…

  • Cherokee Chief Bowles · 9.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Van Zandt County, near Edom. Look around – this is where the last major battle between Cherokees and Texans took place. On July 16, 1839, Chief Bowles led 800 Native Americans into a fierce fight…

  • Wood-Verner Cemetery · 9.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Wood-Verner Cemetery, the oldest known graveyard in the Dixie area. It's named for the two families who owned the surrounding land. The earliest marked grave here belongs to John Gordon, who died…

  • New Hope Baptist Church · 9.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of New Hope Baptist Church. This fellowship started as a Baptist Church of Christ in 1864, reorganized in 1890 as Stephen's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, honoring elder Stephen Kelley.…

  • Hogg, Ima · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Ima Hogg, philanthropist and patron of the arts, daughter of Sarah Ann (Stinson) and Governor James Stephen Hogg , was born in Mineola, Texas, on July 10, 1882. She had three brothers, William Clifford Hogg , born in…

  • Rhodes, Andrew Jackson [Jack] · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through East Texas, maybe near Mineola, and you're passing the place where a songwriting legend got his start. Andrew Jackson "Jack" Rhodes was born here in Van Zandt County in 1908. After a back injury…

  • Varner, Martin · 10.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Wood County, and right here is the final resting place of Martin Varner. He came to Texas before 1820, a pioneer who partnered with Henry Jones to run a trading post. Varner was one of Stephen F.…

  • Giles, Barney McKinney · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near Mineola, the birthplace of Barney McKinney Giles, a man who rose from a Texas farm to become a top commander in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Giles enlisted in 1917 and steadily…

  • Russell, Paul Lawrence · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Mineola, Texas, the birthplace of Paul Russell, a groundbreaking African-American ballet dancer. Born in 1947, Russell shattered barriers, becoming the first Black dancer to perform Siegfried in a…

  • Mineola, TX · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Mineola, a town born from a railroad race. Back before 1873, this spot was called Sodom. But then, two railroad companies, the Texas and Pacific and the International-Great Northern, raced to see…

  • Willingham, Noble Henry, Jr. · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Noble Henry Willingham Jr. was a much sought after character actor who appeared in film and television from 1970 until the year before his death in 2004. Usually cast as an insightful "good old boy," his characters…

  • Giles, Benjamin Franklin · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through East Texas, not far from Mineola, the birthplace of Benjamin Franklin Giles. He was an Air Force general, born in 1892 on a farm right here. Giles saw action in World War I, flying over enemy…

  • Giles, Robert Byron, Sr. · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through East Texas, not far from Mineola, where Robert Byron Giles, Sr. was born. He could have been a pro baseball pitcher, even had an offer from Cleveland! But Giles chose medicine instead, heading to…

  • Pyle, Owen Pinkney · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through East Texas, maybe near Mineola, where Owen Pinkney Pyle made his mark. Pyle was a farmer turned farmer's advocate, a powerhouse speaker for the Farmers' Alliance in the late 1800s. He even bought…

  • Wood County · 10.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Wood County, a place with a rich history tied to the East Texas timberlands. Back in 1873, a tiny village called Sodom existed right here, with only about twenty residents. But then, the Texas and…

  • Shamburger Cemetery · 10.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Shamburger Cemetery, a quiet resting place with a story rooted in East Texas agriculture. The Shamburger family arrived from Mississippi in 1847, settling near Starrville. By 1875, T. J.…

  • Varner, Martin · 10.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Wood County, heading towards Mineola. Keep an eye out for a marker honoring Martin Varner. He was a volunteer soldier who fought in the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, the fight that…

  • Union Chapel Cemetery and Church · 10.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Union Chapel Cemetery, where the earliest marked grave dates back to August 1873. Just a month later, land was deeded for a Methodist Church and cemetery. The original sanctuary served the community…

  • Dr. Adolph Leander Patten · 10.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, passing the site where Dr. Adolph Leander Patten lived and practiced medicine. Born in North Carolina in 1823, Patten first opened a practice in Georgia before heading west with his…

  • Mineola Black Spiders · 10.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, and right here is a marker for a team that's mostly forgotten today: the Mineola Black Spiders. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, African-American baseball teams played separately from…

  • Smith County · 10.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Smith County, formed way back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1846</say-as>. It’s named for General James Smith, a pioneer soldier and statesman. He was a friend to Texas legends like…

  • George C. Reeves (Aug. 31, 1854 - Aug. 29, 1934) · 10.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Mineola, where George C. Reeves arrived in 1873, just as the town was getting started. Reeves wasn't just a local businessman; he played a key role in the state penitentiary system as a transfer…

  • John Creighton Buchanan · 10.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Mineola area, the former stomping grounds of John Creighton Buchanan. Born in Louisiana, Buchanan set up his law practice in Quitman and quickly rose to prominence. In 1876, he became the first…

  • Richard Malcolm Smith · 10.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, and just ahead is a marker for Richard Malcolm Smith. Born in Kentucky in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1852</say-as>, Smith came to Texas young and jumped into journalism,…

  • Robert N. Stafford · 10.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Mineola, where Robert N. Stafford made his mark. Born in Georgia in 1856, Stafford arrived here in 1880 and quickly became a prominent figure. He served as county attorney, district attorney, and…

  • Pleasant Retreat United Methodist Church · 10.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Pleasant Retreat United Methodist Church, a place that's been a cornerstone of the community since 1854. Organized as the Black Fork Church by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, this…

  • Lillian Richard · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hawkins, Texas, a town that owes its 'Pancake Capital' title to Lillian Richard. Born in 1891, Lillian moved to Dallas and in 1925, began a 23-year career as 'Aunt Jemima' for Quaker Oats,…

  • Roseland Plantation Home · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Edom, and right here is the Roseland Plantation Home, built way back in 1854 by B. H. Hambrick. This wasn't just a house; it was the hub of a massive 3,000-acre estate, built with incredible…

  • Pine Springs Baptist Church · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Pine Springs Baptist Church. It all started in 1881 when E.S. Cook and Perry Ray bought land for a schoolhouse. Soon after, the Pine Springs Baptist Church of Christ was organized…

  • Mt. Zion C. M. E. Church · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the area where Mt. Zion Church was founded back in 1874. Members from several nearby communities gathered on a local farm to start this congregation. It wasn't just about worship; Mt. Zion offered…

  • Railroads in Mineola · 11.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, a town that owes its very existence to a furious railroad race. Back in the summer of 1873, two lines, the Houston and Great Northern and the Texas and Pacific, were barreling towards a…

  • Mineola · 11.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Mineola, a town that owes its very existence to the railroad. Back in 1873, the Texas & Pacific Railroad was building west, and the Houston & Great Northern was building north. Communities popped up…

  • County Line Missionary Baptist Church · 11.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the County Line Missionary Baptist Church in Edom. Oral tradition says this church traces its roots back to 1851, making it one of the earliest attempts by African American families in…

  • Tyler High School (Earl Campbell) · 11.2 mi

    Tyler High School in Tyler, TX (formerly John Tyler High School, now on Northwest Loop 323) is where Earl Campbell — 'the Tyler Rose' — became a national legend. As a senior in 1973 he rushed for 2,036 yards and led the…

  • William Jesse McDonald · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Mineola, and you're passing the spot where a true Texas legend got his start: William Jesse McDonald. Born in Mississippi in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1852</say-as>, McDonald came to…

  • Mineola, TX · 11.2 mi

    In 1873, Mineola came into existence as railroads built lines through the eastern part of Texas. The Texas and Pacific and the International-Great Northern raced to reach Mineola first, with the I-GN arriving 15 minutes…

  • Raines, C. W. · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Mineola, where Cadwell Walton Raines, a man of many talents, made his mark. He arrived in Texas as a boy in 1853 and went on to serve as a Confederate soldier, a preacher, a teacher, a lawyer, and a…

  • Site of Coleman Family Drug Store and Clinic · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, and right here is the site of the Coleman Family Drug Store and Clinic. The Coleman family arrived from Alabama in 1897, and by 1902, Dr. Walter Coleman opened this pharmacy. He was known…

  • Site of Public Mineral Water Well · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, and right here, at the intersection of Highway 80 and Johnson Street, was once the heart of the town's water supply. Back in 1885, folks knew this area was rich in water. But it wasn't…

  • Mineola Opera Houses · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, and for a few decades here, the opera house was the heart of social life. From the 1870s to the 1910s, rail lines brought famous artists and musicians right to town. Imagine seeing…

  • Frontier Red Hill Cemetery · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Frontier Red Hill Cemetery, a place that began with a tragic family loss. The first grave here belongs to 19-year-old Elizabeth Piles, who died way back on May 4, 1856. Just two days later, her…

  • Lott House · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Lott House in Mineola, a beautiful example of early 20th-century architecture. Angus and Lena Beaird started building this home in 1918, finishing it in the early 1920s. It showcases Prairie…

  • First National Bank Building · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, and just ahead is the First National Bank Building. Chartered way back in 1898, the bank operated out of a few spots before building this beauty in 1912. It replaced the Mineola…

  • The Thomas Breen Family · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Mineola, where Thomas Breen, an Irish immigrant, arrived in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1873</say-as> to work for the Texas & Pacific Railroad. He became the town's very first ticket…

  • Mineola Post Office · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the historic Mineola Post Office. Postal service here started way back in 1873 with an unofficial office in a drugstore, but the official U.S. Post Office wasn't granted until 1875. This building you…

  • Mineola's Jewish Community · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past downtown Mineola, where Jewish immigrants began arriving by train shortly after the city's founding in 1873. Many established businesses right around here, like the Munzesheimer, Sodekson, Mayer, and…

  • Government Projects in Mineola · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, and right here, you're passing the heart of a community that weathered the Great Depression. During the tough years of the 1930s, federal programs like the WPA and CWA put Mineola…

  • Select Theater · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Select Theater. The Select Theater was the seventh in a long line of Mineola venues dating from 1886. Mrs. Martha (Mattie) Hooks named the theater for Select Pictures, a Texas motion picture…

  • From the South Quarters to City Hall · 11.3 mi

    One of the most influential politicians in modern California got his start right here in Mineola. Willie Brown was born in 1934 and grew up in the Black part of town, south of the railroad tracks, where the boundaries…

  • The Town Once Called Sodom · 11.3 mi

    The town of Mineola exists because of a race. Look at a map and you'll see two historic rail lines crossing here in a near-perfect plus sign, but that crossing wasn't the product of cooperating engineers picking a spot…

  • The Golden Girl from Mineola High · 11.3 mi

    If you listen to the music of Kacey Musgraves, you're hearing the sound of modern East Texas. She was born up the road in Sulphur Springs and grew up in tiny Golden, but she's a proud graduate of Mineola High School,…

  • The Heartbeat of the Town · 11.3 mi

    The building that best tells Mineola's story is the historic depot downtown. Built in 1906 by the Missouri Pacific, this station was the town's heart — in a town that railroads had created in the first place, when two…

  • Hogg, Miss Ima, Birthplace of · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, a town that holds a special place in Texas history. Look around, because this is the birthplace of Ima Hogg, born right here on July 10th, 1882. Daughter of Governor James S. Hogg, Ima…

  • The Accidental Wilderness · 11.3 mi

    Just on the edge of town is one of Mineola's newest and wildest success stories: the Mineola Nature Preserve. Spanning nearly 3,000 acres along the Sabine River, it's a huge expanse of wetlands, forests, and prairies.…

  • Gov. James Stephen Hogg and Wood County · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, Texas, a place that played a crucial role in the early political career of James Stephen Hogg. From 1868 to 1882, Hogg lived right here in Wood County, laying the groundwork for his…

  • Sarah Rosalie Patten Buchanan · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site where Sarah Rosalie Patten Buchanan lived out her later years. Born in 1855, Rosa was a Quitman native who married John Creighton Buchanan. Tragedy struck early when she was widowed at just…

  • Harry W. Meredith · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a home built by Harry W. Meredith, a man who left a huge mark on Mineola. Originally from Kentucky, Meredith came to Texas around 1907. He got into banking in 1908, eventually leading…

  • O. P. Pyle House · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the O. P. Pyle House in Mineola, a home built in 1903 and 1904 for a man who was a leading voice for farmers during Texas's progressive era. Pyle was also a national spokesman for their concerns, and…

  • Mineola Public Library · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a library that started with a vision from a teacher named Vivian Williams Lott, who saw a need back in 1913. After a stalled effort in 1940, Mineola finally got its public library in…

  • First National Bank of Mineola · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the First National Bank of Mineola, chartered way back in May of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1898</say-as>! With a starting capital of fifty thousand dollars, it was led by…

  • Site of Barney B. Hart House · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former site of the Barney B. Hart House, a Mineola landmark that stood for over a century. Built in 1906 by J.J. McLeod for attorney Barney B. Hart, this two-story home was a beautiful example of…

  • O. P. Pyle · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former home of Owen Pinkney Pyle, a journalist who championed Texas farmers. Born in Arkansas in 1867, Pyle became editor of the Mineola 'Courier' and was key in founding both the Texas Farm…

  • St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Mineola. Founded in 1871 by Rev. John Branham in a pioneer home, the congregation built its first sanctuary just two years later. The church…

  • First Baptist Church of Mineola · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Mineola's First Baptist Church. The congregation started holding services in 1873, formally organizing as a Baptist church in 1875. Their first frame building, Powell's Chapel, was…

  • Williams Medical Clinic Building · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Williams Medical Clinic Building in Mineola. Dr. James W. Williams, a Mineola native, opened his practice here in 1946 after serving in World War II. He built this state-of-the-art facility in…

  • Camp Ford · 11.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Camp Ford, right here near Tyler. This wasn't just any Civil War camp; it was the biggest prisoner of war compound for Union troops west of the Mississippi. Originally a training camp in…

  • Camp Ford · 11.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Camp Ford. Camp Ford, stockade prison of federal soldiers during the Civil War

  • A Star in the Window, a Marker by the Road · 11.6 mi

    This road carries a Blue Star Memorial Highway designation, one of a string of them across Texas. The name comes from a family tradition. When someone in a household was serving in the armed forces, the family displayed…

  • Callaway House · 11.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Callaway House in Mineola, built around 1892 by Lorenzo Dow Callaway and his wife Elizabeth. Lorenzo was a businessman and served as mayor here, but sadly died in the 1918 flu epidemic. This…

  • In the vicinity of Harris' place · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Smith County, not far from where scouts for the Republic of Texas Army were dispatched. It was July 16, 1839, just after a major battle with Cherokee and allied tribes. In that fight, the…

  • Nicholas Wren · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Winona, Texas, where Nicholas Wren made his home. <break time="400ms"/> Wren arrived in Texas way back in 1833, and by 1836, he was a soldier in the Texas Army. <break time="400ms"/> Sam Houston…

  • Macedonia School · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Wood County, and just ahead is the site of the Macedonia School. Established in 1885, this was one of the very first one-teacher schools in the county. It served the community of Macedonia, later…

  • Jobe Cemetery · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the Jobe community, founded by African American families who settled here in the late 1800s. Brothers Phelix and Sampson Jobe bought land starting in 1881, setting aside a portion for this…

  • Harris Creek Cemetery · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Harris Creek Cemetery, the final resting place for folks from the Mount Carmel and Winona communities. It began as a cemetery for the Harris Creek Baptist Church, organized back in 1849. The…

  • 2016 UIL 3A Division 1 Football State Champions · 11.8 mi

    Mineola High School (Mineola, TX): Most recent: 35-14 over Yoakum · 2016 3A Division 1 final.

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Mineola (Mineola) · 11.8 mi

    Mineola (Mineola, TX) placed on the 3A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Matthew Ballew (0.561 avg, 2 HR).

  • Head of Navigation on the Sabine River: Belzora Landing · 11.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising past the site of Belzora Landing, once a bustling port on the Sabine River. From the 1850s until the railroads arrived in the 1870s, this was a vital hub for Tyler and East Texas. Despite the challenges…

  • First Election in Wood County · 11.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Mineola, where Wood County held its very first election on August 5th, 1850. It all happened under a giant post oak tree on Gaines Greer's farm. Twenty men gathered to organize the county, pick a…

  • Mineola Fire Department · 12.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, a town born from railroads. Back in the 1880s, fire was a constant threat. Imagine this: one night, eighteen downtown buildings went up in flames! Residents rebuilt with brick, but the…

  • Mineola Schools · 12.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, a town born from railroads in 1873. Almost immediately, settlers saw the need for schools, leading to private academies and education for the African American community. By 1902, a bond…

  • Douglas, Major James P. · 12.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a remarkable Texas artillery unit, the Good-Douglas Battery. Born in South Carolina, Major James P. Douglas arrived in Texas in 1848. In 1861, he led fifty Tyler men to Dallas to join…

  • Marvin Methodist Church · 12.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Marvin Methodist Church, which holds a special place in Tyler's history. Organized way back in 1848 by Reverends Sam Box and Alexander Douglas, this was the very first church established…

  • Patterson Home · 12.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Patterson Home in Tyler, a house that's been in the same family for over a century. It started as a simple dog-trot cabin before 1854, built by John Lollar and later owned by Doctor J. C. Moore.…

  • Wisener Field · 12.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Wisener Field, the site of one of the first airports in Texas! On July 4th, 1917, a U.S. Army Signal Corps pilot landed a Curtis JN-4D 'Jenny' biplane right here. Back then, it was called Massengale…

  • Cedar Street United Methodist Church · 12.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Cedar Street United Methodist Church in Tyler. Its story begins in 1887 with a Sunday School organized in a new neighborhood north of town. The congregation officially formed in 1888…

  • Utilities in Mineola · 12.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Mineola, a town that grew up with its utilities. Back in 1886, an artesian well and an ice factory opened, bringing new conveniences. By the early 1900s, phone service was up and running, and by…

  • Marsh, Colonel Bryan · 12.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the area where Colonel Bryan Marsh made his mark on Texas history. An Alabama native who settled in Tyler in 1854, Marsh became a captain in the 17th Texas Cavalry during the Civil War. He fought…

  • Hubbard, Richard Bennett · 12.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, home of Richard Bennett Hubbard, a man who wore many hats in 19th-century Texas. Born in Georgia in 1832, Hubbard came to Texas in 1853, setting up a law practice. He served as a U.S.…

  • Dillard, John Henry · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    John Henry Dillard, Alamo defender, son of William and Sarah (Brownlow) Dillard, was born in Smith County, Tennessee, in 1805. Before 1831, Dillard married Sarah Pate in Tennessee, and the couple produced three children…

  • Neches Saline, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Neches Saline, also known as Brooks Saline and Gardiner's Saline, was a small antebellum community north of the point of intersection of State Highway 155 and Farm Road 344 in extreme southwestern Smith County. The…

  • Starrville, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Starrville is three miles east of Winona and one mile northeast of Starrville Mountain at the intersection of Farm roads 757 and 16 in northern Smith County. Originally part of the I. W. Hall Survey, by 1849 it had…

  • Universe, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Universe is a community on State Highway 64 a mile east of Tyler Loop 323 and a mile west of Bascom in central Smith County. The area, originally part of the Polinio Chireno survey, was settled as early as 1861. During…

  • Gentry, Brady Preston · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near Colfax, Texas, the birthplace of Brady Preston Gentry. He was a lawyer and legislator who became a giant in shaping Texas roads. Appointed chairman of the Texas Highway Commission in 1939, he was the…

  • Stevenson, James Porter · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through East Texas, a land where faith sometimes had to be a whisper. Back in the early 1830s, Mexican law strictly prohibited Protestant services. But James Porter Stevenson, a young Methodist minister,…

  • Texas Agricultural Extension Service · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Smith County, Texas, a place that holds a national 'first.' Back in 1906, William C. Stallings became the very first county agent in the entire United States. His job? To bring the…

  • Goodman Home · 12.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Bonnie Castle, a home with a musical legacy right here in Tyler. Begun by Gallatin Smith, it was bought in 1866 by Dr. S. A. Goodman. His son, Major W. J. Goodman, a surgeon for the 13th…

  • Murphey the Jeweler · 12.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, and you're passing the site of Murphey the Jeweler, one of East Texas's oldest retail businesses. Archibald Michael Murphey, originally from North Carolina, opened his jewelry shop right…

  • Oakwood Cemetery · 12.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Oakwood Cemetery in Tyler, a resting place with roots stretching back to the 1840s. Originally known as Lollar's Cemetery, it started on land purchased by John Lollar himself. The oldest marked grave…

  • Mineola Masonic Lodge No. 502, A.F. & A.M. · 12.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Mineola Masonic Lodge, chartered in 1879. It started with 17 members, growing to 48 by year's end. Among its early members was William Jesse McDonald, a future Texas Ranger. The…

  • Ingram Cemetery · 12.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Ingram Cemetery, the final resting place for a veteran of the Seminole Wars. Stephen Ingram, who fought in that 1835 conflict, settled here in 1850 and was the first person buried in this…

  • Primrose-Sexton Community · 12.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through what used to be the Primrose-Sexton community. It started with land grants in 1847 and settlers arriving in the 1850s. By the 1880s, a cotton gin and two churches had sprung up, serving a growing…

  • Bascom, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Bascom is at the junction of State Highway 64 and Farm Road 848, a mile east of Tyler in central Smith County. The Texas State Quail Farm is located just to the south. The area was the site of a spring at the crossing…

  • Belzora, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Belzora was at a ferry crossing where Farm Road 14 now crosses the Sabine River in extreme northern Smith County. The site, originally part of the Juan Santos Coy survey, was settled in 1850 and named for Belle Ham of…

  • Flint, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Flint, at the junction of Farm roads 2868, 346, and 2493, four miles north of Bullard in Smith County, was originally part of the Tomás Quevedo survey. The site, named for local landowner Robert P. Flynt, became a stop…

  • Jamestown, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Jamestown, also known as Berrien, Jimtown, and Old Jamestown, was just south of Wilds Creek in eastern Smith County three miles north of Overton in Rusk County. The site, settled in 1846, was part of the Edward Pierce…

  • Omen, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Omen, also known at various times as Round Hill, Canton, Clopton, Troup, and Old Canton, is a rural community on State Highway 345 in southeastern Smith County about two miles west of Arp and just south of Omen Road…

  • Sinclair City, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Sinclair City is on Kickapoo Creek and State Highway 135, just north of Troup and south of Arp in the Good Omen oilfield in southeastern Smith County. It was originally on the line between the Benijah Lafferty and Maria…

  • Coleman, J. G. · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Starrville in Smith County. Right here, in 1863, a farmer and slaveholder named J.G. Coleman helped organize the Texas First Cavalry Regiment. Though likely older, he was elected…

  • Duck Creek (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Smith County, and right here, the Duck Creek watershed became a national laboratory during the Great Depression. In 1929, a soil erosion project kicked off, studying how to stop the land from…

  • Joy, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what used to be Joy, a small church community in eastern Smith County. It all started when farmers moved in after the Civil War, growing crops like corn and cotton. Joy got a post office in 1892,…

  • Mount Carmel, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Smith County, heading toward Winona. Right here, you're passing through the spot where Mount Carmel used to be. Established in 1850 as a stop on the busy Dallas-Shreveport Road, it was once a…

  • Pine Springs, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving north of Tyler, and right here is the area known as Pine Springs. Settlers arrived in the 1840s, drawn by a large spring nestled in the pines, giving the community its name. It was a hub for orchard…

  • Sand Flat, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what used to be Sand Flat, a rural community in Smith County, just north of Tyler. It started taking shape in the late 1840s when pioneers gained access via the Brumley Crossing Road. By 1851, the…

  • Scarborough, George Moore · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through East Texas, maybe near Mount Carmel in Smith County, where playwright George Moore Scarborough was born back in 1875. He studied law, even practiced it with his father, but the pull of…

  • Watson, John Brown · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Smith County, Texas, the birthplace of John Brown Watson. Born in 1872, Watson wasn't just a teacher; he was a builder. After earning degrees from Colgate and Brown Universities and teaching at…

  • Browning, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Browning (Browning's) is on Farm Road 2767 and the eastern edge of the Chapel Hill oilfield nine miles southeast of Winona in eastern Smith County. The town was named for its earliest settlers. Around 1850 Isaiah…

  • Dixie, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Dixie is off State Highway 64 just west of Tyler in central Smith County. The settlement had been established by 1906, when William C. Stallings of Dixie became the first county agent in Texas. In 1923 the Dixie…

  • Garden Valley, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Garden Valley is at the intersection of State Highway 110 and Farm Road 16, seven miles west of Lindale in northwestern Smith County. It is on land that was originally part of the Edward B. Ragsdale survey. A post…

  • Hopewell, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Hopewell is four miles north of Tyler and just north of Swan off U.S. Highway 69 in central Smith County. The settlement had been founded by 1887, when a post office was established there with Leonard N. Stell as…

  • Mount Sylvan, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Mount Sylvan is at the intersection of State Highway 110 and Farm Road 724, eight miles north of Tyler in northwestern Smith County. The settlement was founded in 1852 on a local trade route, the Tyler-Garden Valley…

  • New Harmony, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    New Harmony, also called Harmony, is a farming and church community on Clear Branch and Farm Road 724 two miles south of Mount Sylvan in western Smith County. The area was settled by April 1867, when New Harmony Baptist…

  • Pleasant Retreat, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Pleasant Retreat is a small church community located just west of Tyler, north of State Highway 31, and south of State Highway 64 in central Smith County. Originally part of the George Myers Survey, the area was settled…

  • Red Springs, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Red Springs is a small rural community in north central Smith County six miles northwest of Winona at the intersection of Farm roads 16, 14, and 2710. The springs for which the town was named are located just northwest…

  • Sabine, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Sabine is 1&frac12; miles south of the Sabine River, east of U.S. Highway 69, and three miles north of Lindale in extreme northern Smith County. Lindale Club Lake is southeast of Sabine and Mill Creek is to the south.…

  • Sharon, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Sharon, also known as Maggie Murph and as Murph, is on Everett Branch just north of State Highway 64 and two miles east of Chapel Hill in southeastern Smith County. It is located on the line between the Thomas P. Payne…

  • Swan, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Swan (Swann) is just east of U.S. Highway 69 three miles north of Tyler in east central Smith County. The site, originally part of the Francis Gilkinson survey, was occupied by farmers as early as the 1850s and named…

  • Teaselville, TX · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Teaselville, also known as Loftin, is near the intersection of Farm roads 344 and 346, a mile east of Saline Bay and four miles west of Bullard in extreme southwestern Smith County. The area was inhabited by 1846, when…

  • Union Chapel, TX (Smith County) · 12.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Union Chapel is a church community on State Highway 110, a light-duty road, and two dirt roads, just south of Van Lake and three miles west of Garden Valley in extreme western Smith County. The area, originally part of…

  • Smith County Rose Industry and the Tyler Rose Garden · 12.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, the Rose Capital of America! It all started back in the 1870s, when folks like G.A. McKee and Mathew Shamburger saw that this sandy soil and year-round rain were perfect for growing roses.…

  • Tyler Tap Railroad · 12.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, and this marker tells the story of the Tyler Tap Railroad. Back in 1871, local leaders like future governor R. B. Hubbard wanted to ship their fruits, veggies, and cotton to faraway…

  • Van Common School · 12.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Van, where the discovery of oil dramatically changed this community, and its school, forever. Back in 1916, two smaller schools merged to form Van Common School. Local folks even hauled 114 wagon…

  • First Baptist Church of Tyler · 12.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Tyler's First Baptist Church, one of the earliest Baptist congregations still in existence in Texas. Organized in 1848 with just six members, they first met in a log cabin and later in…

  • A President Born In Seventeen Ninety With A Grandson In Our Time · 13.0 mi

    Here's a fact about this town's namesake that sounds impossible until you check it. John Tyler was born in seventeen ninety, back when George Washington was still President. And believe it or not, one of his grandsons…

  • His Accidency · 13.0 mi

    The man this town is named for got one of the meanest nicknames in the history of the White House. They called John Tyler His Accidency. Here's how he earned it. In eighteen forty-one, William Henry Harrison became…

  • The Loophole That Made Texas A State · 13.0 mi

    Ever wonder how the President this town is named for actually pulled Texas into the Union? It came down to a clever bit of legislative math. Normally, to bring a whole new country like the Republic of Texas into the…

  • The Man Who Never Saw His Own Town · 13.0 mi

    There's a quiet irony sitting under the name of this town. John Tyler, the President it honors, almost certainly never set foot here, and by the time Tyler, Texas was growing into a real city, the man himself had turned…

  • How A President's Town Became The Rose Capital · 13.0 mi

    The town named for a President wears a second title that has nothing to do with politics at all. Tyler is the Rose Capital of America, and the way it got there is a story of one crop dying and another blooming in its…

  • Tyler, TX · 13.0 mi

    Tyler’s always been a place of growth, from the Caddo who first called this land home to the oil boom that transformed the town in the 30s. But the last few years have seen a different kind of shift, one that’s more…

  • Tyler · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, a city named for President John Tyler, who signed the resolution annexing Texas to the U.S. Founded in 1846, Tyler quickly became known for its schools and cultured citizens. During the…

  • First County Agricultural Extension Agent · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, the birthplace of a revolutionary idea in farming: the County Agricultural Agent. Back on November 12th, 1906, local leaders met and appointed William C. Stallings as the first county agent…

  • Smith County, C. S. A. · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, a major center of Confederate activity during the Civil War. Right near here, the largest ordnance plant west of the Mississippi churned out 'Tyler Rifles.' Camp Ford, east of town, became…

  • Why This Town Is Called Tyler · 13.0 mi

    Here's the honest story behind the name on the sign. When the Texas Legislature carved out Smith County back in eighteen forty-six, they laid out a brand new county seat near the middle of it and named it for John…

  • Hawkins, TX · 13.0 mi

    Hawkins, Texas. It sits right where the piney woods start to roll westward, a little piece of Wood County history tucked away. For a long time, it was just farmland, cotton mostly, like so much of East Texas. But then,…

  • Tyler - Rose Capital of America · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    More than half of all commercially grown rose bushes in the United States come from Tyler, Texas and the surrounding East Texas fields. The rose industry took root here in the early 1900s when growers discovered that…

  • Van School, 1929-1947 · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Van, Texas, where the discovery of oil in 1929 completely transformed this community. Suddenly, the small rural school, which started with just 90 kids, was overwhelmed by an influx of over 600…

  • Tyler Commercial College · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Tyler Commercial College, which grew to become the largest commercial college in the nation! It started in 1894 as the Adair Normal School, but after a few years, Tyler Commercial…

  • Neches Saline, C. S. A. · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Neches Saline, a vital salt source for East Texas settlers. As early as 1765, Spanish missionaries noted its presence. During the Civil War, James S.O. Brooks operated twelve furnaces…

  • Smith County as a 19th Century Legal Center · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Smith County as a 19th Century Legal Center. Soon after its establishment in 1846, Smith County became an important legal center in East Texas. The first legal proceeding to take place in the county…

  • Christ Episcopal Church · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, and right here is the site of Christ Episcopal Church. Its story begins way back in 1866, when the first bishop of Texas, Alexander Gregg, started missionary work with this fledgling…

  • Yarbrough Building · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former site of the Yarbrough Building in Tyler. This structure, a part of the city's history, was unfortunately torn down in 1978. Though the building is gone, its memory is preserved by this…

  • Henry Miller Morgan · 13.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, heading past the legacy of Henry Miller Morgan. Born in 1895, Morgan became a barber, but saw a problem: Texas laws excluded African Americans from barbering education. So, in 1929, he…

  • Williams, Lillian Richard · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Wood County, not far from Hawkins, Texas. Right here is where Lillian Richard Williams lived. Born in 1891, she grew up on a farm near Fouke. Though she had little formal schooling, she left East…

  • Jenkins-Harvey Super Service Station and Garage · 13.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Pull over here, because you’re looking at a time capsule of early American car culture! This isn't just a building; it's a monument to the roaring twenties and the dawn of the automobile age. Its Art Deco style is pure…

  • Tyler Carnegie Library · 13.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Tyler Carnegie Library. Five Tyler women&#x2019;s clubs, the First Literary Club, Bachelor Maids, Quid Nunc, Sherwood Club and Athenian Club, collectively known as the Federated Women&#x2019;s Clubs…

  • Hawkins, TX · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hawkins, Texas, a town that hit the jackpot back in 1940. Until then, it was a quiet community shipping lumber and cotton. But then, Bobby Manziel drilled a wildcat well just north of town,…

  • Jarvis Christian College · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Jarvis Christian College, a fully accredited four-year private liberal arts college offering associate's and bachelor's degrees, is at Hawkins, in southeastern Wood County. It was originally known as Jarvis Christian…

  • Smith County Jail, 1881 · 13.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Tyler, and right here is a building that once held the county's toughest criminals. This was Smith County's fourth jail, designed by Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner and built in 1880 and '81.…

  • Sand Springs, TX (Wood County) · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Wood County, near Hawkins, in a region once known as Sand Springs. Settlers arrived as early as 1848, drawn by fertile land. By 1852, a post office was established, and the community grew around a…

  • Butler College · 13.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, where in 1905, leaders of the East Texas Baptist Association founded the East Texas Baptist Academy. Their mission was clear: to boost educational opportunities for African American youth…

  • Van Field · 13.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Van Zandt County, and right here is the Van field, a place that changed Texas oil. Discovered in 1929, this wasn't just another oil strike. The Van field was the very first oil field in Texas, and…

  • C.S. Nicks · 13.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Van, Texas, where Charles Sparkman Nicks captured a pivotal moment in history. In the late 1920s, as oil was discovered, Nicks was the only professional photographer documenting the boom town's…

  • Van, TX · 13.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Van, Texas, a town that owes its existence to a surprising discovery. Originally known by colorful names like Ratty Towns or Who'd-a-Thought-It, the community was renamed for a local schoolteacher…

  • Whitaker-McClendon House · 13.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, and you might just catch a glimpse of a true Victorian gem. Built around 1880 for attorney Harrison Moores Whitaker, this house is one of the last grand high Victorian residences left in…

  • John B. and Ketura Douglas House · 13.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the John B. and Ketura Douglas House, built around 1873. This was home to John, a Civil War veteran and city official, and his wife Ketura, a prominent civic leader. Their house wasn't just a home;…

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Van (Van) · 13.4 mi

    Van (Van, TX) placed on the 4A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Connor Mccurley (2 HR).

  • Providence Community · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Providence Community. Providence community, comprised mostly of small family farms, is located in the far northeast section of Van Zandt County, straddling the Smith County line. Since 1845,…

  • Bonner, Thomas R., Colonel · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Tyler, past the site of a man who wore many hats. Thomas R. Bonner, born in Mississippi, came to Texas in 1849. He fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War, rising to Colonel and leading his…

  • Jarman No. 1 Discovery Well · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a Texas oil boom! In 1929, the Pure Oil Company was drilling for oil near the small farming community of Van. After weeks of anticipation, and even a day where thousands of onlookers left…

  • Chilton-Lipstate-Taylor House · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Chilton-Lipstate-Taylor House. In 1887, Horace and Mary (Grinnan) Chilton acquired land in the Yarbrough addition and soon after started construction on a house for their family. The design, by an…

  • Ramey House · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Ramey House in Tyler, a beautiful example of early 20th-century architecture. Built in 1903 from local cypress and pine, this home reflects a revival of classical American design. It was the…

  • Gary Elementary School · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Gary Elementary School. Land was acquired in 1907, and an eight-room schoolhouse was built here in 1908, named for early settler Franklin N. Gary, a supporter of public education. That…

  • Swindall School · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the area that was once known as Swindall. Around 1880, George W. Swindall donated land for a community school, which eventually took on his name. The school served local children until a new,…

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