History
Antioch
A group of freedpersons established the Antioch Community when they organized Antioch Baptist Church in 1866. The congregation planted five other area churches between 1884 abd 1914, and served as a focal point of the settlement.
Quirky
Arnold Outhouse
Prominent Henderson businessman and civic leader John R. Arnold moved his family to this property in 1908. He added a second story to the home (razed in 1966) that already existed at the site. He also built a number of structures around the property, including this outhouse.
History
Baysinger Cemetery
In 1839, not long after bringing his family to Texas from Tennessee, Martin Baysinger (1808-1904) received a 640-acre land grant near here. He established a plantation that included a grist mill, brick making pit, syrup mill, cotton gin, "big house," general store and post office.
History
Bethel Cemetery
This burial ground, named for the community that organized near Bethel Springs, was associated with a school and Methodist church. The earliest marked grave dates to 1879, although it is believed there are earlier interments. Features include Woodmen of the World monuments and vertical stones.
Civic & Local
Blossom Hill United Methodist Church
Blossom Hill United Methodist Church was established in 1879, when Mr. and Mrs. L.H. Patterson donated the first church property. The church was first known as Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church and was the first church established in the Chapman community. Chapman was named for the Henry Chapman family.
History
Brachfield
This rural community has been known by many names. First called Gibsontown, it changed to Murval when a post office operated from 1853 to 1866. During the 1890s, The Rusk County News labeled the locale Needmore, and a hotel and school soon opened.
History
Buckner Cemetery
John S. Buckner (1806-1870), his wife, Mariah T. (d. 1874), and their two sons, Arthur Washington (1828-1894) and Mumford Jackson (1831-1872), traveled from Georgia and settled in this area before 1850. As the family and community grew, this site was set aside as a burial ground. John was one of the first to be laid to rest here in 1870.
History
Campground Cemetery
The Mt. Zion Baptist Association, composed of thirteen area Baptist churches, was organized on this property in 1857. The cemetery's name is derived from the use of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church sanctuary and grounds as a campsite by Confederate General John A. Wharton's Cavalry troop in 1864-1865.
History
Clinton Lodge No. 23, A. F. & A. M.
Chartered on Jan. 16, 1845, this Masonic Lodge shared a two-story building with the First Methodist Church for a number of years. A lodge building constructed at Depot and North Main in 1868 was also used for public school classes.
Architecture
Dennard Home
A native of Missouri, Augustus "Gus" Dennard (d. 1933) came to Texas with his parents in 1883. A leader in the Concord community, Dennard was a merchant, farmer, and blacksmith. He operated a forge on part of the land he purchased in 1901. A year later, he completed this home for his family.
History
East Texas Musical Convention
Sacred harp (fasola) singing is based on a system of shaped notes, dispersed harmony and minor chords. In its origins it was rural, folk, religious music that allowed singers to interpret, or personalize, the sounds. Brought westward by migrating settlers and kept alive through special songbooks, it found a welcome home in east Texas, where many settlers were from the south.
History
Gaston Public School Complex
An oil boom here in the early 1930s prompted the formal organization of the Gaston Independent School District in 1931 to cope with the community's rapidly expanding student population. The district chose Dallas architects Emory White and Howard DeFee to design both an elementary and a 2-story high school building.
History
General James Smith
Park named for General James Smith (Sept. 10, 1792-Dec. 25, 1855) On this hill, as he wished for burial in sight of courthouse is grave of General James Smith, co-founder of Henderson. A south Carolina native, he fought for the U.S. in War of 1812. Moved to Texas 1835. Returned to U.S. to raise troops for Texas War of Independence.
History
George W. Burton
(May 17, 1848 - Jan. 26, 1933) A native of South Carolina and a Confederate veteran, George W. Burton migrated to Rusk County, Texas, about 1880. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1915 to 1921. During his three legislative terms, he participated in the impeachment of Governor James Ferguson, mobilization for World War I, and creation of the State Highway Department.
History
Glenfawn Cemetery
Cemetery was begun after the death of Julien Sidney Devereux (1805-56), with the remains of his father, John W. Devereux (1769-1847), and an infant son reinterred soon after. Called Devereux and Sand Field, the plot served nearby Forest Hill community ( 1 mile N), site of academy founded by Devereux in 1850.
Architecture
Hardeman-Griffin House
Constructed in 1884 for Mr. and Mrs. John S. Hardeman, this home was purchased in 1918 by H. L. and Nellie Griffin. Both Hardeman (1852-1925) and Griffin (1860-1947) were Henderson businessmen. The house, which exhibits elements of the Eastlake and colonial revival styles of architecture, features ornamental woodwork in the exterior gables. It remained in the Griffin family for more than 40 years.
History
Harmony Hill Cemetery
The original two acres of land on which this cemetery is located were donated by John W. Kuykendall in 1852. At the time of the cemetery's founding a large rock marked the grave of J. W. Hall, who was buried here in 1844. His is the oldest grave in the cemetery.
History
Henderson
Founded as the county seat for the newly created county of Rusk in 1843, Henderson was named for Republic of Texas pioneer and statesman James Pinckney Henderson, who would later become the first Governor of the State of Texas. Land for the town was donated by W. B.
Transport
Henderson Depot
On June 1, 1877, the first train of the Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad arrived here. Only a freight-loading platform was built at that time. The depot was finished by 1901 and the warehouse added in 1909. A Fairbanks 1-and-1/2-ton scale was installed in the floor of the warehouse in 1917.
History
Howard-Dickinson House
First brick home in county. Built 1855 by brothers, David P. and Jas. Logan Howard, settlers from Richmond, Va. The Howards made bricks with mud mill and later with a patented machine and kiln on the premises. (Howard bricks and carpentry went into the old courthouse on Square-- and most of the city's major construction in later 1800s.
History
John Strong and Mary Ann (Whatley) Strong
Georgia natives John (1806-1854) and Mary Strong (1809-1898) migrated to Texas about 1849 and were pioneer settlers of eastern Rusk County. They helped set aside land for the local Methodist congregation, the Church Hill Male and Female Academy, which operated in the 1850s, and this cemetery. Their home was located near a spring east of this site.
History
John T. C. Patrick Home
In 1854 John Campbell Patrick (1814-68), his wife, Eleanor Stephenson (Currence), and their five children came from South Carolina with Patrick's brothers and other families. Patrick bought 335 acres here on Shreveport Road in 1855 and built a log house that became the center of the Patrick Community. The settlement grew to include a gin, grist mill, schoolhouse, and church building.
History
Joiner No. 3 Daisy Bradford
East Texas Oil Field Discovery Well. Discovery genius was C. M. (Dad) Joiner, 70-year-old Oklahoman who for years believed there was oil in Rusk County. Driller was E. C. Laster. Crew: Dennis May, Dave Cherry, Glenn Pool, Jim Lambert and Dave Hughes. Joiner's 2 early efforts failed-- one with a jammed bit, one with the drill pipe stuck. The rig was next skidded 300' down slope.
History
Joseph Charles Miszner
Professor of Music. (July 9, 1822 - September 11, 1918) Born in kingdom of Prussia. Known as a pupil of composer Franz Liszt and a graduate of Leipzig Conservatory. Came to America in 1845; was naturalized in 1860 (Vol. H, page 408), Probate Records, Rusk County, Texas). A composer and teacher of music and languages, he became a large landowner and respected citizen of Henderson.
History
Judge William Wright Morris
(1805-1883) Born in Halifax County, North Carolina, William Wright Morris moved with his family to Coosa County, Alabama, in 1840. He taught school, studied law, and was elected judge. In 1847 he brought his mother, widowed sister Martha (Morris) Spivey, her three children, and family slaves to Henderson. The judge practiced law and built a fine plantation home (3 mi. NW) for the family.
Elsewhere in Texas
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