Historical Markers in Mineola, Texas

Martin Varner · 1962

A volunteer soldier in the Texas War for Independence at San Jacinto, 1836 Erected by the State of Texas, 1962

First Election in Wood County · 1973

Under a large post oak (300 ft. NW) on Gaines Greer's farm, Aug. 5, 1850, Wood County was organized. Commissioners Reuben Elledge, Joseph Fisher, George Greer, Henry Stout, and Gilbert Yarbrough met with 20 other men to…

Martin Varner · 1975

(March 4, 1787 - Feb. 14, 1844) Came to Texas before 1820, and, in partnership with Henry Jones, operated a trading post in the Red River settlement of Jonesboro. He was a member of the "Old Three Hundred" who settled…

Mineola Masonic Lodge No. 502, A.F. & A.M. · 1979

On February 8, 1878, the 17 members of this lodge were set to work under dispensation of the Grand Master of Texas. Mineola Lodge was chartered at the annual communication in Houston on December 15, 1879, with a…

New Hope Baptist Church · 1980

This fellowship was started as a Baptist Church of Christ in 1864. Members reorganized at Greer's Neighborhood, now Golden Rule community (2 mi. NW), in 1890 as Stephen's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. The new name…

Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church · 1981

Started as the Holly Springs Baptist Church of Christ, this fellowship is one of the oldest in Wood County. The first meeting was held on November 18, 1853, at the residence of J. D. J. Davis, who served as pastor.…

O. P. Pyle · 1982

Arkansas native Owen Pinkney Pyle (1867-1919) was publisher and editor of the Mineola "Courier" at the turn of the century. An advocate of the farmer, he was instrumental in establishing the Texas Farm Union and the…

O. P. Pyle House · 1982

An early leader of the Texas progressive era and a national spokesman for the concerns of farmers, O. P. Pyle had this home constructed in 1903-04, when he was editor and publisher of the Mineola "Courier." Built by…

Sand Springs Cemetery · 1982

Originally known as the Big Spring Cemetery, this burial ground first served pioneer settlers of the surrounding rural community. It was formally set aside for burials in 1860 when Matthew Cartwright, a prominent…

Wisener Field · 1988

The age of aviation came to Mineola on July 4, 1917, when a Curtis JN-4D "Jenny" biplane, piloted by a member of the U. S. Army Signal Corps, landed at this field. Called Massengale Meadow at the time, the site's flat…

Lott House · 1996

Angus and Lena Beaird began construction of this house in 1918; it was completed in the ealry 1920s. The Beairds sold the house in 1928 to Howard and Vivian Lott, who were leaders in the development of Mineola and Wood…

Birthplace of Miss Ima Hogg · 1997

Born here on July 10, 1882, Ima Hogg was the only daughter of Sarah Stinson and Gov. James S. Hogg. Ima studied fine arts at the University of Texas in Austin, and in New York and Europe. In 1918 oil was discovered on…

Select Theater · 1997

The Select Theater was the seventh in a long line of Mineola venues dating from 1886. Mrs. Martha (Mattie) Hooks named the theater for Select Pictures, a Texas motion picture franchise, in 1920. Mrs. Hooks and her…

Site of Public Mineral Water Well · 1998

Mineola settlers chose this area, nicknamed "the Forks of the River," for its abundance of water. The town's first water service was administered by A. W. Front, who made daily deliveries to his 50 clients. A water well…

John Creighton Buchanan · 1999

(February 24, 1850-December 9, 1884) Louisiana native John Creighton Buchanan moved to East Texas and established a legal practice in Quitman. He became the first Wood County Attorney in 1876, the year before he married…

Mineola Post Office · 1999

Postal service in Mineola dates to 1873, when an "unofficial" post office opened in a local drugstore. The first U. S. post office in the area was granted in 1875. This building was constructed in 1937, at a time when…

Richard Malcolm Smith · 1999

(December 29, 1852 - August 19, 1935) Born in Kentucky, Richard Malcolm Smith came to Texas in his youth. He found work as a journalist with the Galveston News and the Brazos Pilot. Smith attended his first Democratic…

Robert N. Stafford · 1999

(November 6, 1856 - June 18, 1911) A Georgia native and son of a Methodist minister, Robert N. Stafford moved to Mineola in 1880. He was county attorney from 1880 to 1882, served two terms as district attorney, and was…

Sarah Rosalie Patten Buchanan · 1999

(April 23, 1855-February 24, 1941) Quitman native Sarah Rosalie "Rosa" Patten married future state senator John Creighton Buchanan in 1877. They moved to Mineola, and in 1884 Sarah was left a 29-year-old widow with…

William Jesse McDonald · 1999

(September 28, 1852 - January 15, 1918) Born in Mississippi, "Bill" McDonald moved with his family to Rusk County, Texas, about 1866. During Reconstruction, McDonald was tried for treason after a conflict with Union…

C. W. Raines · 2001

A native of Upson County, Georgia, Cadwell Walton Raines (1839-1906) contributed to Texas history as a Methodist preacher, schoolteacher, attorney, newspaper publisher, county official, historian and state librarian. He…

First Baptist Church of Mineola · 2001

This site has been home to the First Baptist Church of Mineola since the congregation's first frame building was constructed here in 1877. The church's history dates to the early years of Mineola's development, after…

First National Bank Building · 2001

First National Bank Building Chartered in 1898, the First National Bank of Mineola was housed in several downtown locations before this building was constructed in 1912. Built on the site of the former Mineola…

First National Bank of Mineola · 2001

Chartered on May 31, 1898, the First National Bank of Mineola incorporated for $50,000 at $500 per share. The majority shareholder, lawyer and former Wood County Judge H. M. Cates, became first president. Local…

Harry W. Meredith · 2001

Kentucky native Harry Meredith (1871-1962) attended business college in Illinois and was owner-operator of a brick plant in his hometown of Leitchfield before moving to Mineola, Texas, with his wife, Mary Henri Hunter,…

George C. Reeves · 2002

(Aug. 31, 1854 - Aug. 29, 1934) Georgia native George C. Reeves came to Mineola soon after its founding in 1873. He served as city marshal, and through his association with County Attorney (later Governor) Jim Hogg, he…

New Hope Cemetery · 2002

The new Hope Cemetery was long associated with the New Hope Baptist Church, which organized in 1864. It is believed the cemetery began around the same time as the church’s organization, although the earliest grave…

The Thomas Breen Family · 2003

Irish immigrant Thomas Breen came to Mineola working for the Texas & Pacific Railroad Company, which reached the town in May 1873. He stayed to be the first ticket agent. In the late 1870s, he wed Irish native Lucy…

Site of Coleman Family Drug Store and Clinic · 2004

Dr. Walter Jackson Coleman and his wife, Mary Eugenia (DuBose), moved to Texas with their family from Isney, Alabama in 1897. After settling in the railroad town of Mineola, a traveling salesman persuaded Dr. Coleman to…

Mineola Fire Department · 2005

In the 1870s, the Texas & Pacific and International & Great Northern railroads built lines through this area, with the town of Mineola serving as the eventual juncture of the two. Fire was one of many challenges faced…

Dr. Adolphus Leander Patten · 2006

(1823-1900) Adolphus Patten was born in North Carolina to Elijah and Nancy Watson Patten. He opened a medical practice in Rome, Georgia, where he married Emeline Eliza Trout in 1846. In 1854, they set out with family…

Gov. James Stephen Hogg and Wood County · 2006

James Stephen Hogg lived in Wood County from 1868 to 1882, formative years of his political career. When he became Governor, he appointed several Wood County friends to public offices. They included: Sarah Rosalie…

St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church · 2006

Extensive settlement in this area began after the end of the Texas Revolution in 1836. The Texas legislature created Wood County in 1850, influencing further settlement. The community of Sodom developed here by 1871,…

Caddo Indian Communities in Wood County · 2007

Early in the ninth century, the Caddo, several affiliated groups of people with distinct dialects and customs, moved into parts of present Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Complex societies based on successful…

Railroads in Mineola · 2007

This city's fortunes have been tied historically to railroads. Mineola was born in the summer of 1873, as the Houston and Great Northern (later International and Great Northern) and Texas and Pacific lines raced to a…

Mineola · 2008

Since its establishment in 1873, the community of Mineola has been tied historically to the railroad and transportation industries. The Texas & Pacific Railroad planned to connect Longview and Dallas by rail, and began…

Mineola Opera Houses · 2008

The Opera House Era in Mineola lasted from the 1870s until the 1910s and was an important period in the city’s social history. Rail connections to bigger cities brought many famous artists here. In 1877, William J.…

Dr Pepper Bottling Plant · 2009

Government Projects in Mineola · 2009

During the Great Depression (1929-41), Mineola residents were aided by federal and local government initiatives. Federal programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civil Works Administration (CWA)…

Mineola's Jewish Community · 2009

Jewish immigrants who came to Texas through Galveston started arriving by train in Mineola shortly after its establishment in 1873. Many soon established businesses near the intersection of Broad and Johnson Streets,…

Saloons in Mineola · 2009

Mineola Black Spiders · 2010

IN THE 1800s AND INTO THE FIRST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN BASEBALL TEAMS PLAYED SEPARATELY FROM WHITE TEAMS. THE COMMUNITY OF MINEOLA, THOUGH SMALL IN POPULATION, HAD BOTH WHITE AND BLACK BASEBALL…

Mineola Public Library · 2010

MINEOLA PUBLIC LIBRARY (LATER MINEOLA MEMORIAL LIBRARY) WAS ESTABLISHED LARGELY THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF VIVIAN WILLIAMS LOTT. SHE BECAME INTERESTED IN OPENING A PUBLIC LIBRARY AFTER SEEING ONE WHILE WORKING AS A TEACHER…

Callaway House · 2011

Wood County natives Lorenzo Dow Callaway (1869-1918) and Elizabeth Williams (1874-1949) married in 1892 and had five children. Lorenzo joined his father, James Anderson Callaway, in his mercantile business, and had…

Smith Chapel United Methodist Church · 2011

SMITH CHAPEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ABOUT 1885, MEMBERS OF THE HOARD COMMUNITY ORGANIZED DAVIS CHAPEL CHURCH AND MET IN THE DEMOCRAT SCHOOLHOUSE AND A NEARBY BRUSH ARBOR. THE CHURCH WAS LATER RENAMED DEMOCRAT METHODIST…

Williams Medical Clinic Building · 2012

WILLIAMS MEDICAL CLINIC BUILDING DR. JAMES W. WILLIAMS, A NATIVE OF MINEOLA, OPENED HIS MEDICAL PRACTICE IN 1946 AFTER HIS SERVICE IN WORLD WAR II. BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF HIS PATIENTS, HE BUILT A NEW…

Site of Barney B. Hart House · 2014

A 1906 two-story home was constructed by J.J. McLeod for attorney Barney B. Hart (1845-1925), and the home remained virtually unchanged since a breakfast room was added to the original structure in 1916. Hart family…

Mineola Schools · 2016

When the Texas & Pacific and the International & Great Northern Railroads intersected in 1873, the town of Mineola was created. Settlers quickly saw the need for educational facilities for their children. Shortly…

Utilities in Mineola · 2016

Desiring better living conditions, new residents began to look for water, electric and gas providers. The first water service, owned by A.W. Front, delivered water daily to customers in a one-horse wagon in addition to…

Rufus Cornelius Hickman · 2017

African American photographer, Rufus Cornelius Hickman (1918-2007), photographed African American life in Dallas in the Jim Crow and Civil Rights Movement eras. His mother, Cora Hickman, ran a popular African American…

Rockfield Cemetery · 2018

marker pending