Hardin County, Texas
Kountze is home to 13 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
Created January 22, 1858. Organized August 9, 1858. Named in honor of the Hardins of Liberty County. Five brothers-- Benjamin Watson, Augustine Blackburn, William, Frank and Milton A. who came to Texas in 1825. County…
View on map ↗(1817-1876) American military leader honored in this county in name of an early town (12 mi. W). Born in North Carolina, Bragg was in Texas in 1840s with army of General Zachary Taylor, to fight in Mexican War. Made a…
View on map ↗Founded 1859 as first county seat of Hardin County, created in 1858. Prospered until bypassed by Sabine & East Texas Railroad in 1881. A fire of suspicious origin razed the Courthouse here on Aug. 8, 1886. In an 1887…
View on map ↗This congregation was established in 1886, one year before Kountze was named Hardin County Seat. First services were held in the Masonic Hall and in the Courthouse. In 1891 a permanent building was constructed on Brown…
View on map ↗Organized in September 1886, and chartered in December of that year, the Pine Lodge drew its original thirteen members from all over Hardin County. William B. Pedigo served as the first master of the lodge and would…
View on map ↗North Carolina native William Hooks (1818-1894) lived in Florida and Georgia before moving to Texas in 1849. He settled here on his survey in 1852. Soon after, he set aside land at this site for a burial ground. It was…
View on map ↗The town of Kountze developed in the 1880s, after the Texas and New Orleans Railroad was built through this area. The county seat, which had previously been located at the town of Hardin, was moved to Kountze in 1886.…
View on map ↗Established in 1902, the Hooks Abstract Company is thought to be the oldest continuously operating business in Hardin County. Named for its major investor J. B. Hooks, the company initially provided land ownership…
View on map ↗The Baptist Church of Hardin was organized in 1860 with Pastor D. W. Jordan. When the railroad bypassed Hardin (then the county seat) in 1881, area residents began moving to nearby Kountze. Hardin Baptists are believed…
View on map ↗Designed by Frank T. Smith of Beaumont and built in 1902, this was the home of James L. (1844-1922) and Martha Slater (1840-1907) Kirby. James Kirby was superintendent of the Kirby Lumber Company, founded by his brother…
View on map ↗Hardin County was created in 1858. The first official Hardin County building was probably a two-story log building that burned about 1886. Early county records were destroyed in the conflagration. In 1887, architect…
View on map ↗Richard E. Jackson Conservationist Richard E. Jackson was born August 12, 1880, in Leary, Georgia. In 1886, he came with his parents to Jasper, Texas, where they opened a general mercantile store. As a teenager, he…
View on map ↗Kountze Baptist College (also known as Jermany College) served African American students in the area for nearly two decades. In 1910, the Trinity Valley Baptist Association opened the primary and secondary grade level…
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