History
Antioch Cemetery and Old Antioch Church of Christ
This church and cemetery, dating back to the first years of Texas statehood, were established between 1846 and 1848. The church, First Church of Christ in Lamar County, was founded by Elder Thomas Barrett of Titus County. Instrumental in the organization was the pioneer family of Mrs.
Architecture
Atkinson-Morris House
Built about 1890 by Jethro D. Atkinson, bank director and owner of Paris' first shoe store. Bought 1910 by social leaders, Dr. Eugene Felder Morris and wife Elizabeth. A fine example of Victorian style prevailing here before the great 1916 Paris fire. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972
History
Biardstown School
The history of schools in Biardstown is closely associated with the Biard family, early settlers of the area. The first school in the community was in the log home of William Washington Biard. In 1867 John Wilson Biard, son of William Biard, and his wife Lizzie donated land for a schoolhouse. It was replaced by a second building in 1885.
History
Burial Site of John S. Chisum
(1824-1884) Cattle baron whose herds, moving from east to west Texas and into New Mexico, expanded into one of the greatest cattle spreads in the west. Coming from Tennessee to Paris, 1837, Chisum joined S. K. Fowler in a cattle venture in Denton County, 1854. During the Civil War, he supplied beef to Confederate troops west of the Mississippi and his cowboys guarded the frontier against Indians.
Military
Camp Maxey
Recognizing in 1940 that hosting peacetime draftees might revive the county's economy, the city of Paris sent a request for the army to build a training camp here. The local American Legion acquired land options. Delegations from the Chamber of Commerce of Lamar County received initial support, but Congressman Lyndon Johnson moved the planned camp to his district at Bastrop. In response U. S.
History
Capt. Wm. E. Moore Home
Old Southern style homestead, 1871. 1 1/2 stories. Built by soldier, statesman, citizen, Capt. Wm. E. Moore and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth Neal. During Civil War, Capt. Moore commanded "Shreveport Grays." In 1872, won race for state senator, after campaign when he shared buggy with rival. Held office in administration of Governor Richard Coke, which marked end of Reconstruction in Texas.
History
Central National Road of the Republic of Texas
Designed as a military highway, intended to make linkage with United States military road built to the north of the Red River in the 1820s. This was part of the national effort of Republic of Texas to open a good road system.
History
Central Presbyterian Church
This congregation, established during the Republic of Texas period, was organized as the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church on November 4, 1844, by the Rev. Samuel J. Corley, a circuit-riding minister. The first church building was erected in 1847. Under the leadership of the Rev. C. J. Bradley the church built a new sanctuary in 1859 at a site near downtown Paris.
History
Evergreen Cemetery
The Evergreen Cemetery is the final resting place for many notable citizens of Paris and Lamar County. Due to the steady growth of the area, the old cemetery of Paris, located near the center of town, quickly became too small. In 1866, the Evergreen Cemetery Association was chartered by well-known community leaders to purchase land for cemetery purposes.
History
First National Bank of Paris
Organized and opened for business at its present location in 1886 by William J. McDonald (1844-1926), Civil War veteran and lawyer. Earlier he had opened the Citizens Bank of Clarksville and in 1889 he established a Delta County Bank. Under his shrewd leadership the banks prospered. Although careful in the granting of loans, he was also lenient about their repayment and seldom foreclosed.
Architecture
First Presbyterian Church
Organized 1861 by the Rev. John Anderson. Odd Fellows Seminary and a downtown shop were sites of early worship. Congregation built first sanctuary in 1874. Architects for this church (built 1891) were L. B. Volk and Son. Contractor: W. R. Eubanks. Romanesque style building is of Carthage stone; has stained glass windows from Belgium.
History
George Washington Stell, Sr.
(1793 - Dec. 12, 1870) A veteran of the War of 1812, Virginia native George W. Stell, Sr. came to Texas in the late 1830s. A farmer, surveyor, and builder, he constructed the first courthouse in Paris after it was named the Lamar County Seat in 1844. Stell, who was deaf, also surveyed the route of the Central National Road for the Republic of Texas Congress.
History
Home of Sam Bell Maxey
Native Kentuckian. West Point graduate. Brevetted for gallantry in Mexican War. District attorney from Lamar County, Major General C. S. A. in Tennessee and Mississippi campaigns, commander of Indian Territory 1863-1865 organizing three brigades of Indians which participated in Red River Campaign, Cavalry division commander, U. S. Senator 1875-1887. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Paris.
History
J. W. Harrison & Son
John Winn Harrison (1865-1940) came to Paris from Alabama in 1886. Working as a carpenter for several years, he formed a construction company in partnership with Cornelius G. Caviness in the 1890s. Becoming an independent contractor about 1913, he played a major part in rebuilding the city after a disastrous fire in 1916.
Architecture
Judge Wm. Henry Lightfoot House
Built 1876 by Judge Wm. Henry Lightfoot, veteran of Forrest's Cavalry in Civil War; law partner of Gen. (and U. S. Senator) Sam B. Maxey. Lumber was hauled from Jefferson. Has square nails. Wide board pine floors are pegged. Water well beneath back porch. Restored by Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers Coleman. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
History
Lamar County
Created December 17, 1840 from Red River County. Organized in 1841. Named in honor of Mirabeau B. Lamar, 1798-1859. Father of Texas education. President of the Republic of Texas 1838-1841. Lafayette, 1841, Mount Vernon, 1843, Paris, originally called Pinhook, 1844, have served as county seat.
History
Lamar County Fair
Five Paris businessmen founded the Lamar County Fair Association in 1911: Guy S. Caldwell (1875-1937), C. J. Musselman (1884-1951), John C. Gibbons (1895-1936), Rube Wells (1859-1951), and Dr. M. L. Maxwell (1865-1939). Each of the men invested one hundred dollars to begin the venture, and Henry Clement loaned them property on which to erect fair buildings.
Military
Lamar County, C. S. A.
Of uneasy border of Indian Territory in the Civil War. A military transport center, on the Old Central National Road surveyed in 1844 by the Republic of Texas, to run from San Antonio, crossing Red River north of Paris. A rich farming area. Lamar County gave much food to the Confederacy, despite unrest over rumors of Federal invasion from the north.
History
Lee Cemetery
Herbert J. Lee of Virginia moved to this area by 1859. One-year-old Georgiannia W. Derrick died in 1860 and was buried on the Lee property. Herbert Lee designated the land for a cemetery in his 1865 will. At some time after May 1908, two stones were erected bearing the names of George W. and William B. Derrick, who died in 1831.
Architecture
Lightfoot-Coleman House
Alabama native Henry William Lightfoot a Confederate veteran of Forrest's Cavalry, came to Paris in 1872 as a law partner of Sam Bell Maxey. Two years later, he married Maxey's adopted daughter, Dora Rowel Maxey, and soon the young couple had this house built across the street from the Maxey home.
Architecture
McCuistion Home
Built 1858 as story and a half home by early doctor, A. S. Johnson. Remodelled 1907. Occupied in 1916 by Dr. L. P. McCuistion (1869-1947), 57 years a physician, who founded the sanitarium of Paris in 1914 and led in development of Paris as a hospital center. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
History
Moore's Springs Cemetery
Levin Vinson Moore (1809-1899) brought his family to this area from Tennessee in 1836. They established a farmstead near a natural spring, and soon were joined by eleven other families from the southern United States. The earliest marked graves in this cemetery, which started on the Moore farm, date to 1873.
History
Mt. Canaan Baptist Church
Following emancipation, several Paris black free men and women formed informal congregations to practice their new spiritual rights. These former slaves found Baptist theology, with its egalitarian notion of redemption and informal nature of worship, especially appealing. Mt.
History
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
The trustees of the Mt. Pleasant Church purchased this property from the McGill Community School for one dollar in 1895. Many burials here pre-date that purchase but the earliest marked grave is that of 4-year-old Sammie Bryan who died in 1874. There are 449 marked graves within the cemetery's two acres.
History
Old Cemetery of Paris
The old city cemetery is located on land once owned by George Washington Wright (1809-1877), founder of the city of Paris. The oldest grave here is said to be that of a free black man who worked for Wright. Although the stone is illegible, the date is thought to be 1845. The oldest legible stone marks the grave of Thomas Wortham (1776-1846).
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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