History
Capt. F. Marion Hastings
(Nov. 17, 1823 - April 25, 1905) Confederate veteran. Enlisting in 1861, Dade County, Mo., served under Generals Sterling Price, Joseph O. Shelby, J. S. Marmaduke, in raids in Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana. Surrendered June 13, 1865, at Shreveport. Moved to Texas in October 1865. Was a Franklin County commissioner, 1877-1881; county judge, 1886-1890. He married Harriet J.
History
Cypress Church and Cemetery
On August 28, 1851, the Associated Cypress Baptist Church was founded. The congregation constructed a meetinghouse on this property which belonged to Spencer Shearer. In 1862 he deeded the six-acre site to the congregation. the site also served as a burial ground. The bell tower was used to call neighbors to help with grave digging.
History
Franklin County
Formed from Titus County, created March 8, 1875; organized April 30, 1875. Named in honor of Benjamin C. Franklin, 1805-1873, hero of San Jacinto, district judge of the Republic of Texas, member of the Legislature. Mt. Vernon, county seat. (1936)
Architecture
Franklin County Courthouse
Mt. Vernon was established in 1849 on land donated by Stephen and Rebecca Keith, and a public square was surveyed in the 24-acre plat. When Franklin County was created in 1875, Mt. vernon was voted county seat, and a wooden building northeast of the square was used as the first courthouse. Lots on the block north of the square were soon purchased for $150 for a 2-story wooden jail costing $1,600.
Architecture
J. A. Drummond Farm Home
Application: Built between 1854 and 1857. This house and farm have been in the same family since the house was built. The shutters, outside columns, and porch banisters are original and are in excellent condition. (1963)
History
Joshua Foster Johnson
(September 27, 1824 - February 15, 1877) Came to Texas from Tennessee in 1845, settling (1846) near site of Mount Vernon, which he helped found (as town of Keith) in 1848. Member 3rd Texas Legislature (1849-50); sponsored Mount Vernon Male and Female Academies bill -- leading to public school system. Member Secession Convention, 1861; Constitutional Convention, 1875.
Architecture
Killingsworth Home
Built 1859. Originally whitewashed. Water well on porch. 2 double fireplaces. Restored 1939 by Killingsworth family. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
History
Pleasant Hill Methodist Church and Cemetery
About 1850, near a spring at the foot of this hill, early settlers of this area gathered for Methodist camp meetings. According to local tradition it was at one of these meetings that a lady's remark that "this is a pleasant place," resulted in Gideon edwards, the owner of the land, calling the site Pleasant Hill. The Rev.
History
Providence Cemetery
Established in 1845, Providence Cemetery served as a burial ground for the congregation of Providence Primitive Baptist Church. The church was organized in 1842 by William J. Caudle and his wife, Sarah Daffern Caudle. In the 1840s, churches provided both spiritual and social interaction. They also provided law and order in their own congregations.
History
Ripley Massacre
Ambrose Ripley and his wife Rachel (Wood) brought their family to Texas in 1837, settling near here in what was then Red River County. They established their home near the Nacogdoches Road (Cherokee Trace) and a stream now known as Ripley Creek. On April 10, 1841, while Ripley was away, a band of Indians attacked his farmstead, killing first his eldest son who was plowing in the field. Mrs.
History
Rockhill Cemetery
This burial ground served the farming community of Rockhill, settled after the Civil War (1861-65). The high childhood mortality rate of that era accounts for many graves here. Earliest known burial was Mary Hitchens, who died about 1875 at age 12. Oldest dated stone marks the grave of two-year-old Willie Terrell (d. 1881) Of the 148 known graves, 90 are unmarked.
History
Rutherford Drugstore
Oldest business in Mt. Vernon, opened in 1869 by John Griffith Lock Rutherford (1851-1936), Texas-born great grandson of American Revolution general for whom a Tennessee county was named. Young Rutherford began by handling a small line of drugs in the Ruth Pattillo & Co. Mercantile store, went into store of his own at present site in 1877. Postmaster of the town (Lone Star, renamed Mt.
Architecture
The Wright-Vaughan House
Residence of Mt. Vernon's first physician, William C. Wright (1820-1890), a North Carolinian who married Mary Rutherford in Tennessee and moved here in 1850. About 1870, Dr. Wright built this house, making earlier home into hospital. (It was so used until 1945.) Dr. and Mrs. Wright gave (1889) this house to youngest daughter, Jennie (Mrs.
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.
