History
"Los Ojos de Padre Margil" ("The Eyes of Father Margil")
A Franciscan missionary who spent almost 50 years with the Indians of Central and North America, Father Antonio Margil de Jesus (1657-1726) was born in Valencia, Spain, and came to the New World in 1683. He founded three Catholic colleges before joining the Domingo Ramon Expedition to East Texas in 1716.
History
1796 Spanish Colonial Rancho of Bernardo D'Ortolan
Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763, East Texas Spanish missions and presidio los adaes were closed and the inhabitants moved to San Antonio, but a group of settlers returned to the Nacogdoches area. Over the next few decades, the area thrived.
History
Ancient Mound
Mound Street got its name in the 18th century from mounds which lined it from Main to King Street. These were built by prehistoric Indians. Only this one remains. Pottery from a demolished mound that measured 150 by 75 feet is preserved in Old Stone Fort, Stephen F. Austin State College. (1966)
History
Angelina
Angelina (Angelica) was a woman of the Hasinai Caddo (Tejas) nation who grew up in Monclova, Coahuila and at the Spanish Presidio San Juan Bautista south of the Rio Grande. According to European accounts, she was baptized a Catholic and learned to speak fluent Castilian Spanish.
Architecture
Austin Building
Efforts by Texas Legislators in 1917 to improve the quality of public education in Texas resulted in provisions to establish colleges in East Texas and South Texas. Nacogdoches was chosen over 27 other towns to become home to the new East Texas College. Historian A. W. Birdwell was chosen president of the institution. This building, designed by architect W. E. Ketchum and named after Stephen F.
History
Bethel Cemetery
The Bethel Cemetery has served the community of Appleby since the 1880s. The burial ground's name comes from the Bethel community, which developed in the late 19th century as the focal point of what would become Appleby. By 1878, residents established a church and school in the area.
History
Birdwell Field, Aikman Gym and the Women's Recreation Center
When Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College was funded in 1921, the Texas legislature only authorized one building--the Austin Building, known as "Old Main". President Alton W. Birdwell recognized the importance for extra curricular venues for the college and the region, and immediately began planning to meet these needs.
Architecture
Burrows - Millard House
Confederate veteran Elijah M. Burrows (1844-93) built the rear portion of this pioneer farmhouse before he married Mary Josephine (Molly) Millard (1848-1901) in 1867. Between 1869 and 1874, he added the rooms and porch across the front. Members of the Burrows family occupied the structure until 1972, when George Van Burrows gave it to Lera Millard (Mrs. Albert) Thomas, descendant of the builder.
Military
Camp Chireno, World War II P.O.W. Camp
During World War II, the Frost Lumber Co. (Nacogdoches) and the Angelina Lumber Co. (Lufkin) requested that the War Manpower Commission (WMC) establish Camp Chireno as a "permanent" branch of Camp Fannin (Smith County). The WMC leased private land and built the 30-acre compount west of here along Camp Road.
History
Captain Domingo Ramon
Captain Domingo Ramon (d. 1723) was the son of Captain Diego Ramon (d. 1724), the commandant of the Presidio San Juan Bautista (Presidio del Rio Grande). In 1715, the Spanish authorities appointed Domingo Ramon to establish a presidio and four missions in Tejas (present day East Texas).
History
Captain Hayden Arnold
Commanded the Nacogdoches Company at the Battle of San Jacinto Born in Tennessee, 1805 Died in 1839 Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Charles Standfield Taylor
Land Commissioner of Texas, 1833 A signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836 Chief Justice of Nacogdoches County, 1837 District Attorney, 1839 Rio Grande Land Commissioner, 1854 Born in London, England, 1808 Died November 1, 1865. His wife ANNA MARIA RUOFF TAYLOR Born in Germany, March 1, 1814 Died February 8, 1873. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Architecture
Chas. Hoya Land Office
Built in 1897 by Charles Hoya (1848-1926), son of Prussian immigrant Joseph T. von der Hoya, and long-time Nacogdoches County surveyor. Designed by Houston architect Frank E. Rue in Victorian style with Gothic revival details, this was the first fireproof building in Nacogdoches and served as a model for other local structures.
History
Chireno Lower Cemetery
Situated near El Camino Real de Los Tejas, on land granted in 1792 to Jose Antonio Chireno, the Chireno Community developed in the 1830s when Chireno's heirs sold tracts to incoming colonists, including Samuel Flournoy and Daniel H. Vail.
History
Cove Springs Cemetery
Named for three coves and their springs nearby, this cemetery was originally associated with a local Methodist church. In 1858, Daniel H. Vail deeded 30 acres of land to the congregation for school and church purposes, and a cemetery was also established there. The oldest documented grave is that of five-year-old Moses J.
History
Dr. Joseph William Kennedy, Jr
Dr. Joseph William Kennedy, Jr. was born in Nacogdoches on May 30, 1916 and graduated from Nacogdoches High School in 1932 as valedictorian. Kennedy attended Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College and, in 1935, received his B.A. degree in Chemistry with the highest grade point average of any student up to that time. Kennedy graduated from the University of Kansas in 1937 with an M.A.
History
Dr. Robert Anderson Irion
IRION Dr. Robert Anderson Irion Born in Paris Tenn., July 7, 1806 Died at Nacogdoches Tex., Mar. 2, 1861 Married Ann Raquet Mar. 20, 1810 Born in Philadelphia Pa. Jan. 25, 1819 Died at Overton Tex. Nov. 7, 1883 Senator in the First Congress of the Republic 1836-1837 Secretary of State 1837-1838 Erected by the State of Texas 1929
Architecture
Durst - Taylor House
The family of Andres de Acosta, who settled in Nacogdoches in 1779, owned this property as early as 1809. Acosta sold the property, which included a house to Joseph Durst (1789-1843) in 1827. Durst, who was Alcalde of Nacogdoches when he bought the property, sold it in 1836 to David Hoffman, then Alcalde. It included a house.
History
Fairview Church Cemetery
According to tradition, a small group of Nacogdoches-area Methodists came together before 1860 to organize a church, which they named Pine Grove. In the late 1870s, congregation members moved their small log building to a site in front of this cemetery. A.J. Muckleroy, in 1878, had donated two acres of land to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
History
Franciscan Friars in East Texas
Missionaries of the Franciscan order played an integral role in the administration of Spanish activities throughout Tejas (East Texas). In 1690, Father Damian Massanet (Mazanet) and Captain Alonso de Leon led an entrada to Tejas, and erected the first Spanish mission in the region, San Francisco de los Tejas. The second mission was Mission Santisimo Nombre de la Maria.
History
General Thomas J. Rusk
"[W side] Patriot Soldier [Seal of the State of Texas] Statesman Jurist RUSK [N & S sides blank] [E side] Erected by the state of TEXAS To the memory of GENERAL THOMAS J. RUSK Who fought for her liberty at San Jacinto Born in South Carolina Dec 5, 1808. Died at Nacogdoches, Texas July 29, 1857 He lived for Texas"
Architecture
Gingerbread House
Built about 1895. Victorian architecture. Heart pine and other fine materials used, including brass hardware. Many porches; carved skirt, fascia and cornice boards. Other ornate trim details. Restored by the C. V. Lindseys Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
History
Governor Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo
In 1719, Jose de Azlor y Virto de Vera, the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo (d. 1734), replaced Martin de Alarcon as Governor of Texas. His appointment coincided with war between Spain and France which prompted Aguayo to send an expedition to East Texas to secure its border with Louisiana.
History
Governor Martin de Alarcon in East Texas
Don Martin de Alarcon rose to the position of Governor of Texas in 1716. As governor he aimed to establish a secure presidio along the San Antonio River for the movement of goods to frontier missions and settlements. Despite the imperative nature of his plan, Alarcon remained at Presidio San Juan Bautista del Rio Grande through 1717.
History
Haden Edwards
Empresario Leader of the Fredonian Rebellion, 1826-27. Sent to the United States to raise funds for the Texas Revolution, 1836. A leader in the development of a nation. Born in Virginia August 12, 1771 Died August 14, 1849. His wife SUSAN BEALL EDWARDS Born in Maryland, April 10, 1774 Died April 6, 1849 Erected by the State of Texas 1936
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.
