Historical Markers in Wills Point, Texas

McKain Family Home · 1968

Built 1874 for Thomas J. and Mattie Cornelia Bagby McKain-- first couple married in Wills Point. McKain had come to Texas in 1870 from Florida; his bride, born in Virginia, was educated at Old Trinity University,…

Site of Burial of Neal Martin · 1968

(1777-1879) Came to Texas from Kentucky in 1816. Hunted buffalo in Van Zandt County about 1839 and settled here later. Fought in Battle of San Jacinto during Texas War for Independence. Was later a member of Texas…

Russell Memorial United Methodist Church · 1975

Organized 1875 as Wills Point Methodist Episcopal Church, South, after a retired minister, James A. Scruggs, had led services for some years. The Rev. L. P. Lively became first resident pastor in 1878. The earliest…

First Baptist Church of Wills Point · 1983

The First Baptist Church of Wills Point was founded in 1873, with Dr. J. L. Matthews, a doctor of medicine, serving as the first pastor. In 1876 the 30-member congregation erected a building, which is said to have been…

First Christian Church of Wills Point · 1986

Founded in 1882, the congregation first met in the Presbyterian church, and a cotton gin pond north of town was used for baptisms. A church building was erected in 1886, and in 1891 a baptistry was added. The first in…

Wills Point Schools · 1986

Wills Point city officials under Mayor Thomas J. McKain established a public school system in 1886. Classes began in a rented building on North Fourth Street with Professor W.I. Cowles as the first superintendent. In…

Dallas-Shreveport Road · 1994

A trail established by Caddoan Native Americans and later used by French traders who traversed this area is known today as the Dallas-Shreveport Road. The trail emerged in the mid-1830s as a main route into North Texas…

White Rose Cemetery · 1994

The town of Wills Point was established in the early 1870s on the Texas and Pacific Railroad. It was named for the log cabin/trading post established at a nearby site on the Dallas-Shreveport Road by early settler…

County Seat War · 1996

Due to a surveyor's error, the county seat of Van Zandt County was located on private property in 1850. An election was called 27 years later because of discontent with the site. On May 28, 1877, County Judge Cadwell…

Fairview Cemetery and School · 1996

R. H. Reeves donated one acre of land in 1875 to the Fairview community for church and school purposes. A one-room log schoolhouse was erected on the site, and part of the land was set aside for a cemetery. The oldest…

New Hope Cemetery · 1998

To encourage settlement of what was later New Hope in Van Zandt County, William James (1804-1875) set aside two acres for a school and church and one acre for a cemetery after 1871. James, a veteran of the Mexican War,…

Allen Cemetery · 2001

This burial ground first served pioneer settlers of the Turner community. The earliest marked grave is that of Hiram White (b.1811), who died in 1867. The site was originally named for the White family members interred…

William A. Wills · 2001

Tennessee native William A. Wills (1804-1864) moved to Texas with his wife, Mary Ann "Polly" (Phillips), and their children in 1847 and settled on the Dallas-Shreveport Road in what became Van Zandt County. They hosted…

Camp Matthew F. Locke, C.S.A. · 2004

Turner Baptist Church · 2009

Twenty members established Turner Baptist Church on November 15, 1909. The congregation first worshipped at Turner School, where several faiths alternated Sunday services. By 1917, this interdenominational institution…

Union Grove Cemetery · 2009

Settlers William McBee and Adam Sullivan established the Union Grove community in 1844. McBee built and operated the first corn mill in Van Zandt County, and Union Grove grew to include a Baptist Church and the McBee…

Bruce & Human Drug Company · 2010

German-born Oscar Pabst moved to Wills Point from Quitman, Texas in 1879, and he established an apothecary in town along the Dallas-Shreveport road. After an 1888 fire damaged Pabst’s Store, he relocated it inside a…

Fin & Feather Hunting and Fishing Club · 2010

On May 6, 1901, 21 Wills Point men met in the law office of W.B. Wynne to organize the Fin & Feather Hunting and Fishing Club to be located at Thorn Lake. The Texas & Pacific Railroad Company built Thorn Lake to provide…

Wynne & Wynne Law Office · 2010

In 1877, William B. Wynne came to Wills Point and opened a law practice with his older brother, Richard M. Wynne, who later became a state senator. Four of W.B. Wynne’s sons were associated with the firm. In addition to…

Elbert Gray · 2011

On Feb. 5, 1912, 16-year-old Elbert Gray committed a most heroic act. Two-year-old Calvin Stepp had fallen into a water well sixty feet deep and barely one foot across. Lowered by rope, Elbert descended feet first to…

Rose Fountain · 2011

German brothers B. W. and Isaac Edward “Ike” Rose came to nearby Cedar Grove in 1873 and the same year moved to Wills Point, where they opened Rose Dry Goods Store. In 1884, Ike moved to Dallas and was a successful…

Rowden Cotton · 2012

ROWDEN COTTON THE W.O. ROWDEN FAMILY MOVED FROM GURLEY, ALABAMA TO VAN ZANDT COUNTY IN 1895 AND, IN 1898, THE FAMILY MOVED TO THE H.H. CARMACK PLACE JUST AT THE OUTER EDGE OF WILLS POINT. CARMACK RECEIVED A COTTON BOLL…

Brick Streets of Wills Point · 2013

IN THE EARLY 1920s, AN ATMOSPHERE OF GRATEFULNESS FOR THE END OF WORLD WAR I WAS PREVALENT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. IN WILLS POINT, A SENSE OF OPTIMISM AND INTEREST IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT LED TO THE FORMATION OF A CHAMBER…

Cartwright School · 2016

Provisions for the first African American public school in Wills Point were made around 1878. The school was located on the north side of Wills Point on what is now North Wills Street. In 1926, the school relocated to…

First National Bank of Wills Point

Shortly after the arrival of the railroad caused an economic boom in the Wills Point area, a private bank was founded by John E. Owens in 1879. It was granted a Federal bank charter in 1895. Following a state and…