Historical Markers in Henderson, Texas

Site of Shawnee Town · 1936

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Thomas J. Rusk (monument) · 1936

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Trammel's Trace · 1936

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General James Smith · 1962

Park named for General James Smith (Sept. 10, 1792-Dec. 25, 1855) On this hill, as he wished for burial in sight of courthouse is grave of General James Smith, co-founder of Henderson. A south Carolina native, he fought…

Capt. Robert Smith · 1965

Soldier in the Texas War for Independence at San Jacinto, 1836.

Joiner No. 3 Daisy Bradford · 1965

East Texas Oil Field Discovery Well. Discovery genius was C. M. (Dad) Joiner, 70-year-old Oklahoman who for years believed there was oil in Rusk County. Driller was E. C. Laster. Crew: Dennis May, Dave Cherry, Glenn…

Pine Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church · 1966

Pine Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized about 1850, with the Rev. Archibald Watkins (d. 1880) playing an instrumental role in its early years. The fellowship first met in a small log cabin near Martin's…

Birdwell House · 1967

Built in early 1840s for Allen Birdwell, 1851 county commissioner; member Texas Legislature 1853-54 and 1863-64. House is excellent example of "saddle bag" architecture-- story-and-half double house. Built of hand-hewn…

Howard-Dickinson House · 1968

First brick home in county. Built 1855 by brothers, David P. and Jas. Logan Howard, settlers from Richmond, Va. The Howards made bricks with mud mill and later with a patented machine and kiln on the premises. (Howard…

M. Kangerga House · 1969

Built 1901 by Michael Kangerga (1873-1962), a native of Croatia, Austria-Hungary, who settled in Henderson in 1887 and with his brother Rade Kangerga founded M. Kangerga & Bro., a mercantile and financial institution,…

Richard Brown · 1971

(November 16, 1808 - August 24, 1893) An 1836-37 Republic of Texas soldier who joined the 1842 Mier Expedition to punish Mexican invasions of Texas. Captured in Mexico, he escaped firing squad by drawing a white bean,…

First Baptist Church of Henderson · 1976

Begun in 1845 by the Rev. Lemuel Herrin (d. 1852), pioneer missionary Baptist minister from Tennessee, this church was reorganized in 1850 by Elders John B. Renfro and J. O. Walker, and the Rev. Jesse Witt, who served…

George W. Burton · 1978

(May 17, 1848 - Jan. 26, 1933) A native of South Carolina and a Confederate veteran, George W. Burton migrated to Rusk County, Texas, about 1880. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1915 to 1921. During…

Henderson Depot · 1978

On June 1, 1877, the first train of the Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad arrived here. Only a freight-loading platform was built at that time. The depot was finished by 1901 and the warehouse added in 1909. A…

Rev. William Craig · 1978

(1785-1865) A Methodist circuit rider, the Rev. William Craig was born in South Carolina and entered the ministry at age 18. He married Rebecca Hortense Horton (1785-1866) and had six children. About 1841, he moved from…

Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church & Cemetery · 1978

In 1867 Augustus Ferguson deeded 8.5 acres of land for a church and school. This congregation was formed in 1868, with the Rev. John Sparkman (1821-82) as the first Pastor. According to tradition, there were 15 charter…

Church Hill United Methodist Church · 1979

In 1839 this congregation was organized with the Rev. Claugh Waterfield as pastor. The first member was 14-year-old William F. Richards. The Rev. William Craig began the 300-mile church hill circuit in 1843. John…

Patrick Community · 1979

In 1854 the Patrick brothers, James Moore (1795-1867), John Thomas Campbell (1814-68), and Minor Leander (b. 1818), led Presbyterian families from South Carolina to Rusk County. John built a six-room log house on the…

Judge William Wright Morris · 1980

(1805-1883) Born in Halifax County, North Carolina, William Wright Morris moved with his family to Coosa County, Alabama, in 1840. He taught school, studied law, and was elected judge. In 1847 he brought his mother,…

New Prospect Baptist Church and Cemetery · 1980

Located on part of the Hansel Wright Survey, this congregation and cemetery were established in the 1850s. Many early church members, including organizers Thomas Ballenger (1811-1882) and B.F. Montgomery (1810-1900),…

John Strong and Mary Ann (Whatley) Strong · 1981

Georgia natives John (1806-1854) and Mary Strong (1809-1898) migrated to Texas about 1849 and were pioneer settlers of eastern Rusk County. They helped set aside land for the local Methodist congregation, the Church…

Strong Cemetery · 1981

This cemetery originally served the family of Georgia native John Strong (1806-1854), a pioneer leader of the nearby Church Hill community. The earliest marked grave is that of his grandson John A. Young (d.1853), the…

Welch Cemetery · 1981

The first gave at this site was that of Georgia native Anna Welch (1804-1877), who selected the hillside for her own burial. It was used as a family cemetery from that date. The property was owned by her son Andrew…

Wright's Cemetery · 1981

Hansel Wright (1773-1856) came to East Texas in 1836 and was granted land for service in the Republic of Texas Army. In 1846 he moved his family to this area and used a portion of his land to establish the cemetery at…

Crim's Chapel Cemetery · 1983

It is believed interments were made at this site prior to 1882, when Jo Anna (Armstrong) Crim, the wife of Abraham B. Crim, was buried here. Hers is the earliest marked grave. That same year, the Crim's daughter Louisa…

John T. C. Patrick Home · 1983

In 1854 John Campbell Patrick (1814-68), his wife, Eleanor Stephenson (Currence), and their five children came from South Carolina with Patrick's brothers and other families. Patrick bought 335 acres here on Shreveport…

T. J. Walling Log Cabin · 1983

In 1841 Thomas Jefferson Walling (1811-1902) and his wife Nancy (Price) erected this one-room log cabin. Typical of many pioneer farm homes in this area, it was built of hand-hewn timbers joined at the corners by square…

Arnold Outhouse · 1984

Prominent Henderson businessman and civic leader John R. Arnold moved his family to this property in 1908. He added a second story to the home (razed in 1966) that already existed at the site. He also built a number of…

Clinton Lodge No. 23, A. F. & A. M. · 1985

Chartered on Jan. 16, 1845, this Masonic Lodge shared a two-story building with the First Methodist Church for a number of years. A lodge building constructed at Depot and North Main in 1868 was also used for public…

First United Methodist Church of Henderson · 1985

This congregation was organized by the Rev. Preston W. Hobbs in 1842, one year before Rusk County was created, as part of the Shawnee mission. That appointment was renamed Henderson in 1843, when the Rev. Orin Hatch was…

Hardeman-Griffin House · 1985

Constructed in 1884 for Mr. and Mrs. John S. Hardeman, this home was purchased in 1918 by H. L. and Nellie Griffin. Both Hardeman (1852-1925) and Griffin (1860-1947) were Henderson businessmen. The house, which exhibits…

Rusk County Agriculture · 1986

In the early years of Texas statehood Rusk County was home to a number of large plantations. By the end of the Civil War many of the plantations were gone, and small farms replaced larger operations. Crops included…

The Railroad in Rusk County · 1986

Although plans for a rail line were made as early as 1852, railroad tracks were not laid in this area until after the end of the Civil War. Overton (14 mi. NW) became the center of Rusk County Railroading after the…

William C. Davis · 1986

Came to Texas from North Carolina in 1835 and settled in this area, in what was then part of Nacogdoches County. He received a land grant in Lamar County for his service in the Indian wars of the late 1830s, but…

Merritt Building · 1988

One of the first lots occupied after the town of Henderson was founded in 1848, this site has been a cornerstone in the city's downtown development. Jesse F. Merritt bought the lot in 1883 and had this brick building…

Henderson · 1989

Founded as the county seat for the newly created county of Rusk in 1843, Henderson was named for Republic of Texas pioneer and statesman James Pinckney Henderson, who would later become the first Governor of the State…

Masonic Lodge Building · 1991

Constructed in 1884 by S. M. and J. H. Mims, this building was purchased in 1893 by Clinton Lodge No. 23, A. F. & A. M., which had been chartered in 1845 when Texas was an independent republic. The Masons conducted…

Gaston Public School Complex · 1992

An oil boom here in the early 1930s prompted the formal organization of the Gaston Independent School District in 1931 to cope with the community's rapidly expanding student population. The district chose Dallas…

Mattie Trammel Schoolhouse · 1992

This house was built in 1892 by Charles M. Thompson and his wife, May Agatha Trammell, for May's mother, Martha (Mattie) Gibson Trammell, a certified teacher. In this building Mattie taught young men and women the…

Mission Springs Baptist Church · 1994

Several members of Ebenezer Baptist Church, organized nearby in 1884, established Missionary Springs Baptist Church n 1894. The church is named for springs at the site of initial brush arbor services. The Rev. William…

Liberty Missionary Baptist Church · 1997

Organized in the Sugar Hill community in 1866, the Liberty Missionary Baptist Church was accepted into the Mt. Zion Baptist Association in 1868. A new building was erected east of the original church and school in 1897.…

East Texas Musical Convention · 2004

Sacred harp (fasola) singing is based on a system of shaped notes, dispersed harmony and minor chords. In its origins it was rural, folk, religious music that allowed singers to interpret, or personalize, the sounds.…

Millville Cemetery · 2004

In the 1840s, Jesse Walling, veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, set aside four acres for a church, school, Masonic lodge and cemetery for Liberty Hill community, later renamed Millville. Of nearly 400 graves, many…

Mays Cemetery · 2008

This pioneer burial ground served the New Salem Community. In the 1850s, the settlement had a stagecoach stop, post office and the New Salem Academy. The Mays and Swink families of Madison Co., Tennessee were among the…

Antioch · 2009

A group of freedpersons established the Antioch Community when they organized Antioch Baptist Church in 1866. The congregation planted five other area churches between 1884 abd 1914, and served as a focal point of the…

Blossom Hill United Methodist Church · 2009

Blossom Hill United Methodist Church was established in 1879, when Mr. and Mrs. L.H. Patterson donated the first church property. The church was first known as Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church and was the first…

Lockridge Cemetery · 2009

Henry T. Lockridge settled in Rusk County, Texas during the 1850s. After serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, he purchased land from Charles Lewis in 1863. Henry and his wife, Jane Hunter Lockridge,…

Pine Hill Methodist Cemetery · 2009

Bethel Cemetery · 2010

This burial ground, named for the community that organized near Bethel Springs, was associated with a school and Methodist church. The earliest marked grave dates to 1879, although it is believed there are earlier…

Ebenezer Cemetery · 2012

EBENEZER CEMETERY IN THE MID 1800s, A COMMUNITY WAS FORMED ON WHAT IS NOW FM 3310. BY 1884, IT WAS CALLED THE MANSINGER NEIGHBORHOOD BUT WAS CHANGED TO THE EBENEZER COMMUNITY AFTER A CHURCH AND SCHOOL ORGANIZED. MOST OF…

Rogers-Craig House · 2012

The Rogers-Craig house was built around 1890 on land that was formerly the site of the Fowler Institute. The house was originally a four-room, one story frame structure owned by Anna Caroline Montgomery Rogers, the…

The 1860 Henderson Fire · 2014

The fire of August 5, 1860 in Henderson, Texas, marked the beginning of the end of the Union in Texas. As a successful agricultural and commercial center, Henderson was one of the most important cities in Texas. Fires…

Lakewood Memorial Park · 2018

Lakewood Memorial Park is on the northwest corner of the intersection of Hwy 64 and FM 323 (North Van Buren). Street address: aproximately 1039 W. Highway 323, Henderson, Texas