That rolling, hard-driving piano — the boogie-woogie — they'll tell you it was born right here in Marshall. It came up out of the East Texas logging camps, where formerly enslaved men sat down at whatever piano they could find and played. Two of the greats came straight off these streets: Floyd Dixon and Dave Alexander. So it fits that Marshall finally got its own Boogie Woogie Fest — an idea Dale Watson floated and Alan Loudermilk, who runs the restaurant Gnocchio in town, talked him into making real. One September weekend, the lineup runs Dale Watson, Linda Gail Lewis, Wayne Hancock, Scott Biram, Jason D. Williams, and more. It's a party, sure. But it's also Marshall finally taking a bow for something it handed the whole world.

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Dale Watson RoadyGoat

Dale Watson's got the pompadour, the truck-driving country, the rockabilly snarl — and after decades in Austin and a stretch in Memphis, he landed in Marshall, East Texas, in twenty twenty. His thirtieth studio album is called "Starvation Box" — that was the name Lead Belly's father used for his son's guitar. And Lead Belly is the through-line here: Watson is helping build a Lead Belly museum right there in Marshall, and he kicked off the town's first Boogie Woogie Fest. The album itself is built around a nineteen fifty-seven twelve-string his wife gave him. One song, "Streets of Gold," came straight from his own father's stories of coal-mining life in Hazard, Kentucky. Thirty albums deep, and the man is still writing his roots into East Texas ground.

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Marshall RoadyGoat

Marshall, East Texas — twenty-three thousand people, deep in the Piney Woods, a town a lot of freedmen made home after the Civil War. You'll hear it called the birthplace of boogie woogie. Careful with that one: that claim traces back to a single researcher, who ran the numbers and figured Marshall sat closest to the center of gravity for all that early piano playing. What's not in doubt is the music itself — boogie woogie came up out of Black communities in the East Texas railroad and logging camps in the late eighteen hundreds, born on barrelhouse pianos. And Marshall still keeps the beat: third weekend of every month, live blues rolls through Telegraph Park downtown, in a hundred-and-sixteen-year-old city hall that plays music now instead of politics.

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Marshall as the birthplace of boogie-woogie RoadyGoat

1841

Marshall, Texas, founded 1841, calls itself the birthplace of boogie-woogie — and sure, a few other towns raise a hand at that. But hear Marshall out. The Texas and Pacific Railway rolled in about thirty years after the town went up and became one of the biggest employers around. Boogie-woogie got born in that world: African American workers in the late-1800s logging camps and rail yards, taking the chug and clatter of the trains and moving it onto a piano keyboard. Caddo Lake's just twenty minutes northeast. But here's the tell — one of the bedrock bass lines in the whole style is simply called "The Marshall." A rolling left hand, named after this town. Contest the birthplace all you like. Somebody in a rail yard here left their name on the low end.

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History of Marshall

Birthplace of Boogie Woogie RoadyGoat

Marshall, Texas is the birthplace of Boogie Woogie music, a piano-driven style that became a precursor to Rock and Roll. The city celebrates this heritage with an annual Boogie Woogie Festival and the Boogie Woogie Museum. Local blues guitarist Wes Jeans is another Marshall musician worth knowing. The city also hosts the Texas Sounds International Country Music Awards, essentially the Olympics of country music, drawing artists from around the world to compete each year.

Marshall, TX RoadyGoat

Marshall, Texas, has a rich history deeply intertwined with the American Civil War. As a crucial political and production area for the Confederate States, the city and its county were pivotal in the cotton plantation economy, which relied heavily on slave labor. Marshall became a major Confederate supply depot and manufacturer of gunpowder, hosting conferences of Trans-Mississippi and Indian Territory leaders. It even served as a temporary capital for the exiled Confederate government of Missouri, earning its nickname 'City of Seven Flags.' Post-war, Marshall was occupied by Union forces and later became a base for federal troops during Reconstruction, with an office of the Freedmen's Bureau established in the city.

Marshall, TX RoadyGoat

One of the most notable events in Marshall's history is its role during the American Civil War. The city became a major Confederate supply depot and manufacturer of gunpowder, hosting three conferences of Trans-Mississippi and Indian Territory leaders. It also served as a temporary capital for the exiled Confederate government of Missouri, earning its nickname 'City of Seven Flags.'

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Johnson, Claudia Alta Taylor [Lady Bird]

1912

First Lady of the United States (1963-1969), daughter of Thomas Jefferson Taylor and Minnie (Pattillo) Taylor, Claudia Alta Taylor was born in Karnack, Texas, on December 22, 1912. Mrs. Johnson's father was a landowner and merchant in Harrison County and a self-proclaimed "dealer in everything." Minnie Pattillo Taylor died from complications in a miscarriage when Claudia was five years old. A maternal aunt, Effie Pattillo, moved to Karnack to look after young Claudia and her two older brothers, Thomas, called Tommy (1901-1959) and Antonio, called Tony (1904-1986). During Claudia's early childhood, after her mother's death, a nursemaid, Alice Tittle, said that the little girl was "as purty [ sic ] as a lady bird." The nickname replaced her given name for the remainder of her life. Her father and brothers called her "Lady" and her husband called her "Bird," the name she used on her marriage license in 1934. Claudia made an attempt to escape the nickname when she changed schools to attend Marshall (Texas) High School. However, the arrival of former classmates brought her nickname with them and she was called Lady Bird for the rest of her life. She graduated from Marshall High School in 1928 and attended St. Mary's Episcopal School for Girls in Dallas, Texas, from 1928 to 1930. During her time at this residential junior college, she converted to the Episcopal faith. After graduating from St. Mary's School in 1930, Lady Bird attended a summer session at the University of Alabama (her mother's home state), but she decided to visit the University of Texas at Austin with a friend. On this visit, Lady Bird prophetically was awed at the sight of a field filled with wildflowers and the wildflowers clinched her college decision. Lady Bird Taylor received a Bachelor of Arts in history with honors in 1933 and a subsequent Bachelor of Journalism, cum laude in 1934. Her goal was a career in journalism, but she also earned a teaching certificate while she studied at the University of Texas at Austin. Lady Bird's career plans were changed forever when a mutual friend in Austin introduced her to Lyndon Baines Johnson , an aide to Congressman Richard Kleberg who represented the Fourteenth District. On their first date in October 1934 on a long drive in the country Lyndon Johnson proposed. Lady Bird initially resisted a rush to marriage, but Lyndon Johnson was prophetically persuasive, and the couple married on November 17, 1934, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in San Antonio. Three years after their marriage, Lyndon Johnson decided to run for Congress from Austin's Tenth District and Lady Bird financed his campaign from her maternal inheritance. After his victory the Johnsons settled in Washington, D.C., and lived in suburban Virginia. Following the declaration of war in 1941 Congressman Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and Lady Bird ran the congressional office in his absence. Following the war the Johnsons experienced several miscarriages before the birth of two daughters-both born in Virginia-Lynda Johnson Robb (March 19, 1944) and Luci Johnson Turpin (July 2, 1947). In 1943 during World War II Lady Bird purchased radio station KTBC in Austin with money from her maternal inheritance and ultimately built this investment into the LBJ Holding Company (radio and television stations) that provided the major component of the family fortune. At the same time Lyndon Johnson's political career was ascendant: election to the United States Senate in 1948, reelection to the Senate in 1956, and rising to Vice President of the United States in 1960 as John F. Kennedy's running mate. At Kennedy's request Lady Bird Johnson substituted for the pregnant Jacqueline Kennedy and appeared at 150 events in 11 states during a 71-day period in the campaign. During a political fence-mending trip to Texas, Vice President Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson were with President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in Dallas when Kennedy was assassinated on

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Ledbetter, Huddie [Lead Belly]

1918

Huddie Ledbetter, singer and guitarist, known as Lead Belly (also spelled Leadbelly), was born on January 21, 1888, near Mooringsport, Louisiana. He was the son of a Black tenant farmer, Wesley Ledbetter, and his half Indian wife, Sally (or Sallie) Pugho. Ledbetter attended public schools in Louisiana, then in East Texas after his family purchased a small farm when he was ten. The family was listed in the 1900 census for Harrison County. Having learned to play the six-string guitar, he left home in 1901 to make his way as a minstrel, first on Fannin Street in Shreveport, and later in Dallas and Fort Worth. He spent summers working as a farmhand in the blackland counties east of Dallas and supplemented his income by singing and playing his guitar in saloons and dance halls during the winter. While working in Dallas, he met Blind Lemon Jefferson , and it was as his partner that Ledbetter first began to play the twelve-string guitar. In 1918, under the name of Walter Boyd, Ledbetter was convicted of murder and sentenced to thirty years in the Texas penitentiary. Either prior to his sentence or during it, the musician received his famous nickname, Lead Belly. Some reports say that he got it for taking a gunshot in the stomach; others suggest that fellow inmates gave it to him for his hard work and fast pace on the chain gangs. In any case, it sounds like his surname. Pardoned in 1925 after having written a song in honor of Governor Pat Neff , Lead Belly again lived from odd jobs until 1930, when he entered the state prison in Angola, Louisiana, on a charge of assault with intent to murder. There his music attracted Texas folklorist John Avery Lomax and his son Alan Lomax . Lead Belly was released from prison for having received credit for "good time" during his incarceration, and for several months he toured with the Lomaxes, giving concerts and assisting them in their efforts to record the work songs and spirituals of Black convicts. Soon after arriving in New York City with the Lomaxes, Lead Belly came to national prominence through his singing and unconventional background. Despite his growing musical reputation, he continued to have problems controlling his temper and found himself briefly incarcerated for assault in 1939 on Riker's Island. Ironically, his popularity was stronger in the White folk-music scene than the Black blues field. His associates included Woody Guthrie , Pete Seeger, and Sonny Terry. His original songs such as "Bourgeois Blues" and "Scottsboro Boys" reflected his politics. Lead Belly's most popular composition, "Goodnight Irene," achieved its greatest success when the Weavers recorded it in the early 1950s, after his death. Ledbetter's association in 1905 with Margaret Coleman produced two children. In 1916 he married Eletha Henderson; the two were later divorced. He married Martha Promise, from Louisiana, in 1935. Ledbetter died of Lou Gehrig's disease in New York City on December 6, 1949. He was buried at Shiloh Baptist Church, north of Shreveport, Louisiana. In 1988 Louisiana erected a historical marker at his gravesite. In 1980 the Nashville Songwriters Association International inducted him into their Hall of Fame. That honor was followed in 1986 with membership in the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, and in 1988 Lead Belly's work was honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His niece, Queen "Tiny" Robinson, established the Lead Belly Foundation in his honor. He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

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Farmer, James Leonard, Jr.

1942

James Leonard Farmer, Jr., civil rights leader and founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), was born on January 12, 1920, in Marshall, Texas, to James Leonard Farmer, Sr. , and Pearl Marion Houston Farmer. His father was a professor of religion at Wiley College. When James Jr. was six months old the family moved to Holly Springs, Mississippi, where his father taught at Rust College. In 1925 the family moved to Austin, Texas, where James Sr. joined the faculty at Samuel Huston College (now Huston-Tillotson College). After a move to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1930, the Farmer family moved back to Marshall, Texas, in 1933. He graduated at age fourteen from Pemberton High in Marshall and, with a four-year scholarship, entered Wiley College that same year. There, under the guidance of Melvin B. Tolson , he became a member of the 1935 debate team that defeated the national champions from the University of Southern California. Tolson, Farmer, and the success of the Wiley debate team were the subjects of a 2007 film, The Great Debaters , which starred Denzel Washington. After his 1938 graduation from Wiley, Farmer entered Howard University in Washington, D.C., and intended to become a minister in the Methodist Church. Under the wing of Professor Howard Thurman, Farmer was introduced to the concept of nonviolent protest pioneered by Mohandas Gandhi. He graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1941. Farmer intended to enter the Methodist ministry, but in 1941, the year he would have been ordained, the Methodist Church North and South reunited and isolated its African American members into a segregated jurisdiction. Rejecting the pulpit, Farmer chose instead to lead the fight against Jim Crow laws. Farmer went to work for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) in Chicago and in 1942 led other members of FOR to form what he called the Committee of Racial Equality. The name was soon changed to the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and its initial activities were sit-ins in the restaurants of Chicago. During the following decade he was employed by the NAACP as its program director (1959-60), and he worked with several labor unions seeking to end racial segregation . In 1961 he became the executive director of CORE. Convinced that mere victory in court cases would not provide equality, he decided to employ the confrontational but nonviolent tactics he had learned under Tolson and Thurman to challenge segregation in the bus stations of the South. After a brief first marriage to Winnie Christie in 1945, Farmer married Lula Peterson in 1949. His wife played an important, though volunteer, role as comptroller of CORE until her death in 1977. The couple had two daughters, Tami and Abbey. In May 1961, with twelve other Black and White members of CORE, Farmer set out from Washington, D.C., on two buses headed for New Orleans. The Freedom Rides had begun. The death of his father when the Freedom Riders reached Atlanta sent Farmer back to Washington, D.C. In his absence one of the buses was torched in Anniston, Alabama, and freedom riders on the other were brutally beaten when the bus rolled into Montgomery, Alabama. Farmer rejoined the freedom rides a week later and was jailed in Mississippi's Parchman Prison for thirty-nine days, the first of many times he clashed with local law enforcement officers in the South. He was incarcerated in Plaquemine, Louisiana, in 1963, for example, and was unable to attend Martin Luther King's March on Washington, D.C. In 1964 the murder of three CORE workers-Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney-during the "Freedom Summer" effort to register voters in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, galvanized the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the national press. Farmer wrote of his CORE experiences in Freedom, When? (1965). Unhappy with the militant direction CORE was taking, Farmer resigned his position as director in 1966. He taught classes at Lincoln University in Penn

Tsha Handbook →

Starr, James Harper

1861

Connecticut-born. Came to Texas 1837. A doctor in Nacogdoches. Secretary of the Treasury and army surgeon, Republic of Texas. At start of Civil War appointed to take and sell the property of enemy aliens, the proceeds going to Treasury of Confederacy to aid the war effort. Became Postmaster General for western C.S.A. in 1864. The South was then spit in two parts by federal control of the Mississippi River. Starr's problem was to provide mail service in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas and to devise means to get mail through the enemy military lines and naval blockade to and from westerners fighting east of the river and the confederate capital. This was essential to soldier and home front morale and to maintain necessary military and governmental communications. The mail was carried by pony express, wagons, blockade running vessels, stage coach lines, couriers, spies and army details. Starr competed with the army to get drivers, wagons and horses. Draft by military of postal employees was fought by writs of habeas corpus. "Men" under 16 were hired. Printing facilities were limited and forms, supplies, stamps had to be smuggled. The children of a cabinet officer once came through enemy lines with $3,000,000 worth of stamps for him. After the war, Starr in 1865 looked into East Texas oil showings. He founded Marshall's first bank. Starr county was named in his honor. Erected by the State of Texas 1963

Historical Marker →

Clark, Edward, Governor

1861

(1815-1880) Hometown Texas First Confederate Governor Son of a Georgia governor. Came here in 1842. Member Annexation Convention, 1st and 2nd Texas Legislatures. Participant Mexican War. Secretary of State 1853-7. Elected Lieutenant Governor 1859. Made Governor 1861 upon removal of Gov. Sam Houston, who opposed secession. Clark's major activity was mobilizing Texas in cause of Confederacy. Plans were made to prevent federal invasion, take over enemy property, organize resources to provide supplies and arms for defense, and to properly care for families of Texas soldiers battling at the front. Gov. Edward Clark's term from March to November 1861 also faced difficulties caused by mechanics of changing flags, seals, currency, postal and tax systems for membership in new nation. Camps of instruction were set-up over state to enroll, equip and train troops. Hardest job was to convince Texans, the best horsemen in world, that all could not ride in cavalry but some must be foot soldiers in infantry. The C.S.A. was supplied guns, powder, lead, cloth made in penitentiary, salt and 20,000 troops in his term. In late 1861 he raised and became colonel 14th Tex. Inf. Regt. Led units in Arkansas-Louisiana campaigns to prevent invasion of Texas. Wounded and commended Battle Pleasant Hill April 1864. Discharged 1865. Postwar lawyer, businessman. Buried in Marshall Cemetery.

Historical Marker →

First Baptist Church

1845

John Bryce (1784-1864), Baptist missionary and secret agent for U. S. President John Tyler during Texas annexation negotiations, and the Rev. George Washington Baines, great-grandfather of President Lyndon Baines Johnson, founded this church shortly before Texas became a state in 1845. Dr. William Evans, Marshall's first physician, and other leaders of the pioneer community were among the twelve charter members. Throughout its history, this fellowship has included men and women who were leaders in the city, state, and Baptist faith. Services were held in a brush arbor or nearby log schoolhouse until 1849, when a church building was erected on this lot, donated by State Legislator James McCown (1808-55). The small frame structure was replaced by a larger building in 1892. Members of this congregation organized the Second Baptist Church in 1904. They also helped establish the College of Marshall in 1912. This junior college later became East Texas Baptist College, a four-year school which is still actively supported by this church. The present sanctuary was constructed in 1953, and the children's building was completed in 1955. A new education building and chapel were erected in 1972, completing the church complex.

Historical Marker →

Things to Do in Marshall

quirky 14.6 mi away

Jay Goulds Curse on Jefferson

When railroad baron Jay Gould rolled into Jefferson in the 1870s he had a simple proposition: let me bring my railroad through town. The city fathers flush…

historical 14.7 mi away

The Great Raft That Built a City

For centuries an 80-mile logjam called the Great Raft choked the Red River so completely that it backed water all the way up into Caddo Lake. That accidental…

historical 18.0 mi away

The Diamond Bessie Murder

On a winter day in 1877 a well-dressed couple crossed the bridge over Cypress Bayou carrying a picnic basket. He was Abraham Rothschild heir to a jewelry…

quirky 19.1 mi away

Caddo Lake

The only natural lake in Texas is also the most haunted-looking -- twenty-five thousand acres of bald cypress swamp draped in Spanish moss straddling the…

quirky 14.7 mi away

The Grove — Americas Most Haunted House

Built in 1861 in the middle of Jeffersons boom years The Grove looks like any other graceful Southern home from the outside. Inside is another story entirely.…

quirky 14.7 mi away

Spielberg Fled the Excelsior House

The Excelsior House has been hosting guests since the 1850s and most of them sleep just fine. Steven Spielberg was not one of them. The story goes that the…

spooky 14.7 mi away

The Jefferson Hotel

One of the most haunted hotels in the South. Built in the 1850s in the once-booming riverport of Jefferson. Guests report phantom footsteps slamming doors and…

historical 14.7 mi away

Last Confederate Powder Magazine in Texas

In 1863 with the Civil War grinding on the Confederacy needed a safe place to store gunpowder and ammunition deep in the Texas interior. They built an ordnance…

Everything Near Marshall

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

Birthplace of Boogie Woogie
Marshall, Texas is the birthplace of Boogie Woogie music, a piano-driven style that became a precursor to Rock and Roll. The city celebrates this heritage with an annual Boogie Woogie Festival and the Boogie Woogie…
Boogie Woogie Fest
That rolling, hard-driving piano — the boogie-woogie — they'll tell you it was born right here in Marshall. It came up out of the East Texas logging camps, where formerly enslaved men sat down at whatever piano they…
Dale Watson
Dale Watson's got the pompadour, the truck-driving country, the rockabilly snarl — and after decades in Austin and a stretch in Memphis, he landed in Marshall, East Texas, in twenty twenty. His thirtieth studio album is…
Marshall
Marshall, East Texas — twenty-three thousand people, deep in the Piney Woods, a town a lot of freedmen made home after the Civil War. You'll hear it called the birthplace of boogie woogie. Careful with that one: that…
Marshall as the birthplace of boogie-woogie
Marshall, Texas, founded 1841, calls itself the birthplace of boogie-woogie — and sure, a few other towns raise a hand at that. But hear Marshall out. The Texas and Pacific Railway rolled in about thirty years after the…
Marshall, TX
Marshall, Texas, has a rich history deeply intertwined with the American Civil War. As a crucial political and production area for the Confederate States, the city and its county were pivotal in the cotton plantation…
Starr, James Harper · Historical Marker
Connecticut-born. Came to Texas 1837. A doctor in Nacogdoches. Secretary of the Treasury and army surgeon, Republic of Texas. At start of Civil War appointed to take and sell the property of enemy aliens, the proceeds…
Clark, Edward, Governor · Historical Marker
(1815-1880) Hometown Texas First Confederate Governor Son of a Georgia governor. Came here in 1842. Member Annexation Convention, 1st and 2nd Texas Legislatures. Participant Mexican War. Secretary of State 1853-7.…
The 1901 Courthouse and the Patent Law Capital · Community Sourced
Two courthouses tell the story of Marshall, Texas, and they sit just a block apart. The Harrison County Courthouse, built in 1901 in Renaissance Revival style, is the kind of building that makes you stop the car.…
A Wish Answered From France
In 1987, with local unemployment near 20 percent, Marshall News Messenger editor George S. Smith crossed the courthouse square and imagined it wrapped in light. He wrote an editorial: picture every tree, every bush, and…
C. G. Lancaster · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, the hometown of Cornelius Granberry Lancaster, a renowned architect born right here in 1863. He studied at Texas A&M and went on to design buildings across the state, from courthouses to…
Harrison County · Historical Marker
You're driving through Harrison County, once the most populous and richest in antebellum Texas. Settlers arrived in the 1830s, and by 1850, cotton was king, fueled by slavery. Later, the railroad arrived, making…

Show all 200 nearby places

Marshall · Historical Marker
You're driving past Marshall. Two years after Harrison County was created by the Republic of Texas Congress in 1839, landowner Peter Whetstone offered property for a courthouse, a church, and a school in an effort to…
Greer, Elkanah, General · Historical Marker
You're driving past Greer, Elkanah, General. (1825-1877) Born Tennessee. Fought Mexican War. Came to Texas 1848. Commissioned colonel and raised 3rd Texas Cavalry.
Harrison County Courthouse · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Harrison County Courthouse in Marshall, a grand structure built in 1900 for $62,000. This is the third courthouse on this site, following a wooden one from 1851 and a brick Gothic building that…
Whetstone Memorial · Historical Marker
You're driving through Harrison County, near where Peter and Dicey Whetstone made their home. These pioneer settlers were the donors in 1843 of the land for the City of Marshall, which was part of Peter Whetstone's…
First Methodist Church · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Marshall, and the history of this First Methodist Church is quite a story. It began way back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1839</say-as> with Littleton Fowler. Fast forward to the Civil…
Capitol Hotel · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Marshall's Capitol Hotel, built in 1857 as the Adkins House. This fine hotel served as a depot for stage lines, including the southern branch of the Butterfield Mail from 1858 to 1861.…
Library Movement in Marshall · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, where a remarkable library movement began. Back in 1887, twenty-five ladies formed a book club, sparking a civic goal for a city library. They opened their first library in 1900 with…
The Hub Shoe Store · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past The Hub Shoe Store. Mose Weisman opened Hub Shoe Store on E. Austin Street in 1897. The Weisman family emigrated from Bavaria, Germany, to Syracuse, New York, and then to Marshall in the late 1840s,…
Arnot, Albert M. · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Albert M. Arnot house, built way back in 1848. Arnot was a blacksmith, and his home blended Greek Revival and Creole styles. Originally, it had four rooms upstairs, but the basement was something…
Weisman-Hirsch House · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Marshall, and just ahead is the Weisman-Hirsch House. The first home on this spot burned down, but this structure rose from the ashes in 1901. Interestingly, the architect, C. G. Lancaster, also…
Webster-Mimosa Hall Cemetery · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Webster-Mimosa Hall Cemetery, a burial ground established around <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1844</say-as> on the Mimosa Hall Plantation. The first person laid to rest here was the…
Joe Weisman and Company · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Joe Weisman and Company, a Marshall mercantile that grew into a department store. Joe Weisman arrived in town in 1866, starting his business in 1878. His family and successors ran the…
Elks Building · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the historic Elks Building in Marshall. Designed by architect Cornelius Granville Lancaster, this 1903 structure was the grand headquarters for the Benevolent Paternal Order of Elks, Lodge 683. The…
Albert & Katie Van Hook House · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Albert and Katie Van Hook House, built around 1880. It was a wedding present designed by Katie's father, architect N. S. Allen, who designed many important buildings in Shreveport. The house,…
Birthplace of Boogie Woogie · 0.2 mi · Community Sourced
You're at the Texas and Pacific Railway Depot, where the sound that changed American music was born. In the early 1900s, African American railroad workers waiting at this depot began hammering out a new piano style —…
First Baptist Church · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
John Bryce (1784-1864), Baptist missionary and secret agent for U. S. President John Tyler during Texas annexation negotiations, and the Rev. George Washington Baines, great-grandfather of President Lyndon Baines…
Pickens, Lucy H. · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Wyalucing, the former home of Lucy Pickens. She's the only 19th-century Texas woman to ever be honored on money, appearing on a Confederate $100 bill! In the 1850s, Lucy brought ice tea…
Confederate Capitol of Missouri · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, but just for a moment, imagine you're in exile. Right here, in November of 1863, this spot became the Confederate Capitol of Missouri. Governor Thomas C. Reynolds and his staff…
Turner, James · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former home of James Turner, a prominent Marshall lawyer and mayor whose claim to this house came not from a deed, but from a poker game. In 1866, after the Civil War, Turner reportedly won this…
Sam Houston's 1857 Campaign in Marshall · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, where in 1857, Sam Houston came to debate his opponent, Hardin Runnels. Houston, a Unionist speaking in this overwhelmingly secessionist town, delivered such a powerful speech…
Gaines, Belle Fry · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former home of Belle Fry Gaines, a woman who turned her living space into a vibrant antique shop for many years. The house itself was built in 1875 for John R. and Sallie Stinson. John was a…
Fry-Barry House · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Fry-Barry House in Marshall, a beautiful example of Greek Revival architecture. It was built starting in 1853 by Fidel Bircher, designed by W. R. D. Ward. Then, in 1872, Edwin James Fry, a…
Magnolia Hall · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Magnolia Hall, a beautiful New Orleans-style raised cottage right here in Marshall. Built in 1866 by John H. Lee as a wedding gift for his daughter, Anna E. Pierce, this home was constructed with…
Temple Moses Montefiore · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, and right here is the site of a unique place: Temple Moses Montefiore. In 1887, local Jewish residents formed the Adath Israel congregation, naming it after the famous English…
Trinity Episcopal Church · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Trinity Episcopal Church in Marshall, one of the oldest Episcopal churches in Texas. Its roots go back to the 1840s, with appeals for priests made by Frances Cox Henderson, wife of Governor J.…
Marshall Masonic Female Institute · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, where the story of the Marshall Masonic Female Institute began. It started in 1842 as the Female Department of Marshall University, chartered by the Republic of Texas. The Marshall…
Starr Family Home State Historic Site · 0.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine being at the center of Texas history – that's exactly what this spot was for the Starr family. Between 1846 and 1848, Dr. James Harper Starr served as Secretary of the Treasury for the Republic of Texas, and…
Marshall Cemetery · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Marshall Cemetery, a final resting place for some serious Texas history. This place was incorporated way back on December 12, 1849. Look for the graves of Edward Clark, who served as Governor of…
Hagerty-Harris House · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Hagerty-Harris House in Marshall, built in 1889 by skilled craftsmen from the Texas & Pacific Railroad shops. This home was originally built for William P. Hagerty, who served as the personal…
Robert W. Loughery · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, and right here is where Robert W. Loughery made his mark. Born in 1820, Loughery was a firebrand journalist in East Texas. As owner and editor of the "Texas Republican," he fearlessly…
William Patillo House · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the William Patillo House, built in 1846. Patillo was a major player in the booming transportation industry of East Texas. He was a teaming and transport contractor, meaning he moved goods and people…
Perry, Solomon Ruffin · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, where Solomon Ruffin Perry served as sheriff for a remarkable 27 years, and even longer if you count his first term starting in 1848. He took the job after his predecessor was…
Todd-McKay-Wheat House · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, and just ahead is the Todd-McKay-Wheat House, a home that's seen more than a century of Texas history. It was built sometime before the Civil War, possibly by Judge William S. Todd, who…
Confederate Hat Factory in Marshall, C.S.A. · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Marshall, where Texas had precious few factories when the Civil War broke out. Right here, in the basement of a house, a factory employed about 40 men, making military hats from high-quality fur…
Wigfall House · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Wigfall House in Marshall, the oldest part of which was built around 1856. It was home to Louis T. Wigfall, a fiery leader who championed secession and states' rights. He served Texas as a state…
Hockwald, Isaac · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former home of Isaac "Ike" Hockwald, a prominent Marshall businessman who arrived here as an orphan in 1877. He went on to become a school trustee and helped organize the East Texas Baseball…
Starr Family Home · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Starr Family Home. Dr. James Harper Starr (1809-1890) was a government official in the Republic of Texas and the Confederacy and a leading physician and businessman. In 1870, Dr. Starr and his son,…
The Chief Justice's Namesake by the Tracks · 0.4 mi
Marshall was laid out in early 1841 to serve as a seat of justice, and Peter Whetstone helped clinch the choice by offering land for a courthouse, church, and school. Isaac Van Zandt named the town for John Marshall,…
The Ginocchio · 0.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over here for a sec, because this place has some serious history! This is the Ginocchio Hotel, right next to the old Texas and Pacific Railway station. Built in 1896 by the Ginocchio family, it was *the* place to…
Marshall, C.S.A. · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, a town that was a critical hub for the Confederacy west of the Mississippi. During the Civil War, this East Texas city hosted the Trans-Mississippi Department's Medical Bureau and Postal…
Lane, Walter Paye · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a true Texas military hero: Walter Paye Lane. Lane fought for Texas independence, serving as a soldier in the Texas War for Independence. Later, he rose to the rank of Major in the…
Site of Central School · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, and right here is the site of Central School, a landmark in African American education. Before 1894, classes were scattered in homes and churches. But Professor H. B. Pemberton, Sr. saw…
Clark, Edward, Governor · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, where Edward Clark called home. Born in Georgia in 1815, Clark arrived in Texas in 1842, quickly becoming a key figure. He served in the war with Mexico and held nearly every major state…
Horace Randal · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the birthplace of Brigadier General Horace Randal, a notable Confederate officer. Randal played a key role in the Vicksburg Campaign and later commanded troops in the battles of Mansfield and…
Marshall University · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, and right here is the site of a true pioneer in Texas education: Marshall University. Incorporated way back on January 19, 1842, this institution was granted land by the Republic of…
Fraley-Garland House · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Marshall, and right here, you're passing the Fraley-Garland House. Built in 1896 for Clinton Fraley, this home is a classic American Four-Square with Colonial Revival touches. Fraley was a…
Mills, John T. · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the resting place of John T. Mills, a man who helped shape early Texas law. Born in Ireland in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1817</say-as>, Mills served as an Associate Justice on the…
The Allen House · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Allen House, a Greek Revival residence built in 1879 by the Rev. Walker Montecue Allen. He was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, author, and teacher who moved to Marshall with his wife and nine…
Ginocchio-Cook-Pedison House · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Ginocchio-Cook-Pedison House. Italian-American business leader Charles Ginocchio (1844-98) and wife Roxana settled in Marshall in 1871; built this home, 1886. Architect: C. G. Lancaster, designer of…
Johnson, Claudia Alta Taylor [Lady Bird] · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
First Lady of the United States (1963-1969), daughter of Thomas Jefferson Taylor and Minnie (Pattillo) Taylor, Claudia Alta Taylor was born in Karnack, Texas, on December 22, 1912. Mrs. Johnson's father was a landowner…
Ledbetter, Huddie [Lead Belly] · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Huddie Ledbetter, singer and guitarist, known as Lead Belly (also spelled Leadbelly), was born on January 21, 1888, near Mooringsport, Louisiana. He was the son of a Black tenant farmer, Wesley Ledbetter, and his half…
Hansford, John M. · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, not far from where Jonesville used to be. Right here, in January of 1844, John M. Hansford, a former Speaker of the Republic of Texas House and a district judge, met a violent…
Sabine Farms, Texas · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, near the border of Harrison and Panola counties. Right here, in the late 1930s, the federal government launched an ambitious New Deal project called Sabine Farms. It was one of only a…
Swanson's Landing · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, near the legendary Caddo Lake. Right here, in 1833, Peter Swanson established Swanson's Landing. It wasn't just any settlement; it was one of Texas's very first inland ports!…
Taylor, Thomas Jefferson II · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, not far from Karnack, where a man named Thomas Jefferson Taylor II, known as 'Cap'n Taylor,' built a remarkable life. He arrived from Alabama in the 1890s and quickly became a…
Marshall - Birthplace of Boogie Woogie · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, the birthplace of Boogie Woogie! Back in the early 1870s, this railroad hub was a center for logging camps where African American laborers found entertainment in barrel houses. It's…
Ginocchio Hotel and Restaurant · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Ginocchio Hotel and Restaurant in Marshall. Italian immigrant Charles Ginocchio built this grand three-story brick building between 1893 and 1896, right near the railroad depot. It housed stores,…
Karnack, TX · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Karnack is at the intersection of Farm roads 134 and 449, on the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway near Caddo Lake in northeastern Harrison County. Its name reportedly derived from the supposition that its distance from…
White Primary · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Following Reconstruction , White political leaders in Texas and other southern states sought to take the vote from Black voters. As a disenfranchisement device, the poll tax discouraged poor Whites as well as Blacks…
Citizen's Party of Harrison County · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, and right here, back in 1878, a political battle was brewing. After the Civil War, the Republican party held power here, thanks to a Black majority. But a group of white…
Midwifery · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Texas, and right here, you might be passing through communities where for generations, childbirth was guided by local midwives. As late as 1900, more than half of all births in Texas were attended…
North Caddo Village · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, heading northeast of Marshall, and you're passing right by the site of the North Caddo Village. This wasn't just any settlement; it was a major crossroads in the early 1800s.…
Shreveport and Chonena Caddo Bands Leave Texas · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once Caddo territory, near Harrison County. Back in 1835, the Caddo Nation signed a treaty with the U.S., agreeing to leave their lands east of Terán's Line. By 1838, increasing tensions…
Shaw Sisters · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, and right here is the area where the Shaw sisters carved out a life. Sarah, Mary, and Rebecca Shaw were unmarried women who, in the mid-1800s, jointly owned a significant…
Kahn Memorial Hospital · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, and right here is the site of the Kahn Memorial Hospital, a true community effort that shaped healthcare in East Texas. Back in 1909, local doctors saw a growing need for a proper…
Texas & Pacific Depot · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Marshall's historic Texas & Pacific Depot. Authorized by Congress in 1871, the Texas & Pacific Railway aimed for a transcontinental route along the 32nd parallel. By 1911, this impressive…
Blocker, TX (Harrison County) · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Blocker, on Farm Road 2625 six miles southeast of Marshall in southeastern Harrison County, is the site of the brick plantation home of Henry Ware , who moved to the county in the early 1840s. Ware is said to have…
Elysian Fields, TX · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Elysian Fields is at the junction of Farm roads 31 and 451, a mile north of the Panola county line in Harrison County. Popular tradition holds that the name of the town originated in a dinner conversation in New Orleans…
Port Caddo, TX · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Port Caddo was established when a native of San Augustine, Obediah Hendrick, Jr., was granted 660 acres of land by the Republic of Texas on July 7, 1838. The land, later part of Harrison County, was described as being…
Anderson, Bailey, Sr. · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, in the heart of East Texas. Right here lies the final resting place of Bailey Anderson, Sr., a veteran of the American Revolution. He fought for American independence, then…
Barton, James M. · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, not far from where James M. Barton's father met his end, killed in the Regulator-Moderator War. Young James moved on to Millville, right here in Rusk County, and became sheriff.…
Hendricks, Sterling Brown · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once Harrison County, Texas, a place that saw action during the Civil War. Sterling Brown Hendricks, a lawyer and politician, raised a company of men here in 1861, known as "Hendricks'…
Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving near Karnack, right beside Caddo Lake, the site of the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant. This massive facility, built by Monsanto, started churning out TNT in October 1942, just in time for World War II. By…
Rudd, Jonathon Davenport · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, a land rich with history. Right here, Jonathon Davenport Rudd established his Bermuda Farm Plantation, just south of modern-day Waskom. After inheriting twenty-five to…
Stone, Absalom Benjamin, Jr. · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, where planter Absalom Benjamin Stone, Jr. made his home. When the Civil War broke out, Stone, a gentleman of means, joined up with the Texas Hunters, later the Third Texas…
Teran's Line · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Northeast Texas, perhaps near the Louisiana border, and you're passing through a place marked by a boundary line drawn way back in 1828. General Manuel de Mier y Terán, leading Mexico's Boundary…
Bethesda Baptist Church · 0.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Marshall, where in 1867, Reverend William Massey organized the "Colored Baptist Church" in his own home. They soon chose the name Bethesda, after the Biblical pool of healing. This congregation was a…
Pulaski, TX · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Pulaski was situated on a bluff on the east bank of the Sabine River about nine miles east of present-day Carthage and due west of present-day Deadwood. Initially known as Walnut Bluff, Pulaski was an early settlement,…
Rosborough, J. T. · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
J. T. Rosborough, political and civil-rights activist, was born on September 19, 1907, to Willie and Lula (Robinson) Rosborough in Harleton, Texas. Upon graduation from Central High School in Marshall he married a…
Jonesville, TX (Harrison County) · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, heading east of Marshall. Right here is Jonesville, a community that started life as 'Border' back in the mid-1840s. It was named Border likely because it was so close to…
Narramore, Vashti Gibbs · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, and right here is where Vashti Gibbs Narramore carved out a life in the Republic of Texas. Arriving in 1837 as a widow, she claimed over 1200 acres of land, a massive grant…
Scott, Preston Rose · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, the place Preston Rose Scott called home. While he was a farmer and a legislator, his biggest impact came during the 1875 Texas Constitutional Convention. Right here, Scott…
Smith, Nathaniel Alexander · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, heading towards Woodlawn. Right here, you're passing through the stomping grounds of Nathaniel Alexander Smith. Born in Virginia in 1789, Smith had a varied career, serving…
Texas Southern Railway · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, and right here, the story of the Texas Southern Railway unfolds. Chartered in 1897, this railroad was built to serve the booming lumber industry. Its tracks stretched from…
Elysian Fields [Old Town], TX · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Old Elysian Fields (Old Town) is a community in southeastern Harrison County located just west of Socagee Creek at the intersection of Farm Road 451 and County Road 1202. Situated just over a mile east of the…
Harleton, TX · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Harleton is at the intersection of Farm roads 1968 and 450 and State Highway 154, fifteen miles northwest of Marshall in northwestern Harrison County. A community called Fontana was established on the site about 1890,…
Leigh, TX · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Leigh, also known as Antioch, is at the intersection of Farm roads 134 and 1999, fourteen miles northeast of Marshall in northeastern Harrison County. The community is on a site said to have been the location of a large…
Woodlawn, TX · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook
Woodlawn is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and Farm Road 1997, on the Union Pacific Railroad eight miles north of Marshall in north central Harrison County. The site of the community was settled prior to 1850,…
Trammel's Trace Cabin · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past what's left of Trammel's Trace Cabin, built even before 1842. Imagine this place, constructed from hand-hewn logs chinked with pipe clay, a real piece of frontier engineering. It was part of a…
St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Marshall. While the exact start date is unknown, the oldest graves here date back to 1872. This cemetery served Catholics across Harrison County and surrounding towns.…
Ebenezer Methodist Church · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Ebenezer Methodist Church. Worship has been held here since 1867, with the first church building erected in 1868. Over its century-long career, the church has served 42 pastors and has…
Matthew W. Dogan, Sr. · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former site of Wiley College in Marshall, where Matthew W. Dogan, Sr. served as president for nearly fifty years. Arriving in 1896, he transformed the struggling school, overseeing the…
Wiley College · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Wiley College in Marshall, founded in 1873 by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Church. Its mission: to educate Black men and women newly freed by the Civil War. The college was named for…
Sam Houston School · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Sam Houston School in Marshall. Purchased in 1903, this eight-room brick building was designed by architect C. G. Lancaster and opened in 1905 as the East Side School. It served Anglo…
The Great Debaters of Wiley College · 0.8 mi
Right here in Marshall, at Wiley College, one of the most inspiring stories of the Jim Crow era unfolded. In 1935, the college’s debate team, coached by the brilliant and fiery professor Melvin B. Tolson, did the…
The Engineering Heart of the Texas & Pacific Railway · 0.8 mi
For more than a century, Marshall was the mechanical heart of the Texas and Pacific Railway. In the 1870s, T&P officials agreed to move their Texas offices and shops here in exchange for local support, and the town…
The Confederate Capital of Missouri · 0.8 mi
Picture an East Texas county seat serving as the capital of a state seven hundred miles away. During the Civil War, that is exactly what Marshall was. Missouri's pro-Confederate government lost control of its own state…
Matthew Duncan Ector · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the resting place of Matthew Duncan Ector, a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army. Ector's military career saw him participate in some of the Civil War's most significant battles, including…
Alexander Travis Hawthorn · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the resting place of Alexander Travis Hawthorn, a man who wore many hats. Born in Alabama in 1825, he first made his name as an Arkansas lawyer before heading off to war. As a colonel, he commanded…
Murrah, Pendleton · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, heading into a tough chapter of Texas history. Pendleton Murrah, a successful lawyer and businessman here in town, stepped up to lead Texas as governor in <say-as interpret-as="date"…
Lt. Gen. George Perry Rains · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Marshall, where Lt. Gen. George Perry Rains was born and lived most of his life. Rains wasn't just a local doctor; he had a remarkable 49-year military career. He joined the local militia in <say-as…
Van Zandt Hill · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the homesite of Isaac Van Zandt, a man who wore many hats. He was a founder of Marshall, a frontiersman, a lawyer, and a statesman who served in the Congress of the Republic of Texas. Van Zandt even…
Marshall Hebrew Cemetery · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, and just off to the side is the Marshall Hebrew Cemetery. It's a quiet resting place, but it tells a story of early Jewish settlers in Harrison County, many of them German immigrants.…
Greenwood Cemetery · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Greenwood Cemetery in Marshall. This isn't just any graveyard; it's the final resting place for some of the earliest leaders and patriots of Texas. It began in 1840 as a private burial ground for the…
Marshall Hall · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Marshall Hall, the oldest building on the East Texas Baptist University campus. Built on the site of a former plantation, this structure was part of a 1912 plan to create a southern Baptist college.…
Farmer, James Leonard, Jr. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
James Leonard Farmer, Jr., civil rights leader and founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), was born on January 12, 1920, in Marshall, Texas, to James Leonard Farmer, Sr. , and Pearl Marion Houston Farmer. His…
Wiley College · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, home to Wiley College, founded back in 1873. It's the oldest African-American institute of higher education west of the Mississippi River. But Wiley is perhaps most famous for its…
Sweatt, Heman Marion · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Heman Marion Sweatt, civil-rights plaintiff, was born on December 11, 1912, in Houston, the fourth of six children of James Leonard and Ella Rose (Perry) Sweatt. Like other Black Houstonians, Sweatt attended racially…
Burke, John · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, maybe not far from Marshall, where John Burke started his incredible life. He arrived here a cobbler, studied law at night, and became a criminal defense attorney. But when the Civil…
Conerly, Ruth · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, birthplace of Ruth Conerly. Born in 1908, Ruth overcame childhood polio, her father's death, and poverty to become a celebrated artist. By age fourteen, she was a child prodigy in…
Dixon, Floyd · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, the birthplace of Floyd Dixon, a jump-blues piano player and singer who called himself 'Mr. Magnificent.' Born Jay Riggins, Jr., in 1928, Dixon taught himself piano listening to…
Hagerty, Rebecca McIntosh Hawkins · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, where Rebecca Hagerty built an empire. Born in 1815 to a Creek chief, she survived the murder of her father and the forced migration of her people. After two husbands died, she…
Lane, Walter Paye · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, and right here is the stomping ground of Walter P. Lane, a soldier who saw more action than most! Lane fought in the Texas Revolution, earning a promotion at the Battle of San…
Pemberton Henry B., Sr. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, where you can still feel the legacy of Henry B. Pemberton, Sr. Born to former slaves in 1866, Pemberton became Wiley College's very first graduate in 1888. But he didn't stop…
Rose, William Pinckney · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, a place that was once the stage for a legendary feud. Meet William Pinckney Rose, a man so tough they called him 'Hell-roarin' Rose.' He arrived here in 1839, right as the…
Wells, Henrietta Pauline Bell · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, and right here near Marshall, you're passing through the birthplace of a groundbreaking moment in American collegiate history. In 1930, a young woman named Henrietta Bell, a student at…
Whetstone, Peter · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, on your way to Marshall, a town that owes its existence to a man named Peter Whetstone. Born in Indiana in 1790, Whetstone was described as a 'rough character,' even serving time…
Porter-Barrymore Shooting · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, where a night of theater turned deadly back in 1879. After a performance, actors Benjamin Porter and Maurice Barrymore, grandfather of John and Ethel Barrymore, stopped for a late…
Marshall, TX · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, a town that played a surprising role in the Civil War. In 1861, Marshall unanimously voted for secession, becoming a hotbed of Confederate activity. The Confederate government of…
Elam, David Alexander [Omar Shariff] · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Omar Shariff, blues pianist and “Boogie Woogie Man,” was born David Alexander Elam on March 10, 1938, in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Tom and Susie (Hill) Elam. Shariff was originally named after his father’s good friend…
Lewis, Fred Edward · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Fred Edward Lewis, educator, civil rights activist, and NAACP officer, was born on December 19, 1912, in Marion County. He was the son of Governor Edward Lewis. His parents died when he was young, and he lived with…
Williams, Romeo Marcus · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Romeo Marcus Williams, civil-rights attorney, was born to Josie P. and Milton Williams, Sr., on June 14, 1919, on the outskirts of Marshall, Texas, in a black community called Sunny South. Williams attended Marshall's…
Abner, David, Sr. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, a town that was home to David Abner, Sr. Born into slavery in Alabama in 1826, Abner was brought to Texas in 1843. After the Civil War, he settled here in Marshall. He started as…
Abrams, William H. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, maybe near Marshall or Dallas, and you're passing through the legacy of William H. Abrams. He wasn't just a railroad man, helping lay tracks and establish towns across Texas. When oil…
Bishop College · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Right here in Marshall, Texas, you're passing by the site of Bishop College. Founded in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society, it was established for black Baptists, thanks to a generous donation from the widow of…
Caesar, Lois Towles · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, a town that was home to an incredible talent: Lois Towles Caesar. Born in Arkansas, her family moved to Texarkana, Texas, when she was young. After graduating from Wiley College…
Clough, Jeremiah Morrill · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving near Marshall, Texas, and right here is a story about Jeremiah Morrill Clough, a lawyer who became a Confederate lieutenant colonel. Clough enlisted at the start of the Civil War, but he quickly became…
Countee, Samuel Albert · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, the birthplace of Samuel Albert Countee. Born in 1909, Countee grew up to become a prominent artist of the New Negro Movement. His paintings and sculptures celebrated…
Finch, Mildred Newton · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Dallas right now, past places that Mildred Newton Finch called home. Born in Marshall in 1922, she was a brilliant math teacher and a community leader. After earning her degree, she even taught…
Greer, Elkanah Bracken · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, a town that was home to Elkanah Bracken Greer, a Confederate general and a man deeply involved in the politics of his time. Greer fought in the Mexican War with Jefferson Davis's…
Harrison County · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, and right here, in the heart of East Texas, you're passing through a place that was once the wealthiest county in Texas before the Civil War. By 1860, Harrison County had more…
Heartsill, William Williston · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, a town that was home to William Williston Heartsill, a Confederate soldier and author. Heartsill enlisted in 1861 and served on the frontier, but his most harrowing experience…
Kendall, Mitchell · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, a town that was home to Mitchell Kendall, a man born into slavery in Georgia around 1822. After arriving here, he became a blacksmith and a property owner. In the years following…
Kennedy, John J. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, and right here in Marshall, you're passing through the heart of a wild frontier conflict known as the Regulator-Moderator War. In the mid-1840s, John J. Kennedy, a lawyer and a…
Marshall Conferences · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, a town that became a crucial meeting point for the Confederacy during the Civil War. With Union forces threatening to cut the western states off by controlling the Mississippi…
Payne, Ellen Evans Lewis · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, near Marshall, where Ellen Evans Lewis Payne lived most of her life. Born into slavery around 1849, Ellen's story is unique because it was recorded. In the late 1930s, she was…
Randal, Horace · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what is now Randall County, Texas, a place named for Horace Randal. Born in Tennessee, Randal moved to Texas as a boy and became one of the first Texans appointed to West Point. After graduating…
Rhoads, Joseph J. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, the birthplace of Joseph J. Rhoads. Rhoads was more than just a school administrator; he was a champion for equality. He became the president of Bishop College in 1929, the first…
Richardson, Samuel J. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, maybe near Marshall, and you might be passing right by the site of a dramatic moment in Texas Reconstruction. Samuel J. Richardson was a Confederate officer, but after the war, he…
Scott, Isaiah Benjamin · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, right where a pivotal moment in education history happened. Back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1893</say-as>, Isaiah Benjamin Scott, a prominent Black Methodist…
Seventh Texas Infantry · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, right near Marshall, where the Seventh Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment was born in October of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1861</say-as>. This regiment, organized by John…
Sims, Frankie Lee · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here, you're passing through the stomping grounds of Frankie Lee Sims, a blues legend who helped define the Texas country blues sound. Born in Louisiana in 1917, Sims moved…
Texas and Pacific Railway · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, and right here, the story of the Texas and Pacific Railway begins. Chartered by Congress in 1871, this wasn't just any railroad; it was destined to be a southern transcontinental line…
Van Zandt, Isaac · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, a town that owes its very existence to Isaac Van Zandt. He arrived here in 1839, a lawyer looking for opportunity. He convinced Peter Whetstone to donate land for a new townsite…
Willie, Carrie Sykes · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Dallas, and right here is a story about dedication to education. Carrie Sykes Willie was one of the very first Black women in Texas to earn a college degree. She started her studies at Wiley…
Wyalucing Plantation · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, where you're passing the site of Wyalucing Plantation. Built between 1848 and 1850 by enslaved laborers, this grand brick home was designed to look like a Grecian temple, complete…
Reves, Wyn-Nelle Russell [Wendy] · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, not far from Marshall, the hometown of Wyn-Nelle "Wendy" Russell Reves. Born in 1916, Wendy was more than just a model gracing the covers of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. She was a savvy…
Bass, Frederick Samuel · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, and right here in Marshall, Frederick Samuel Bass was building a military career long before the Civil War. He taught at a local military academy and then, in 1861, enlisted as…
Baxter, Eli Harris, Jr. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, and right here is where Eli Harris Baxter, Jr. hung his shingle as a lawyer in the town of Marshall back in 1858. He was a young man, fresh out of law school and a stint at West…
Beall, Thomas J. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, perhaps near Marshall, where Thomas J. Beall began his legal career. But when the Civil War broke out, Beall traded his law books for a rifle. He joined the Confederate Army, fighting…
Caven, William John · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, where William John Caven started his journey. Born in Georgia in 1833, his family moved here before the Civil War. Caven joined the Third Texas Cavalry in 1861, fighting…
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, and right here in Marshall is where the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church first put down roots in Texas. It was organized back in December of 1870 in Jackson, Tennessee, and…
Constitutional Union Party · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, near Marshall, where in 1860 a new political party held its state convention: the Constitutional Union Party. This party was a last-ditch effort by former Whigs and disaffected…
Dogan, Matthew Winfred · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, and right here is where Matthew Winfred Dogan turned a struggling college into one of the nation's best for African Americans. Dogan arrived in 1896 to lead Wiley College. For…
Dunaway, George Opie · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, maybe near Marshall. Right here, George Opie Dunaway was living the life of a saddler before the Civil War. But when conflict called, he traded his tools for a saber. He…
Hall, Montreville Jefferson · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving near Marshall, Texas, in Harrison County. Right here is where Montreville Jefferson Hall lived. A lawyer and planter, he was elected to the Texas House in 1853. He was so trusted by his neighbors that…
Hill, William Pinckney · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, and right here is Marshall, where William Pinckney Hill built a life before the Civil War. He was a lawyer, a slave owner, and a delegate to the Texas Secession Convention. But…
Jamison, Monroe Franklin · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here, you're passing through the territory served by Bishop Monroe Franklin Jamison. Born into slavery in Georgia in 1848, Jamison moved to Marshall, Texas, in 1872. He…
Lancaster, Cornelius Granbery · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, the hometown of Cornelius Granbery Lancaster. Born in 1863, Lancaster became a notable architect, designing dozens of buildings that still stand across East Texas. You might have…
Lane, George · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving near Marshall, Texas, and right here in Harrison County, George Lane made a name for himself as a jurist and public servant. Arriving in Texas in 1837, Lane quickly became district attorney, prosecuting…
Rains, George Perry · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, the hometown of George Perry Rains. Born here in 1872, Rains was a doctor who also answered the call to arms. He enlisted in the Marshall Light Infantry in 1890, serving on the…
Starr, Amory Reily · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, and right here is Marshall, where Amory Reily Starr made his mark. Born in Nacogdoches in 1847, Starr was a determined young man. He ran away from home four times to join…
Stoneware Pottery · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, and right here, you're passing through a place that was home to one of the earliest industries in the state: stoneware pottery. Back in the 1840s, craftsmen like Tanner set up shop…
Tarleton, William A. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, near Marshall, where William A. Tarleton was a major player in antebellum Texas politics. He served as a state representative from <say-as interpret-as="date"…
Blanch, Ezekiel Alfred · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County right now, near Marshall, where Ezekiel Alfred Blanch made his mark not just as a state senator, but as a railroad visionary. In 1854, the Southern Pacific Railroad sent Blanch to…
Adams House · 0.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Adams House, a home with deep roots in Marshall's history. Attorney and plantation owner Chesley Meredith Adams first bought this land in the 1850s, building a log house. After his…
Banks, Melvin James · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Melvin James Banks, African-American historian and educator, was born on May 17, 1903, in Montgomery, Alabama. He graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Howard University of Washington, D.C., and later…
Taylor, James Franklin · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
James Franklin Taylor, planter, state representative, and state senator, son of Robert Taylor and Letitia (Pipes) Taylor, was born in Adams County, Mississippi, on February 25, 1812. He was raised in Mississippi and…
Texas Council of Negro Organizations · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Texas Council of Negro Organizations was first conceived by Antonio Maceo Smith on May 8, 1941, in Dallas. Smith, a civil rights activist, called upon the various Texas organizations devoted to civil rights and…
Abrams, Lucien · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here, in Marshall, is where a significant Texas artist likely began his journey. Lucien Abrams was born in Kansas in 1870, but his family moved to Marshall around 1874. He…
Allen, Roderick Random · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, and right here in Marshall, Roderick Random Allen was born. This guy had a military career that spanned three wars, from World War I to Korea. He served in France, saw action in…
Blalock, Myron Geer · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, near Marshall, where Myron Geer Blalock built a long career in Texas politics and military service. He first entered the Texas House of Representatives way back in 1913, while…
Craig, Eli Taylor · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, Texas, a place that was home to Eli Taylor Craig. Born in Tennessee in 1812, Craig moved his family here in 1846, settling about eleven miles south of Marshall. He established a…
Evans, William F. · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, and right here in Marshall, Dr. William F. Evans was the first physician to settle. He arrived in Texas in 1842, establishing not just his medical practice, but also a drugstore…
Groner, Frank Shelby · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, perhaps near Marshall, where Frank Shelby Groner spent the last years of his career. Born in Collin County in 1877, Groner was a lawyer and a Baptist minister before becoming a major…
Marshall and East Texas Railway · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through East Texas, passing through places like Marshall and Winnsboro. Back in the day, the Marshall and East Texas Railway was chartered in 1908, connecting these communities. It stretched nearly 97…
Ware, Henry · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Harrison County, near Marshall, where Henry Ware built more than just a plantation. In the 1850s, this wealthy planter invested ten thousand dollars into a steam-powered textile mill. Imagine it:…
Williams, Richard Gene [Notes] · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Marshall, Texas, a place that helped launch the career of jazz trumpeter Richard Gene Williams, known as "Notes" Williams. Born in Galveston in 1931, Williams honed his skills on the trumpet after…
Blalock, Bryan · 0.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Bryan Blalock, leader in the dairy industry , son of William Meredith and Willie (Boothe) Blalock, was born on November 16, 1895, on a farm four miles south of Marshall. He finished high school in Marshall, then…
East Texas Baptist University · 1.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past East Texas Baptist University. SECONDARY EDUCATION IS A FAMILIAR INSTITUTION IN MARSHALL WITH ACADEMIES DATING BACK TO THE 1840s. DURING A 1911 BANQUET FOR DONORS TO THE NEW SOUTHERN METHODIST…
Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church · 1.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, heading past the site of Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church. After the Civil War, many African Americans in Texas faced a real struggle to establish their own churches. But in 1874, a…
Powder Mill Cemetery · 1.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the old Powder Mill Cemetery, just outside Marshall. This ground has a complex history, starting with a Confederate gunpowder factory. When the factory was destroyed in <say-as…
Wiley College Cemetery · 1.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Wiley College Cemetery in Marshall, a four-acre burial ground established for the Black community when Wiley College was founded in 1873. The earliest marked graves here date to 1894, but this…
Marshall Powder Mill · 2.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Marshall Powder Mill, a critical Confederate operation during the Civil War. After Vicksburg fell, cutting off supplies, the Confederacy had to scramble. By late 1863, this plant was…
Cumberland Presbyterians in Harrison County · 2.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Marshall, the site of the first Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Harrison County, established in 1848 by Reverend James Sampson and 22 members. Over the next century, congregations spread, but…
Marshall · 2.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Marshall, Texas, a town that played a surprisingly significant role in the Civil War. Founded back in 1839 and named for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, this city became a major…
Ewing Chapel Cemetery · 2.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Ewing Chapel Cemetery, the final resting place for many early settlers. Established in January 1855, the earliest confirmed burial here dates back to July 1853. The grounds hold Civil War…
A Star in the Window, a Marker by the Road · 2.3 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…

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