Historical Markers in Athens, Texas

Henderson County · 1936

Formed from Houston and Nacogdoches counties. Created April 27, 1846; organized August 4, 1846. Named in honor of James Pinckney Henderson, 1808-1858, first governor of the State of Texas. Buffalo, Centerville and…

Bush W. Wofford Home · 1962

(RTHL medallion only)

Henderson County C. S. A. · 1963

(Star and Wreath) Voted 400-49 for secession. Sent about 1,000 into Confederate Army, with one detachment of 150 having only 13 live to return. Caldwell's farm, three miles northeast, and Fincastle, 19 miles southeast…

Athens · 1964

Founded 1850. Named for Athens, Greece. Supply and military training headquarters during Civil War. Sent army about 1,000 men. Center for manufacturing and agriculture. Home of annual Old Fiddlers' Contest and of…

W. H. "Howdy" Martin · 1965

S. Palestine Street

Machinery From First Factory in Athens · 1968

Established 1882 (at site 1.5 mi. NE) by local planter H. M. Morrison, to make building brick. Total original machinery consisted of this press and plunger. Press was hand-operated. A mule-drawn swivel ran the plunger,…

Joseph Thomas La Rue_Stella E. Parsons La Rue · 1970

JOSEPH THOMAS LA RUE (Nov. 18, 1864 - Feb. 13, 1930) Alderman on Athens' first city council (1901). La Rue (town 13 mi. SE) was named for him. Educator, merchant, civic leader, banker, humanitarian, prohibitionist,…

Pilgrim's Rest Primitive Baptist Church · 1972

Constituted in Randolph County, Ala., Nov. 23, 1850; opened services here on Baptist Branch, Jan. 1851, during resting of 150 pilgrims in covered wagon caravan led by Samuel Tine Owen, a brother, John Bunyan Owen, and…

Henderson County Pottery Industry · 1973

Prehistoric Caddoan Indians utilized the abundant deposits of rich clays in this region to make their fine pottery vessels. The modern pottery industry in Henderson County began in 1857, when Levi S. Cogburn…

First United Presbyterian Church of Athens · 1979

The Rev. Robert H. Hodge (1805-1866), a native of Tennessee, immigrated in 1850 to Anderson County, Texas. After two years he came to Henderson County. He began Science Hill Academy (15 mi. S), the only classical high…

Courts Under the Oaks · 1981

Henderson County was established in 1846, the year after Texas was annexed by the United States. In 1850, after previous reductions in the county's original size, the present boundaries were set by the Texas…

Faulk-Gauntt Building · 1981

An earlier building at this location housed the law offices of Senator J. J. Faulk and Judge W. L. Faulk. In the early 1890s the site was purchased by J. R. Gauntt, a local businessman. The son of pioneer area settlers,…

Carroll Springs Methodist Church · 1984

This congregation traces its history through several Henderson County Methodist churches. Earliest worship services in Carroll Springs were held in private homes, with the Rev. William D. Sansom occasionally leading…

Richard Columbus Fisher · 1984

(May 20, 1888 - Sept. 4, 1932) A native of Falls County, R. C. Fisher graduated in 1913 from what was then Prairie View Normal College. The following year he began his career in education at Blackshear Colored School in…

William Richardson · 1984

(Dec. 6, 1805 - May 30, 1864) Born in South Carolina, William Richardson moved to Pickens County, Alabama in 1830. There he married Mary "Polly" Kilpatrick (1813-1889) on Feb. 13, 1834. Children born to them were John…

Owen Cemetery · 1985

David Allen Owen came to Texas with his first wife, Mary (Langsdon), who died enroute, and their 5 children. They traveled with family members and others from Randolph County, Alabama to Henderson County, Texas in 1851.…

The Athens Review · 1985

"The Athens Review" was established as a weekly newspaper by J. B. Bishop and George M. Johnson, editors and owners on Dec. 24, 1885. The earliest newspaper in Henderson County, "The Athens Bulletin," had been founded…

United Methodist Church of Athens · 1986

Dulcinea Ann Holland Thompson Avriett · 1990

(1834-1920) A native of Athens, Georgia, Dulcinea Ann Holland came to Henderson County with her family in 1847. She married E. J. Thompson in 1851. According to local tradition, she named the town of Athens after her…

Meredith Campground and Tabernacle · 1991

North Carolina native Eber Meredith, his wife Caroline (Ross), and their four children moved to this area of Henderson County in the 1850s. Eber Meredith bought 320 acres of land in 1859 and purchased an additional 160…

Rupert Talmage Craig · 1994

Son of Henry Clay and Dana (Moss) Craig, was born on November 17, 1889, in Shiloh, Kentucky. He began setting type in a print shop at the age of 10 and at the age of 16 became the youngest licensed printer in Kentucky.…

Site of Blackshear/Fisher School · 1994

Athens' first public school for African Americans was established in 1876-77. Athens Colored School held classes in a Baptist church and later in a 2-room schoolhouse erected at this site. Richard C. Fisher, who joined…

Thomas Boucher Wood Family Cemetery · 1996

According to family history, Thomas Boucher Wood (1820-1897) was born in Columbus, Mississippi. He attended the University of Louisville in Kentucky in 1843 and again in 1849, at which time he received his doctoral…

Barker Cemetery · 1997

Hester (Stovall) and Armstead R. Barker struggled to buy the lands they worked for their former masters, W. C. Larkin and Nat Coleman. When Mrs. Barker died in 1893, her husband set aside 4 previous acres of land to be…

Shelby Chapel Church and Cemetery · 1998

James Madison Shelby (1814-1889), a native of North Carolina, moved with his large family from Alabama to Texas in the 1870s. They first lived in Smith County, then moved to southeastern Henderson County. There they…

Site of Hawn Lumber Company · 1999

As the geographic center of the newly redrawn Henderson County lines, Athens became the county seat in 1850. Charles H. and Lillian (Barksdale) Hawn arrived with a load of lumber on the first train to stop in Athens in…

Athens Cemetery · 2002

Athens Cemetery After citizens petitioned for its closure, an unofficial burial ground in this area (Large Lot 13) closed in 1857. That same year, local residents buried prominent planter, Mason and school…

Bushrod W. J. Wofford · 2002

Bushrod William John "Bush" Wofford was born in February 1832 to William M. and Mariah Frances Johnston Wofford in Madison County, Alabama. He grew up an only child in Tippah County, Mississippi. His parents died when…

Rome Cemetery · 2002

CR 1109, south of FM 753, 7 mi. SW of Athens

Smith Cemetery · 2002

Smith Cemetery Established 1850 Historic Texas Cemetery-2002

Carroll Springs Cemetery · 2003

The Carroll Springs Methodist Church and a school began meeting at this site in 1883. The following year, A.M. Carroll, who owned property in Henderson and Anderson counties, set aside nearly five acres here to be used…

First Baptist Church of Athens · 2003

Henderson County Courthouse · 2003

The Texas Legislature created Henderson County in 1846. For the next few years, county commissioners met at various locations, including private homes and the communities of Buffalo and Centerville. Samuel Huffer later…

Walnut Creek Community · 2003

Walnut Creek Community As early as 1850, farm families inhabited this area along Walnut Creek. Growing grains, cotton and sugar cane for cash crops, residents also raised livestock and planted family gardens in what…

Wreay Cemetery · 2003

John Matthews McDonald · 2004

North Carolina-born John Matthews McDonald (1827-1883) came to Texas in 1848 and lived first at Larissa, Cherokee Co. and then Mound Prairie, Anderson Co., where his brother Murdoch earlier settled. Two years later, he…

Mount Zion Baptist Church · 2004

Mount Zion Baptist Church organized in 1873 in the rural Black Jack community of Henderson County. Members met under a brush arbor until 1885, when they built their first sanctuary, a small frame structure. The…

Site of Gum Creek School · 2004

Following the close of the Civil War in 1865, Armstead Barker brought his family to this area. Other African American families followed, and their settlement became known as Gum Creek. By the mid-1880s, African American…

Goodgame Cemetery · 2007

This cemetery, named for the pioneering Goodgame family, has served the area since the Civil War era. Purchasing acreage in 1857, Floyd Crockett Goodgame (b. 1807) migrated from Alabama to Henderson County with family…

Athens Lodge No. 165 A.F. & A.M. · 2010

Athens Lodge No. 165 A.F. & A.M., founded in 1854, was the first Masonic lodge to be organized in Henderson County. Henderson County had been created in 1846, and the third county seat, Athens, had been founded in 1850.…

Lollar Cemetery · 2010

THE FIRST DOCUMENTED BURIAL AT THIS SITE WAS THE 1867 INTERMENT OF SAMUEL AND ELIZABETH PARTIN’S INFANT SON, JOHN S. PARTIN. AT THE TIME OF THE CEMETERY’S INITIAL USE, THE PROPERTY WAS OWNED BY ASA DALTON. IT IS…

Rounsavall Cemetery · 2010

This burial ground has served residents of the Flat Creek community since the years shortly after the Civil War. It is named for the Rounsavall family, which settled in Henderson County around 1857. Arba Monroe…

Sand Flat Cemetery · 2010

In 1856, Joseph M. Stirman of Kentucky donated five acres of his property for the building of a church and school regardless of race, sex, or religion, establishing the Sand Flat community. Of these five acres, two…

Willow Springs Cemetery · 2010

Likely named for a nearby spring, this cemetery has served Southern Henderson County since 1870, when John and Mary Hand conveyed land for use as a burial site. The property was also used for Willow Springs Church and a…

1925 Henderson County Jail · 2011

AS EARLY AS 1850, HENDERSON COUNTY OFFICIALS REALIZED THE NEED FOR A COUNTY JAIL. THE FIRST JAIL WAS COMPLETED IN 1856 OR 1857. IT BECAME KNOWN AS THE LOG CALABOOSE. A NEW JAIL WAS BUILT IN 1874 FACING NORTH COMMON…

First National Bank · 2012

FIRST NATIONAL BANK THOMAS MURCHISON WAS BORN IN TENNESSEE AND GREW UP IN MARSHALL, MISSISSIPPI BEFORE MOVING WITH HIS PARENTS TO HOUSTON COUNTY, TEXAS AROUND 1848. MURCHISON MOVED TO ATHENS AROUND 1855 AND WORKED IN A…

Mt. Providence Baptist Church · 2012

Mt. Providence Baptist Church was first organized in 1888 in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church under Reverend F.M. Jackson. For a while the church would meet in different churches, homes, and brush arbors. On…

Clinton Williams Murchison, Sr. · 2013

Clint W. Murchison, Sr. was born April 11, 1895, in Tyler to John W. and Clara (Williams) Murchison. His grandfather, T.F. Murchison, was one of the earliest settlers to arrive in Athens and established the first bank…

Lightfoot-Miller Cemetery · 2013

Located on private property, this small, family cemetery serves as the final resting place for the Garner, Howard, Lightfoot, Miller, Nugent and Stone families. James Wilburn Miller, a Civil War Veteran, was born…

Payne Cemetery · 2013

Surrounded by a forest of trees, Payne Cemetery is the final resting place for many of the area’s pioneer settlers and their descendants. In the 1870s, early pioneers moved to this area of Henderson County hoping to…

Thomas Cemetery · 2013

Located in a pasture across a creek on top of a hill, this historic cemetery is on land from the Alexander de la Garza survey. Jacob Thomas (1800-1880) was a planter from North Carolina who moved to Georgia where he…

Jess Sweeten · 2014

Completing his work as a steel rigger in 1929 employed by Otis Elevator Company on the Texas Power & Light Company in Trinidad, Texas, Jess Sweeten was offered a job as a deputy constable in Henderson County. Bob King…

Bruce Field · 2016

As the focal point of Athens schools and athletics, Bruce Field has served the community since 1922. Bruce Academy, a leading educational institution at the turn of the 20th century, was established in 1898. Both the…

Beck's Chapel Cemetery · 2017

As the final resting place for many of the area’s nineteenth century pioneers, the Beck’s Chapel Cemetery was established near Beck’s Chapel and Beck’s Chapel School, deeded from Stonewall Riddlesperger in 1901. The…

J.B. Henry "The Pea Man" · 2017

Introduced in the United States in the early eighteenth century, black-eyed peas, also known as cowpeas, served primarily as animal feed on farms. The hardships of the Civil War, including the scarcity of food in the…

Corporal David Brady Shelton American Legion Post No. 173 · 2019

At the Adult Education Building, in the southwest corner of the Trinity Valley Community College campus. On Park Drive, to the right, just before you get to the Athens County Club entrance.

J. W. Brownlow · 2019

marker pending

Virginia Lucille "Ginger" Murchison · 2019

GRANDDAUGHTER OF PROMINENT BUSINESSMAN, CLINT W. MURCHISON SR., VIRGINIA “GINGER” MURCHISON WAS BORN IN DALLAS TO JOHN DABNEY (1921-1979) AND LUCILLE HUGHES “LUPE” (GANNON) (1925-2001) MURCHISON. GINGER ATTENDED SCHOOL…