Historical Markers in Kaufman County
Texas·65 places·Page 2 of 3
History
Huff-Park House
Built 1889 by W. L. Huff; bought 1892 by Dr. J. W. Park (1855-1941). Born in Texas, Park studied at Louisville (Ky.) Medical College. As doctors were scarce, he was licensed in 1877, and practiced two years in Egypt (Tex.), then returned to take his degree in 1880. Locating in Kaufman, he engaged in active practice until the day before his death. He married Sallie Wiggins, 1883.
Architecture
John H. Corley Home
Built 1896 by John Neilson, a former shipbuilder. Many of the building materials were shipped to Jefferson, Texas, by boat, then here by railroad. Elaborate Victorian architecture. Curly pine and cypress stairway with three landings has unusual design.
History
Kaufman County
Created February 26, 1848; organized August 7, 1848; named in honor of David Spangler Kaufman 1812-1851; came to Texas in 1837 and located at Nacogdoches; member of the Texas Congress 1839-1845; Member of the United States Congress. Kaufman, the County Seat
History
Kaufman County Poor Farm
As did many Texas counties of the era, Kaufman County created a poor farm in 1883 in order to provide the indigent residents and families of the area with food, shelter, and medicine. This work program replaced earlier relief efforts.
History
Kaufman Lodge No. 726, A.F. & A.M.
The first Mason Lodge in Kaufman County, Bloomfield Lodge No. 112, was located in Kaufman. In times of heavy rain during the 1880s, the roads were impassable. For this reason 16 members petitioned for a lodge charter in the 8-year-old town of Scurry in 1890. A charter for Kaufman Lodge No. 726, A.F. & A.M., was issued December 11, 1891. The first officers were S.J. Modisett, Thomas Martin and J.
History
Kemp
Kemp This community can trace its origins to 1851, when the U.S. Postal Service approved a station named Kemp with Levi Noble as first postmaster. In the years prior to the Civil War, Kemp was primarily an agricultural community, providing goods and services for the surrounding farm families. Itinerant Presbyterian preacher R.O.
History
King's Fort
An early frontier fort of the Republic of Texas, King's Fort was built in June of 1840 by a survey party led by Warren A. Ferris, then Nacogdoches County surveyor. Dr. William P. King of Mississippi financed the expedition and accompanied Ferris. Because the fort was located on a favorite hunting ground for area Indians, settlement was delayed several years by fear of attacks.
History
Lawrence Cemetery
In 1873, soon after the Texas and Pacific Railroad built a line through this area, a group of investors formed the Texas Colony Association with the goal of promoting a town. Named for one of the company directors, the town of Lawrence was established and soon boasted numerous homes and businesses. This community cemetery began that same year with the burial of seven-month-old Katie D. Hibbler.
History
Locust Grove
Established in the 1800s, the Locust Grove community included a saw mill, three churches, a grocery store, a doctor's office and a school. In 1891, J. H. Muckleroy and W. B. Martin sold three acres to James F. Smith and W. J. Waggoner for a school, church and burial ground. Smith and Waggoner donated the land to trustees the following year.
History
Lone Oak Cemetery
In 1858 passing strangers lost a son by sudden death. Befriending them, Weaver A. Cotton (1822-96) provided gravesite at a tree near log school - church building. Later he gave community burial ground; deed was recorded 1883. Cotton and family and many other pioneers rest here. Incise on back: Marker sponsor: Lone Oak Cemetery Association
History
Mabank
Originally part of the George T. Walters Survey, this acreage in the 1840s and '50s belonged to many absentee landowners including Sam Houston. In 1887 John R. Jones, a merchant from nearby Goshen, and his wife Joella platted and developed a town called "Lawn City" (1 mi. NE). Soon a post office was established and the name changed to "Lawndale".
History
Marrs, S. M. N.
On January 2, 1862, Starlin Marion Newberry Marrs was born in Gauley Bridge, Fayette County, Virginia (now West Virginia). At 16, he began teaching in rural schools, working in coal mines to make ends meet. He moved to Texas in 1881, teaching in Erath County, Hico and Cleburne. He also earned a degree from Ohio's National Normal University, and wed Anna Hesup, also of West Virginia.
Architecture
McKellar House
Originally built in 1873 by landowner and merchant John Alexander McKellar (1813-1875), this house was remodeled to its current appearance by his son, B. Yancy McKellar (1859-1916) about 1902. Features of the colonial revival structure include two-story giant order columns with modified Ionic capitals on the north and west facades, stained glass windows, and a wraparound porch.
History
Mrs. William P. King
(Frances A. King) (Donor, Land for County seat, Kaufman County) Wife of founder of King's Fort (in 1840), Frances A. King pioneered with great courage and enthusiasm in Republic of Texas. After King's death in 1846, she later (as Mrs. Tabor) entered and won election of Kingsborough for county seat of newly organized Kaufman County.
History
Oakland Memorial Park
After Terrell was established as a railroad town in 1873, its citizens saw the need for a community burial ground. In 1878 John R. Terrell sold 7 acres of land for use as a cemetery, and the first burials were those of Peter Meinenger and Dr. G. W. Ridgell. In 1925 the Oakland Cemetery Association was founded to provide perpetual care for the gravesites.
History
Pleasant Grove Cemetery
James Monroe and Permelia Ann (Brizendine) Mathis came to the Combine area in about 1870, joining family already settled here. The couple had 12 children but not all lived to adulthood; eight-year-old Harriet (1864-1873) became the earliest burial in Pleasant Grove Cemetery.
History
Porter Farms
Birthplace of agricultural (cooperative) extension, under lead of Dr. Seaman A. Knapp, U.S. Department of Agriculture. On Feb. 26, 1903, from places offered, a special committee of citizens selected farm of Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Porter for first "farm demonstration". The project was highly successful in demonstrating methods of farming.
History
Prairieville
(site within Mercer Colony land grant) Established by colonizer Johan Reinert Reiersen (1810-64). The 1845 founder of Brownboro (Normandy) in present Henderson County, who settled here in 1847. Elise Tvede Waerenskjold, Reiersen's aide on his magazine "Norway and Texas", spurred migration by continuing to write for Norwegian journals.
History
Public Education in Terrell
On July 3, 1883, the citizens of Terrell voted overwhelmingly to establish and support a system of public schools. The first classes were held in September of that year in buildings that had previously been occupied by various private schools. In 1885, Terrell's first public school building, a three-story brick structure, was completed at the corner of Moore and Ann streets.
History
Pyle Prairie Cemetery
John Pyle, a veteran of the Republic of Texas Army, arrived in this area with his family in the 1850s. According to family tradition, this cemetery was begun in 1854 with the death of Pyle's son-in-law J. P. McFarland. The community which grew up in this area was known as Pyle Prairie, and the family graveyard eventually became a community cemetery as friends and neighbors were interred here.
Architecture
R. L. Warren House
Unusual mansion built 1904 by prominent residents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lee Warren. Architect was J. E. Flanders, Dallas; Keith & Co., Kansas City, stencilled interiors. House has 18 rooms, including a formal reception hall, two large drawing rooms, a conservatory; ten fireplaces; a basement and attic.
History
Robert A. Terrell
(February 22, 1820 - March 8, 1881) A native of Tennessee, Robert Adams Terrell lived in Kentucky, Missouri, and Louisiana before coming to the Republic of Texas about 1840. A farmer and surveyor by trade, he was commissioned to locate headright land grants in several North Texas counties, receiving vast amounts of land as payment.
Architecture
Robert A. Terrell Home
This house replaced the 1845 log cabin of Robert A. Terrell (1820-1881), a pioneer settler for whom the town was named. Built for him in 1864, it is one of the few remaining octagon-shaped houses in Texas. Since 1897 it has been associated with a succession of schools, including Texas Military College and Southwestern Christian College, which moved here in 1950.
History
Roddy Lodge No. 734, A.F. & A.M.
The community of Roddy (4 mi. NE) was established by Stephen G. Roddy in 1884. The Roddy Masonic Lodge was chartered on May 14, 1892. The 24 charter members included Worshipful Master S. G. Roddy and many former members of the lodge in Prairieville, located a few miles northwest of Roddy. Early lodge meetings were held on the second floor of the Stanhiser General Merchandise Store in Roddy.
History
Rose Hill Cemetery
Wild roses covered this hillside when settlers from Tennessee camped here in 1866. The land was first used as a burial site after a son of W. R. Dickey died on Aug. 14, 1866. Dr. James R. Stovall, leader of the pioneers, later donated the property. The farming community of Rose Hill grew up around the cemetery and combination store, school, and church building that stood nearby.
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