History
Highland Cemetery
Established by 1894, this burial ground serves the Highland community. In the 1880s, pioneering farmers settled the area after construction of a road which allowed easier access to markets. In 1889, John and Elizbaeth Valentine deeded property for a school building, which would also serve as a place of worship for Methodist and Church of Christ congregations.
History
Hillcrest Cemetery
Located within the original 1850 town plat of Canton, this cemetery has served citizens of this area for well over a century. The oldest documented burial is that of Ann Calhoon (1807-1860). Among those buried here in marked and unmarked graves are Van Zandt County pioneers; veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II; and business and community leaders.
History
Holly Springs Cemetery
In 1860, Robert K. Gibbs donated three acres of land near this site for the establishment of Holly Springs Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Three years later, during the height of the Civil War, W. E. and Comelia J. Roberts deeded approximately three additional acres to create this community burial ground. The site has been enlarged over the years through later land acquisitions.
History
Jarman No. 1 Discovery Well
The Pure Oil Company conducted seismograph surveys in Van Zandt County in 1927 and that summer leased about 17,000 acres in the Van area for exploration. Core drilling began in January 1929, and the first derrick was erected in a cotton patch on the farm of W. T. Jarman (1856-1928). The flurry of activity in the area brought many curious onlookers.
History
John H. Reagan
John H. Reagan John Henninger Reagan was born in 1818 to Timothy Richard and Elizabeth Reagan in Sevier County, Tennessee. He worked at his father's tannery and on the family farm, attending school sporadically, until leaving the state in 1838. Reagan came in 1839 to Nacogdoches, Texas, where he met with Martin Lacy, Indian agent for the Cherokee Tribe in present day Cherokee and Smith Counties.
History
Jordans Saline
John Jordan established the community of Jordans Saline when he settled here in 1844 and joined with A.T. McGee in organizing a salt company. When Van Zandt County formed in 1848, Jordans Saline was named temporary county seat. Although the county seat moved in 1850, Jordans Saline continued to grow and by 1860, it had a thriving salt industry and other businesses.
History
Jose Francisco Calahorra y Saenz
During the Spanish colonial period in Texas, Jose Francisco Calahorra y Saenz (birth date unknown) served as a Catholic missionary to Native Texans. He began ministering in east Texas by 1730, and was well-respected by many Native Texans, who often relayed information to him about activities involving enemies of the Spanish.
History
Mars Community
Mars Community A settlement known as Mars flourished at this crossroads from the 1880s until about 1930. The intersection of the Tyler-Porter's Bluff Road (now FM 2339) and the Canton-Athens Road (now FM 773) provided a likely site for a community to develop.
History
Marvin Chapel Cemetery
This cemetery traces its origin to the Marvin Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, South, established here (in the pioneer community of Owlet Green) in the 1860s. The first recorded burial was that of Nannie E. Graham in 1872. However, deed records and unmarked grave sites in its oldest section suggest prior burials. In 1884, Amplias Smith donated 3 acres for cemetery use. William and J. E.
History
McKain Family Home
Built 1874 for Thomas J. and Mattie Cornelia Bagby McKain-- first couple married in Wills Point. McKain had come to Texas in 1870 from Florida; his bride, born in Virginia, was educated at Old Trinity University, Tehuacana. McKain (1849-1922), a merchant and Texas immigration promoter, served as the first (and also later) mayor of Wills Point, and was alderman and school trustee.
History
Mercer's Colony Eastern Boundary
In 1844 Charles Fenton Mercer led an effort to colonize an area in north central Texas equal to portions of 18 current Texas counties. His contract to settle 500 families in five years was complicated by various legal issues, but land certificates were ultimately issued to the settlers. Mercer severed all connections with the grant in 1852.
History
Mono School
Its name meaning "One," Mono school was established in 1895 after two smaller school districts, Elm Grove and Harper, were consolidated. Children in the farming communities of Roddy and Elm Grove attended classes here for over 50 years. At its peak, the school had four teachers and offered instruction through the tenth grade.
History
Morgan G. Sanders
Legislator Morgan Gurley Sanders was born near Ben Wheeler. He published newspapers, worked as journal clerk of the state senate and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas before winning a seat in the state legislature. His public service as a democratic politician included terms as a state legislator (1903-07), Van Zandt County attorney (1911-15), district attorney (1915-17) and U.S.
History
Morris Cemetery
The oldest documented burial in this cemetery is that of Sarah Morris (1807-1866). Sarah had come to Texas from Kentucky in 1857 with her husband Thomas Banister Morris and family. The land on which the cemetery is located was part of a farmstead which was purchased in 1886 by Elijah Newton Morris, son of Sarah and Thomas.
History
Old Bethel Cemetery
In 1858, William and Nancy Palmer deeded five acres of land for a Methodist church and cemetery. The oldest tombstone in the graveyard, that of six-month-old Isaac Willingham, also dates from that year. In 1895, the church building was removed from the property, leaving additional acreage for the cemetery. At that time, the burial ground acquired the name Old Bethel.
History
Old First National Bank Building
Built by Virgil Henson (1882-1967) and W. A. Covin (1871--1946) in 1909, this structure housed the First State Bank of Edgewood. Started by J. P. Downs (1879-1932), it later became the First National Bank. In 1918 a second floor was added, providing meeting space for the directors and a Masonic Lodge. In 1929 the Farmers and Merchants State Bank merged with First National.
History
Oran Milo Roberts
(July 9, 1815 - May 19, 1898) A South Carolina-born Alabama legislator, Oran M. Roberts came to San Augustine, Texas in 1841. He served in district and state judicial positions, including the first district court in Canon in 1850, and was president of the Secession Convention in 1861.
History
Poletown and Rhodesburg
The first documented mention of a settlement at this site, just west of Jordan's Saline, comes from an 1863 letter by Alice Merrifield. The community was mostly made up of people who fled west to escape the southern battle sites of the Civil War.
History
Prairie Springs Cemetery
Associated for many years with the Prairie Springs Methodist Episcopal Church, South, this cemetery dates to 1866, when the infant grandson of R. W. Berry was buried here. Berry formally deeded land for the graveyard in 1880, although several other burials took place here before that time. The Prairie Springs Church moved to the town of Ben Wheeler (2 mi.
History
Providence Community
Providence community, comprised mostly of small family farms, is located in the far northeast section of Van Zandt County, straddling the Smith County line. Since 1845, colonization of the area was encouraged with land grants, and many immigrants from the Southern states of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee came to own their own land.
History
Pure Oil Company Camp
During the late 1920s, geologists from the Pure Oil Company determined that the presence of oil in the Van area was likely. The company had previously leased 17,000 acres in order to harvest the commodity, and oil was discovered on October 14, 1929 on the farm of W.T. Jarman.
Civic & Local
Rose Fountain
German brothers B. W. and Isaac Edward 'Ike' Rose came to nearby Cedar Grove in 1873 and the same year moved to Wills Point, where they opened Rose Dry Goods Store. In 1884, Ike moved to Dallas and was a successful entrepreneur. B. W. remained in Wills Point. In 1916, Ike and Mayor Henry Gilchrist discussed a gift to the city.
Architecture
Roseland Plantation Home
Built 1854 by B. H. Hambrick, from Virginia. Headquarters for 3,000-acre property. Colonial architecture. Pegged mortise and tenon construction. Joists are 48-ft. timbers. Bricks were handmade on the plantation. Site, halfway between Dallas and Shreveport, at times served as overnight stagecoach stop and change station for horses. An early-day social center. Restored in 1954 by Mrs. W. C. Windsor.
History
Site of 1896 Van Zandt County Courthouse
In 1894, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court approved construction of a new brick courthouse at this site. Built between 1894 and 1896, it replaced a frame courthouse that had served the county since shortly after the Civil War. The noted San Antonio Architect J. Riely Gordon designed the 1896 courthouse in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
History
Site of Burial of Neal Martin
(1777-1879) Came to Texas from Kentucky in 1816. Hunted buffalo in Van Zandt County about 1839 and settled here later. Fought in Battle of San Jacinto during Texas War for Independence. Was later a member of Texas Rangers. Fought in Indian campaigns. Served in U.S. Army during Mexican War. (1968) Incising on base: Marker placed by great-granddaughter, Mrs. Edna Martin Pollard.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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