History
Palestine Fire Department
Palestine, founded 1846, acquired fire department when International & Great Northern Railroad extended line here in 1872. Early fire-wagon was horse-drawn flatbed loaded with hose. Motor truck and city water were introduced 1918. Bell from 1895 hangs in front. (1972)
History
Palestine High School
A public school system in Palestine was established in 1881 under control of the municipal government. The first classes were held at the old Palestine Female Institute (built in 1858), then a high school was built in 1888 at the Institute site on Avenue A. In 1915 voters passed a $100,000 bond issue for a new high school.
History
Palestine Lodge No. 31, A. F. & A. M.
Established on November 21, 1846, the Palestine Masonic Lodge is one of the oldest organizations in Anderson County. Established by 22 charter members meeting under a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Texas, the group was officially chartered as Lodge No. 31 in 1848.
Architecture
Palestine Post Office and Federal Building
Land at this site was purchased in 1907 from St. Philip's Episcopal Church for a new post office for Palestine. Architects Deacon Armiger and Dunplap, under the supervision of U. S. Treasury architect James Knox Taylor, drew the plans, and construction took place between 1911 and 1913.
History
Palestine Salt Works C. S. A.
Located 6.5 miles southwest. During the Civil War this salt works was assigned to produce salt for the Confederacy at a fixed price of eight dollars for a hundred-pound sack. Private customers from East Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana often paid twenty dollars for a sack. Producing salt was slow, tedious work. Salt water was taken from wells spread over a distance of three-fourths of a mile.
History
Paul L. Rutledge, Sr.
(1904 - 1961) A graduate of Prairie View A&M College, prominent educator Paul Rutledge, Sr., also attended Tuskegee Institute and Atlanta University. He served as principal of Flint Hill High school near Neches from 1933 to 1937, and Green Bay High School at Tucker from 1937 to 1942. In 1942 he became a Texas Education Agency area supervisor for vocational agriculture.
History
Pennybacker-Campbell-Wommack House
"Silk Stocking Row" Victorian residence built in 1890. Noted as family home of Mrs. Percy V. Pennybacker (1861-1938), teacher, author of widely-used school history of Texas, first Texan President General Federation Women's Clubs. Purchased 1900 by Thomas M. Campbell (1856 - 1923), famous lawyer, banker, Governor of Texas in 1907-11. Enlarged by Gov.
Architecture
Pine Lodge Club House
Built by business leaders who in 1880s patronized Mineral Wells Hotel at spa in Elkhart, a nearby resort. After wells failed, group moved here, organized lodge, built (1907) this club house with wide fireplace, large rooms, long verandas. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967
History
Providence Church and Cemetery
On March 20, 1858, W. T. Miller deeded eight acres of land here "to trustees Lemuel Mullins, Chairman, D. Capp and Wm. Webb, for school purposes and burial ground." W. M. Hardy added a half-acre to even north line. These gifts met a pressing need for a central place to educate the children in this farmland area.
History
Purvey Lee (P.L.) Chism
P.L. Chism's devotion to education was unsurpassed. From the time of his youth, through his many years as a teacher, principal, superintendent and supervisor, he never stopped challenging himself and others for education. Purvey Lee Chism was born on August 27, 1893, in Covin, Alabama, to James W. Chism, a school teacher, and his wife, Lela Dickinson Chism. P.L.
History
Robert (Bob) Knight
As a coach of athletics and a youth mentor, Robert (Bob) Knight positively influenced the lives of countless Palestine citizens. He was born in Iredell (Bosque County) in 1909, the last of eight children of William and Missouri Jane (Hand) Knight. His mother died when he was three, and his father, unable to provide for his children, admitted them to the state orphans home at Corsicana.
History
Roy B. Wallace
Roy B. Wallace was born in Coolidge, Limestone county, on October 13, 1901, to Benjamin C. Wallace, Sr. And Mae McCoy Wallace. Roy attended school in rural Limestone County and attended Texas Christian University prior to earning his bachelor's degree in music from Baylor University in 1925. He also did graduate work at Stephen F. Austin State University and Sam Houston State University.
Architecture
Sacred Heart Church
Successor to 1874 Church of St. Joseph, built on site given by International & Great Northern Railway, and destroyed by fire in 1890. This building of handmade brick was begun later that year; Nicholas J. Clayton of Galveston was the architect. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964
History
Seven Oaks (Mallard-Alexander House)
Built in 1848 as the home of Judge John B. Mallard, first lawyer in Palestine. Became the home of Judge William Alexander of 1857. Alexander was Chief Justice of Anderson County 1860-1865, and a trustee of the first school in Palestine. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
History
Site of Four Pines School
In 1911 school trustees D. Barry, C. F. Everett, and W. L. Pickle purchased one acre of land here to establish a school. An old tobacco barn at this site was converted for use as a schoolhouse. The school was named for four prominent pine trees near the school entrance. By 1918 the barn/school building had been razed and replaced with a 3-room frame schoolhouse.
History
Site of Henry High School
Despite adverse conditions, African Americans in Texas in the late 19th century worked hard to provide their children with an education. Students in this area attended Mt. Moriah, Boxes Creek, Beulah, Washington Chapel, Union Hope and New Mt. Zion schools.
History
Site of Knox Glass Company Plant
In 1941, Chester Underwood of Pennsylvania-based Knox Glass Bottle Co. called Jim Keller, a company representative in Texas, with plans for a new plant. Product demand in the western United States for bottling and canning operations had increased, and Underwood asked Keller to scout locations for a plant with good rail access.
History
Site of Lincoln High School
In 1891, the first high school for African American students in Palestine opened in the mission church on San Jacinto Street. Four years later, the school moved to this site and became known as Lincoln High School. The first class graduated from Lincoln in 1896. Originally a four-room building, the schoolhouse was expanded over time to accommodate increasing enrollment.
History
Site of McKnight Plaza
James B. McKnight moved to Anderson County in 1848. In 1876 and 1879, he bought land at this site from J.H. Mead. Here, he operated a saddlery and farrier business. McKnight died in 1907, and in 1910, the property was sold to the Farmers and Citizens Bank, which had been established by African American businessmen in 1906. The block here became known as McKnight Plaza.
History
Site of Northeast Texas Christian Theological and Industrial College
(about one mile north) Led by the Rev. A.J. Hurdle, the Northeast Texas Christian Missionary Convention of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was formed in Daingerfield in 1900. Established to serve black members of the denomination, its primary purpose was the creation of a college.
History
Site of Old Magnolia
(one-half mi.S) Founded in 1840s as a ferrying point on the Caddo Trace; later became a major landing for flatboats and steamers on the Trinity River, where cotton and other products were shipped by a four-day trip to Galveston to be exchanged for flour, salt, and sugar.
History
Site of Palestine Service Men's Club, World War II
Since 1872, the railroad has been a defining aspect of Palestine. During World War II, with the town more than a hundred miles from the nearest military installation, the railroad gave local citizens the opportunity to show their support to trainloads of soldiers passing through the city.
History
Site of St. Mary's Academy
The arrival of the railroad in Palestine brought many workers, several of whom were Catholic who wanted religious instruction for their children. St. Mary's Academy began in 1882 when Mother St. Andrew Felton, Superior General of the Sisters of Divine Providence located at Castroville, Texas, sent three sisters to establish religious education here.
History
Site of the Kickapoo Battlefield
Here General Thomas J. Rusk with 200 Texans on October 16, 1838, attacked a band of hostile Indians and allied Mexicans, molestors of frontier settlements, and routed them.
Military
Site of the McClean Massacre
Daniel McLean and John Sheridan, expert Indian fighters employed by the settlers as guides and protectors, were killed here in 1837. By holding the savages in check until the settlers could escape, both sacrificed their lives.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
