History
Founding of Huntsville and of Historic Indian Post
Located here about 1830, this Indian post was established by Pleasant Gray, adventurer and pioneer from Alabama. Friendly Indians of East Texas had long used the nearby springs and they came to exchange agricultural products and pottery for hides, ponies, and cured meat brought by the western Indians.
History
George Washington Grant and Grant's Colony
Alabama native George Washington Grant (c. 1814-1898) and his brother, Egbert, moved to Texas in 1831. George and his wife, Mary Jane, having no children of their own, adopted a boy and girl and fostered numerous children. George was a successful entrepreneur, operating a stagecoach line between Huntsville and Waxahachie with Egbert, and also dealing in agriculture, lumber and real estate.
History
Henderson Yoakum
(September 6, 1810 - November 30, 1856) A graduate of the United States Military Academy (1832), Henderson Yoakum saw duty on frontiers and in the Mexican War. He practiced law and served in the Senate in his native Tennessee, moving to Texas in 1845. In Huntsville he became a civic leader and friend of Sam Houston.
Entertainment & Sports
Henry Opera House
Built in 1880 as lodge hall. First floor soon became a dry goods and grocery store, and second was made into a fine theater by owner, John Henry (1828-97). Here traveling troupes played Shakespeare and dramas of the times. Famous magician Hermann the Great made Texas debut here; and Blind Tom, self-taught Negro piano virtuoso, once performed on this stage.
History
Hezekiah Faris
A soldier who participated in Texans' victory at San Jacinto. Born in Virginia, brought up in Tennessee, Faris came to Texas to fight for colony's freedom, 1835. Locating bounty land for army service and his headright in this vicinity, he became a local leader and named Faris Chapel for his home church in Tennessee. He married Mrs. Matilda Stevens Roberts; children were Susan (Mrs.
History
Hillary Mercer Crabb
Georgia native Hillary Mercer Crabb, a veteran of the militia in his home state, moved his family to the Mexican state of Texas in 1830. While awaiting a land grant they settled in the Sabine District. From there Crabb joined the Texas militia and served in such action as the 1832 Battle of Nacogdoches. In 1835 he was granted property at this site.
History
Houston, Margaret Moffette Lea
(April 11, 1819 - December 3, 1867)Margaret Moffette Lea was born on her family's farm in Pleasant Valley, near Marion, Alabama. She graduated from Judson Female Institute in Marion in 1837, and in 1839 she met General Sam Houston. Houston, who had completed his term as the first President of the Republic of Texas, was visiting Alabama for business ventures.
History
Huntsville "Walls" Unit
(Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville) The Republic of Texas Congress passed a law to establish a prison system in 1842, but it wasn't until 1848, after a new law passed the state legislature, that steps were taken to achieve the goal. Huntsville was selected as the site for the state prison facility, and Governor George Tyler Wood appointed master builder Abner H.
Nature
Huntsville Springs
Kentucky native Pleasant Gray and his wife Hannah (Holshouser) left Tennessee with their two children in 1834 and in 1835 settled here on land granted to them as part of Mexico's colonization effort. At that time natural springs located nearby served as a campsite for the area's native Bedias Indians and for immigrants passing through the region.
History
James and Rhoda Creel Beall Winters
Winters Park, Set Aside to Honor Family of James and Rhoda Creel Beall Winters. Pioneers who led their large family here in 1834 from Tennessee. Two older sons, Wm. Carvin and John Frelan Winters, came to Texas in 1832. On receiving their good report, the parents moved to this land between east and west forks of San Jacinto River.
Architecture
Jardine-Brown House
Robert and Jane Jardine Browne built east cabin of hewn pine logs on walnut posts, 1849. Site was part of James Jardine (or Jordan) League--1835 land grant surveyed 1838 by Republic of Texas for Jane's uncle. The west cabin of sawed pine logs was added for growing family. James F. Browne, a son born and reared here, added the lean-to bedroom, dining room and detached kitchen.
History
Jesse Parker
In 1822 Jesse Parker moved to the Mexican state of Texas. A veteran of the War of 1812, he represented the Sabine District at the Convention of 1832 in San Felipe de Austin. Three years later he received a land grant in the Washington municipality, now Walker County. A farmer, Parker also served as the Deputy Land Commissioner for Montgomery County. He died in 1849 and was buried on his land.
History
John William Thomason Jr.
Huntsville native John William Thomason Jr. was born on February 28, 1893, as the eldest of nine children of Dr. John Williams and Sue Hayes (Goree) Thomason. Graduating from Huntsville High School in 1909, he taught in area schools for seven years between attendance at several universities, including the Art Students League in New York.
History
Josey Boy Scout Lodge
Oilman and Huntsville native Robert A. Josey donated funding for the construction of this log structure in 1933. Additional funding was obtained from the federal government's Civil Works Administration (CWA), and Gibbs Brothers and Company donated the logs and rock for the lodge; the building was dedicated in 1934.
History
Martha's Chapel
Robinson's settlement became a stronghold for Methodist activity in Southeast Texas in the early 1830s. By 1839 a campground, church, and school were established here on land given by William and Elizabeth Robinson to The Rev. Littleton Fowler, Superintendent of Methodism in the Republic of Texas. Early clergy who visited and served here included Isaac Strickland, Jesse Hord, Joseph P.
History
McAdams Cemetery
John McAdams (1815-1892), a veteran of the Texas Revolution, came to what is now Walker County with his wife, Hester (White), about 1840. McAdams became a rancher, planter, and land speculator and later owned and operated a family cotton gin and sawmill. The community that grew up around his landholdings was named McAdams.
History
McAdams Homeplace
John McAdams, III (1815-92), a veteran of the Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas Army, moved to present Walker County from the Sabine District. He and his first wife Hester White (1818-49) built this home in the 1840s. He later wed Mary Frances Bankhead (1834-1905). A land speculator, planter, and rancher, he also ran a cotton gin and sawmill.
History
Near Gravesite of Veteran of American Revolution Mark Manning
(1750-1850) Served in American Revolution from Halifax District of North Carolina, his native state. Later lived in South Carolina and in Conecuh County, Ala., coming to Texas at 97 to live with sons who had large land grants and helped to settle Walker County.
History
Oakwood Cemetery
This cemetery existed as early as 1846. For three graves were placed here that year. Pleasant Gray, Huntsville's founder, deeded in 1847 a 1,600-square foot plot at this site. The original tract has been greatly enlarged by other donations from local citizens. Numerous graves bear the death date 1867, when a yellow-fever epidemic swept the county.
Industry & Science
Old Gibbs Store
Old Gibbs Store, oldest business in Texas under original ownership and on first site. Established 1841 in Republic of Texas by Thomas Gibbs. Building erected in 1847 after Sandford Saint John Gibbs joined firm. General Sam Houston was steady customer of the partners, who became bankers after lending use of their safe to neighbors.
History
Original Site of The Steamboat House
Dr. Rufus W. Bailey, a teacher, minister and attorney educated in New England, came to Huntsville as a language professor at Austin College in 1855. He acquired an eight-acre tract on this site and erected a house which he named "Buena Vista," but which became known as "The Steamboat House" because its unusual design evoked the image of a double-decker steamboat.
Architecture
Peabody Library Building
The first campus structure to be used exclusively for library purposes, this building was erected in 1902. Built with assistance from the Peabody Education Fund (a philanthropic program created by northern banker George Peabody soon after the Civil War), the library exhibits classical revival and Romanesque revival style influences. Designed by J. L.
History
Sallie E. Gibbs
Successful businesswoman Sallie E. Gibbs was born Sarah Elizabeth Smith in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on October 18, 1844 to Mary Washington (Ledbetter) and Thomas Jefferson Smith. Her parents operated a large plantation, and she received tutoring from age four until she went to the Greensboro College for Young Ladies at the age of fifteen.
History
Sam Houston
Born March 2, 1793, in Rockbridge County, Va.; son of Samuel and Elizabeth Houston. Moved to Tennessee in 1807 with widowed mother and her family. In 1813 joined U.S. Army under Gen. Andrew Jackson, with whom he formed lifetime friendship and political ties. In Tennessee, taught school, kept a store, served in U.S. Congress, was state governor.
History
Sam Houston Industrial and Training School
Legislated after the close of the Civil War, the Texas Constitution of 1866 provided for a public school system supported by funds derived from property taxes; monies collected from African Americans would go to schools for their children.
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.
