History
Jobe Cemetery
African American families settled the Jobe Community on the Lemuel G. Powers survey. Brothers Phelix and Sampson Jobe bought several tracts of land from 1881 to 1892, setting aside land for the Jobe Cemetery. The local economy included cattle, cotton, crops, timber cutting, and sugar cane for ribbon cane syrup. Jobe Brothers Lumber Co.
History
John Creighton Buchanan
(February 24, 1850-December 9, 1884) Louisiana native John Creighton Buchanan moved to East Texas and established a legal practice in Quitman. He became the first Wood County Attorney in 1876, the year before he married Sarah Rosalie "Rosa" Patten (1855-1941). He represented Rains, Wood, Upshur, Gregg and Smith counties in the Texas Senate from 1878 until his death in 1884 at age 34.
Architecture
Lankford-Stinson House
Probably built in the early 1890s for merchant and civic leader J. M. Lankford, this home was originally a one-and-one-half-story structure. It was remodeled into its current configuration in 1906, soon after it was purchased by J. A. Stinson, a Civil War veteran and father-in-law of Texas Governor James S. Hogg.
History
Lee Cemetery
North Carolina natives Benjamin Lee, his wife Alice, and their family came to this area about 1853, and soon acquired over 1,230 acres of land. The Lees operated a large cotton plantation with the help of their ten children and slave labor. Benjamin Lee became a community leader and was elected county commissioner one year after his arrival in the area.
Architecture
Lott House
Angus and Lena Beaird began construction of this house in 1918; it was completed in the ealry 1920s. The Beairds sold the house in 1928 to Howard and Vivian Lott, who were leaders in the development of Mineola and Wood County.
History
Macedonia School
One of first one-teacher schools in Wood County. Served the county's earliest community -- Macedonia, which was renamed Redland in 1900. Land for school was donated by W. M. McCarroll in 1885. W. M. Harris was one of first teachers. The school consolidated with the Hawkins Independent District in 1944. (1969)
History
Martin Varner
(March 4, 1787 - Feb. 14, 1844) Came to Texas before 1820, and, in partnership with Henry Jones, operated a trading post in the Red River settlement of Jonesboro. He was a member of the "Old Three Hundred" who settled Stephen F. Austin's first colony. Varner first homesteaded near present Independence in 1822, then moved near Columbia in 1824, where he built the Varner Plantation.
History
Mineola
Since its establishment in 1873, the community of Mineola has been tied historically to the railroad and transportation industries. The Texas & Pacific Railroad planned to connect Longview and Dallas by rail, and began building west in 1872. Meanwhile, the Houston & Great Northern Railroad built northward from Troup.
History
Mineola Black Spiders
IN THE 1800s AND INTO THE FIRST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN BASEBALL TEAMS PLAYED SEPARATELY FROM WHITE TEAMS. THE COMMUNITY OF MINEOLA, THOUGH SMALL IN POPULATION, HAD BOTH WHITE AND BLACK BASEBALL TEAMS. THE MINEOLA BLACK SPIDERS WAS COMPOSED OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN AND YOUTH FROM THE TOWN.
History
Mineola Fire Department
In the 1870s, the Texas & Pacific and International & Great Northern railroads built lines through this area, with the town of Mineola serving as the eventual juncture of the two. Fire was one of many challenges faced by early local inhabitants of the new town; on a single night in the 1880s, a reported eighteen downtown buildings burned, including houses, businesses and a Masonic temple.
History
Mineola Masonic Lodge No. 502, A.F. & A.M.
On February 8, 1878, the 17 members of this lodge were set to work under dispensation of the Grand Master of Texas. Mineola Lodge was chartered at the annual communication in Houston on December 15, 1879, with a membership of 48. J. R. Rutherford served as the first worshipful master. The early Masons included prominent business and professional men and civic leaders.
Civic & Local
Mineola Post Office
Postal service in Mineola dates to 1873, when an "unofficial" post office opened in a local drugstore. The first U. S. post office in the area was granted in 1875. This building was constructed in 1937, at a time when numerous public works projects included such federal buildings.
History
Mineola Schools
When the Texas & Pacific and the International & Great Northern Railroads intersected in 1873, the town of Mineola was created. Settlers quickly saw the need for educational facilities for their children. Shortly thereafter, private schools were established, one of which was taught by Miss Billie Wren from Ward-Belmont.
History
Mountain Home
Birthplace of James Stephen Hogg, son of Lucanda McMath Hogg and Joseph Lewis Hogg. Born March 24, 1851, died March 3, 1906. First native Texan to serve as governor. Inspirer of the passage of the Railroad Commission law, stock and bond law, alien land law. (1936)
History
New Hope Cemetery
The new Hope Cemetery was long associated with the New Hope Baptist Church, which organized in 1864. It is believed the cemetery began around the same time as the church's organization, although the earliest grave marker, that of Sarah J. Fouse, dates to 1875. The cemetery had been in use for many years when, in 1917, a group of area leaders sold the land to the church for one dollar.
History
O. P. Pyle
Arkansas native Owen Pinkney Pyle (1867-1919) was publisher and editor of the Mineola "Courier" at the turn of the century. An advocate of the farmer, he was instrumental in establishing the Texas Farm Union and the National Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union. He served as the first president of the latter and also published the "National Co-Operator", the organization's weekly newspaper.
Architecture
O. P. Pyle House
An early leader of the Texas progressive era and a national spokesman for the concerns of farmers, O. P. Pyle had this home constructed in 1903-04, when he was editor and publisher of the Mineola "Courier.
History
Old Winnsboro Cemetery
One of oldest cemeteries in East Texas. First burial (date unknown) was an accident victim. The earliest gravestone belongs to Andrew Vannoy (1812-58), co-owner with Dr. Joseph McGee of one of first sawmills in area. Buried here also are members of the Cook family who were donors of Winnsboro townsite and probably gave land for this cemetery.
History
Pleasant Grove School & Cemetery
Land for a community school and cemetery was donated by Henry and Mary Robinson in the 1870s. A one-room log schoolhouse was replaced by several larger buildings as population in the area grew. Professor D. Speer, a teacher at the school, named the community and the school Pleasant Grove in the 1880s. The school was consolidated in 1956 with the Winnsboro School District.
History
Railroads in Mineola
This city's fortunes have been tied historically to railroads. Mineola was born in the summer of 1873, as the Houston and Great Northern (later International and Great Northern) and Texas and Pacific lines raced to a predetermined crossing point.
History
Reneau Building
In 1913, Golden School trustees conveyed this property to Ella T. (Greer) Reneau. E. L. Foster contracted to build a home for Golden Masonic Lodge #1093, A.F. & A.M., who met here until merging with the Mineola Lodge in 1938. Ella's husband, I. N. Reneau, opened a general merchandise store on the first floor in 1916.
History
Reuben Leon and Fairess (Clark) Simmons
Reuben Leon Simmons and his wife Fairess (Clark) served as educators in public schools for a combined 83 years. Reuben Leon Simmons was born in 1894 in the Forest Home community (Wood Co). After the death of his father, Simmons and his family moved to Pleasant Grove, where he left school after the third grade to work on a farm.
History
Richard Malcolm Smith
(December 29, 1852 - August 19, 1935) Born in Kentucky, Richard Malcolm Smith came to Texas in his youth. He found work as a journalist with the Galveston News and the Brazos Pilot. Smith attended his first Democratic state convention in 1878. He became a lawyer in 1885.
History
Robert N. Stafford
(November 6, 1856 - June 18, 1911) A Georgia native and son of a Methodist minister, Robert N. Stafford moved to Mineola in 1880. He was county attorney from 1880 to 1882, served two terms as district attorney, and was elected to the Texas Senate in 1894. He served twice as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
History
Sand Springs Cemetery
Originally known as the Big Spring Cemetery, this burial ground first served pioneer settlers of the surrounding rural community. It was formally set aside for burials in 1860 when Matthew Cartwright, a prominent landowner from San Augustine County, conveyed seven acres at this site to the Big Spring Baptist Church.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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