History
Paris
This site marks the first call for survey of the city of Paris, Republic of Texas, 1844. Geo. W. Wright, early settler, soldier in Texas War for Independence, congressman of the Republic, donated 50 acres of land for Lamar County Seat. Plat of lots, blocks and streets was drawn, and from that beginning grew the present city.
History
Paris Cotton Compress
In the early 1880s, cotton began to dominate Texas agriculture as a principal cash crop, with over two million cultivated acres producing 800,000 bales of cotton per year. With the 1876 arrival of the first railroad line to Paris, local businessmen John Martin, W. B.
History
Paris Fire Department
Fire protection in Paris dates to the early 1870s, when a group of businessmen led by Willet Babcock organized a volunteer fire company. Known as Phoenix Fire Company No. 1, the volunteer unit continued in operation until the city created a paid fire department in 1908.
History
Paris Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M.
The 1845 charter establishing Paris Lodge No. 27 was the last charter issued by the Grand Lodge of Texas during the Republic of Texas period. The lodge was organized by George W. Wright, founder of Paris, as a refuge for transient immigrant Masons. Over the years members have met at numerous locations in Paris before building a hall at this site in 1985. Paris Lodge No.
History
Paris Public Schools
Although attempts to provide a public school system in Paris were made as early as 1877, it was not until 1884 that the system as it is known today was organized. Under the strong leadership of Mayor John C. Gibbons, W. B. Aikin, E. L. Dohoney, and Travis Henderson, the city council appointed a board of trustees to supervise the first full session of the newly organized school system.
History
Robert Cooke Buckner
(January 3, 1833 - April 9, 1919) Outstanding Baptist minister. Born in Tennessee, he moved to Texas 1859, and became pastor of this congregation in 1861. A new church building was erected here, and through his guidance, the congregation grew. First Baptist "Ladies Aid" group in Texas was founded here, 1861. In 1873, Dr. Buckner resigned to edit the publication "Religious Messenger.
History
Rockford Church and Cemetery
Before April 1864 church was founded by Cumberland Presbyterians, with the Rev. W. W. Havanaugh as pastor. Congregation affiliated in 1925 with Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.; and in 1958 was dissolved. Cemetery was opened as early as 1874; has more than 1,000 graves. (1972)
Architecture
Scott Mansion
This Paris landmark was built between 1908 and 1910 for the family of prominent businessman Rufus Fenner Scott, Sr. (1848-1932). Designed by German-born architect J. L. Wees, who is responsible for many of the town's civic and commercial buildings, the Scott Mansion exhibits a combination of art nouveau and Dutch renaissance styling.
History
Shady Grove Cemetery
Shady Grove Cemetery According to an account by Dr. J.E. Fuller (1862-1940), as reported by local historian Ed H. McCuistion (1867-1946) in a 1921 column in The Paris News, the first person buried here was a youth with the surname of Young who became ill and died while in the company of a Captain Beauchamp on Tollet's Prairie in 1844.
History
Site of Lafayette
Site of Lafayette -- First county seat of Lamar County - A clapboard courthouse was built by John Lovejoy on 40 acres donated by John Watson - Here court was held June, 1841, to June, 1843 - John A. Rutherford, chief justice; John R. Craddock, county clerk -- Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Site of Shelton's Fort
In 1837 Jesse Shelton (1782-1855) built a log house and stockade at this site. It served as a way station for pioneer travelers and a stronghold for settlers fleeing Indian raids. Shelton's Fort was designated a Republic of Texas Post Office in 1840. It was also the site of Methodist worship services.
Nature
Smiley-Woodfin Native Prairie Grassland
This meadow, approximately 2100 acres, is the largest section of native grassland existing in Texas. It was originally part of a prairie system that stretched throughout the Midwestern United States and into Canada. Since the earliest settlers arrived in this area in the 1830s, when Texas was part of Mexico, this grassland has remained uncultivated, providing an annual harvest of native grasses.
History
St. Joseph's Hospital
In 1911 the Catholic bishop of Dallas, Joseph Patrick Lynch (1872-1954), beseeched the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word to administer St. Joseph's Infirmary in Paris. The congregation, based in San Antonio and experienced in hospital care, dispatched six Sisters by train. They arrived in Paris in August, and began refurbishing the 2-story, 16-room frame infirmary on this site.
History
The Historic Persimmon Grove and Capt. Hill's Military Camp
Up to 1860, pioneers found here a grand 100-square-mile prairie overgrown with high grass. The grove of persimmons 100 yards west of this spot formed an island on the north-central edge of the prairie. The locality's only trees, the persimmon grove was a gathering place where settlers swapped news or livestock and followed other casual pursuits.
History
The Paris Fire, 1916
Although Paris was founded in the mid-1840s, many of its historic structures were lost in a fire that destroyed almost half the town in 1916. The blaze started about five o'clock on the afternoon of March 21, 1916, at the S. J. Long Warehouse near the southwest city limits. Its cause is unknown, but one theory is that a spark from a switch engine ignited dry grass near the warehouse.
History
Travis Clack Henderson
One of eight children, Travis Clack Henderson was born in Alabama on June 24, 1836 to John Henry and Minerva Bernard Henderson. In 1856, he moved to Paris, Texas, and established himself as a farmer. He joined the local militia in 1860. During the Civil War, he served with the 32nd Dismounted Texas Cavalry as Captain and staff officer, and became a prisoner of war in 1864.
Nature
Tridens Prairie
In 1841, when Zacharia Westfall was granted 1280 acres of land in this area, much of the northeastern region of Texas was covered with natural prairies. Over the years most of them have been plowed or destroyed. Tridens Prairie, which covers 97 acres of Westfall's original grant, is an undisturbed remnant of the blackland prairie that now is under preservation management.
Transport
Union Station
Attempts to bring rail service to Lamar County began in the mid-1800s, but a line did not reach the city of Paris until one was built to the south side of town in 1875. Residents raised money to entice the St. Louis & San Francisco (Frisco) to extend its line to Paris from the north, and the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe to extend from Galveston from the southeast. The lines met here in 1887.
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.
