Everything Mineola is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Mineola.
Golden, Texas. It's a small place, tucked away in Wood County, but it's punched above its weight for a long time. You wouldn't know it just driving through, but this little spot has been home to some serious talent. Take R.C. Slocum, for example.
Lindale, Texas, a small town in Smith County in the piney woods of East Texas, punches well above its weight for famous people.
Look down. Somewhere under Grand Saline is the only rock human beings actually eat. Table salt is the mineral halite, and in its raw form it really is rock, mined in solid chunks just like coal or marble. But unlike every other rock on Earth, you put this one in your body on purpose, every single day. You have to. The sodium and chloride in salt run your nervous system, fire your muscles, and keep the fluid balance in every cell. Sodium and potassium act like a tiny chemical battery that powers every nerve signal and heartbeat you have. Too little, and you get dizzy, confused, even seizures. So while we say 'don't eat rocks,' there's exactly one exception, and a whole town is built on top of it.
(September 28, 1852 - January 15, 1918) Born in Mississippi, "Bill" McDonald moved with his family to Rusk County, Texas, about 1866. During Reconstruction, McDonald was tried for treason after a conflict with Union authorities but was acquitted. He established W. J. McDonald and Co., one of the first mercantile firms in Mineola, by 1873. McDonald became friends with James Stephen Hogg, who introduced him to Rhoda Carter; she and McDonald were married in 1876. By 1877 they were operating McDonald Hall opera house, a prominent local cultural center. When Hogg became county attorney in 1878, he prosecuted McDonald and others for carrying weapons in the increasingly violent streets of Mineola. McDonald later became a deputy sheriff of Wood County, and his reputation for boldness and marksmanship began with his role in bringing order to Mineola. During the 1880s McDonald started cattle ranches in Wichita and Hardeman counties and became a deputy sheriff in Hardeman County. He also was appointed deputy to the U. S. Marshal of the Northern District of Texas. Governor James Hogg made McDonald a captain in the Texas Rangers in 1891. He was an exemplary administrator and investigator for the Texas Rangers until 1907, when Governor Thomas Campbell appointed him state revenue agent. He later served as a bodyguard to President Woodrow Wilson, who in April 1913 appointed him Marshal of the Northern District of Texas, a post he held until his death. Most celebrated for his years as a Texas Ranger, McDonald was considered a fine tracker, an excellent criminal investigator, and an efficient controller of mobs. He died of pneumonia in 1918 and was interred at Quanah. (1999)
Born here on July 10, 1882, Ima Hogg was the only daughter of Sarah Stinson and Gov. James S. Hogg. Ima studied fine arts at the University of Texas in Austin, and in New York and Europe. In 1918 oil was discovered on the Varner-Hogg Plantation near West Columbia which enabled Miss Hogg to devote her life to the arts, historic preservation and philanthropy. She was recognized nationally and received many accolades for her services to the people of Texas. She died August 19, 1975, in London and was buried in Austin. (1997)
Ima Hogg, philanthropist and patron of the arts, daughter of Sarah Ann (Stinson) and Governor James Stephen Hogg , was born in Mineola, Texas, on July 10, 1882. She had three brothers, William Clifford Hogg , born in 1875; Michael, born in 1885; and Thomas Elisha Hogg, born in 1887. According to family history, Ima was named for the heroine of a Civil War poem written by her uncle Thomas Elisha. Her name became a part of Texas folklore, along with the myth of a fictitious sister supposedly named Ura. Ima Hogg was affectionately known as Miss Ima for most of her long life. She was eight years old when her father was elected governor; she spent much of her early life in Austin. After her mother died of tuberculosis in 1895, Ima attended the Coronal Institute in San Marcos, and in 1899 she entered the University of Texas. She started playing the piano at age three and in 1901 went to New York to study music. Her father's illness drew her back to Texas in 1905. After his death in 1906 she continued her music studies in Berlin and Vienna from 1907 to 1909. She then moved to Houston, where she gave piano lessons to a select group of pupils and helped found the Houston Symphony Orchestra , which played its first concert in June 1913. Miss Ima served as the first vice president of the Houston Symphony Society and became president in 1917. She became ill in late 1918 and spent the next two years in Philadelphia under the care of a specialist in mental and nervous disorders. She did not return to Houston to live until 1923. In the meantime, oil had been struck on the Hogg property near West Columbia, Texas, and by the late 1920s Miss Ima was involved in a wide range of philanthropic projects. In 1929 she founded the Houston Child Guidance Center, an agency to provide therapy and counseling for disturbed children and their families. In 1940, with a bequest from her brother Will, who had died in 1930, she established the Hogg Foundation for Mental Hygiene, which later became the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas. In 1943 Miss Hogg, a lifelong Democrat, won an election to the Houston school board, where she worked to establish symphony concerts for schoolchildren, to get equal pay for teachers regardless of sex or race, and to set up a painting-to-music program in the public schools. In 1946 she again became president of the Houston Symphony Society, a post she held until 1956, and in 1948 she became the first woman president of the Philosophical Society of Texas . Since the 1920s she had been studying and collecting early American art and antiques, and in 1966 she presented her collection and Bayou Bend, the River Oaks mansion she and her brothers had built in 1927, to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. The Bayou Bend Collection, recognized as one of the finest of its kind, draws thousands of visitors each year. In the 1950s Miss Ima restored the Hogg family home at Varner Plantation near West Columbia, and in 1958 she presented it to the state of Texas. It became Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historical Site . In the 1960s she restored the Winedale Inn, a nineteenth-century stagecoach stop at Round Top, Texas, which she gave to the University of Texas. The Winedale Historical Center now serves as a center for the study of Texas history and is also the site of a widely acclaimed annual fine arts festival. Miss Hogg also restored her parents' home at Quitman, Texas, and in 1969 the town of Quitman established the Ima Hogg Museum in her honor. In 1953 Governor Allan Shivers appointed her to the Texas State Historical Survey Committee (later the Texas Historical Commission ), and in 1967 that body gave her an award for "meritorious service in historic preservation." In 1960 she served on a committee appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower for the planning of the National Cultural Center (now Kennedy Center) in Washington, D.C. In 1962, at the request of Jacqueline Kennedy, Ima Hogg served on an advisory panel t
Jack Rhodes, songwriter, sound engineer, and producer, was born Andrew Jackson Rhodes in 1908 in Van Zandt County. Reportedly, he dropped out of school. During World War II , Rhodes worked in the shipyards in Houston. A back injury on the job permanently sidelined him from his work, and Rhodes, almost forty, decided to embark on a career in music. In the late 1940s he organized his own band, Jack Rhodes and His Rhythm Boys (also later known as the Lone Star Buddies), which sometimes included his stepbrother, songwriter and Bob Wills Texas Playboy Leon Payne . Rhodes performed on Louisiana Hayride as well as at clubs throughout Louisiana and East Texas. About 1953 he stopped performing and operated a small motel called the Trail 80 Motor Courts in Mineola, Texas. At some point he divorced his first wife, and in 1955 he married Loretta Williams. They had one son. At his motel, Rhodes built a small studio and focused his efforts on songwriting and recording. He penned, individually and with others, a remarkable list of country and rockabilly songs destined to stand as classics in their respective genres. He wrote (with Joe “Red” Hayes) “A Satisfied Mind” which became a Number 1 hit on the country charts for Porter Wagoner. Red and Betty Foley, Jean Shepard, Roy Drusky, Bob Dylan, and the Byrds also covered the song. Hank Snow recorded his song “Conscience I’m Guilty” as well as “Beautiful Lies.” With Dick Reynolds, he wrote “The Waltz of the Angels,” performed by Wynn Stewart in 1956 and later by George Jones and Margie Singleton. With Reynolds, Rhodes wrote another classic, “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” which became a hit for the Springfields in 1962. Rhodes signed a deal with publisher Central Songs which gave him access to have his material pitched to Capital Records. Consequently, such country artists as Sonny James, Ferlin Husky, Wanda Jackson, Jean Shepard, and Faron Young recorded his songs. During the mid-to-late 1950s, Rhodes also played a highly significant role in the development of rockabilly and in the writing of some of that genre’s most quintessential songs. Rhodes wrote and/or co-wrote two of rockabilly’s most enduring anthems—“Action Packed” and (with Elroy Dietzel) “Rockin’ Bones.” He recorded budding rockabilly star Johnny Dollar in his Mineola studio and subsequently produced him in Dallas. Though the recordings were not released at the time, eventually rockabilly artist Ronnie Dawson had success with “Rockin’ Bones” and “Action Packed.” Rhodes also wrote and first recorded “Woman Love” at his studio, and the song was eventually covered by early rocker and Capitol artist Gene Vincent. Subsequently, Vincent recorded more of Rhodes’s songs. Rhodes established his own record label, National Sounds, and continued to record musicians at his Mineola studio in the 1960s. Some of the recordings were released on other small labels and have since been highly-prized by collectors. Other material was not released. Rhodes died in October 1968. In 1972 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He also received a BMI award for “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” which boasted more than one million radio broadcasts. For his groundbreaking and influential songwriting and promotion in rockabilly, he was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2009. The Mineola Historical Museum also had an exhibit on Rhodes. Thirty of his studio recordings, many of them unreleased, can be heard on the compilation, Gene Vincent Cut Our Songs: Primitive Texas Rockabilly & Honky Tonk .
Mineola settlers chose this area, nicknamed "the Forks of the River," for its abundance of water. The town's first water service was administered by A. W. Front, who made daily deliveries to his 50 clients. A water well was located on this site as early as 1885; workmen drilling for salt between 1889 and 1890 discovered mineral water. In 1896 a 60-foot windmill tower with a 3,000-gallon cypress wood tank was constructed and a mineral well dug to 150 feet by Henry L. Beaird. This became the town's main water source. A 1913 analysis of the water revealed more than 12 minerals associated with healing properties. In 1906, an electric motor replaced the windmill. The well was capped in 1924 when the street was bricked over. The exact site of the public mineral water well was the center of the intersection of Highway 80 and Johnson Street. (1998)
Barney McKinney Giles, chief of the Air Staff and deputy commander of the United States Army Air Corps during World War II , was born on September 13, 1892, on a farm near Mineola, Texas, to Richard Portlock and Louisa (Read) Giles. He and his identical twin, Benjamin F. Giles , attended East Texas State Teachers College to obtain teachers' certificates. For the next three years they taught in Ochiltree and Gray counties and then decided to go the University of Texas to study law. In 1917 Giles enlisted as a flying cadet and took basic training at the University of Texas, at Mitchel Field, New York, and at Ellington Field , Houston. In September 1918 he was sent to Issoudun, France, and later was assigned to the 168th Observation Squadron. He returned to the United States in September 1919 and became an engineer officer at the Aviation Supply Depot at Morrison, Virginia. During the next ten years he served as an engineer in the aviation-repair depots in Dallas and San Antonio, as a flight engineer at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, and as a flightinstructor and engineer at March Field, Riverside, California. By 1930 he was the chief engineer officer at Rockwell Air Depot, San Diego, California, and was promoted to captain. With Ben he got an appointment to the Air Corps Tactical School, Maxwell Field, Alabama. In 1935 he was assigned to command the Twentieth Bombardment Squadron at Langley Field, Virginia. In 1936 he became operations officer of the Second Bombardment Group at Langley Field. That same year he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for leading the rescue of seven men stranded on an ice floe near Cape Cod Bay. In 1938 Giles graduated from the Command and General Staff School at Leavenworth, Kansas, and then was assigned as chief of the Inspection Division in Washington, D.C., where he was instrumental in organizing the army air force safety program, which meant overseeing the records of all pilots and the maintenance of all aircraft. In 1939 he was promoted to major and in December 1941, with the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel, was ordered to California to take over the Air Service Area Command. He became brigadier general in charge of the Fourth Bomber Command in February 1942 and took over the Fourth Air Force in September of that year with the temporary rank of major general. In July 1943 Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold appointed Giles chief of the Air Staff and later promoted him to be deputy commanding general of the air force. During this time General Giles was active in promoting the development of the long-range fighter planes, the P-38s, the P-47s, and the P-51s, that profoundly affected the course of the war in Europe. General Giles often served as acting head of the army air force because of General Arnold's prolonged illness. In the spring of 1945 Giles went to the Pacific battle zone as the deputy commander of the Twentieth Air Force. He helped direct the B-29 raids on Japan and formulate plans for dropping the atomic bomb. After the surrender of Japan he attended the signing of the treaty, on the battleship Missouri . He retired on July 1, 1946, after twenty-nine years of service as a command pilot, and took a position as first vice president of Air Associates in New York, a position he held for three years. For the next ten years he worked with the Lear Jet Corporation, where he helped to perfect the automatic pilot and other instruments. Giles married Hollyce Thomas, daughter of John Covington Thomas, in San Antonio on April 18, 1922. She died in 1968, and in 1969 he married Laura Edwards. After her death, he married Katherine Elizabeth Gregg, on October 11, 1975. General Giles died on May 6, 1984, in San Antonio and was buried with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. In his early years he was a member of the Christian Church and later a Methodist. His honors included the degree of doctor of aeronautical science from the Pennsylvania Military College, the Distinguished Servi
Most recent: 35-14 over Yoakum · 2016 3A Division 1 final
Mineola High School, a Class 3A football powerhouse in East Texas, has a proud history of gridiron success. The Yellowjackets have consistently showcased their talent and dedication on the field, bringing significant recognition to their community. Their program is a source of immense local pride, reflecting the hard work and spirit of Mineola.
The school has also seen its athletes advance to higher levels of competition. Among its notable alumni is Dawson Pendergrass, who continued his football career at the major college level. This tradition of developing strong players underscores Mineola's commitment to athletic excellence.
Mineola secured a state championship in 2016, defeating Yoakum 35-14 in the 3A Division 1 UIL State Championship.
173 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
Mineola's story begins long before the railroad came, with the Caddo people who knew this land intimately. Their presence is less visible now, lost to time and displacement, but the echoes remain in the very soil. The…
(September 28, 1852 - January 15, 1918) Born in Mississippi, "Bill" McDonald moved with his family to Rusk County, Texas, about 1866. During Reconstruction, McDonald was tried for treason after a conflict with Union…
Mineola settlers chose this area, nicknamed "the Forks of the River," for its abundance of water. The town's first water service was administered by A. W. Front, who made daily deliveries to his 50 clients. A water well…
You're driving past Mineola, where Cadwell Walton Raines, a man of many talents, made his mark. He arrived in Texas as a boy in 1853 and went on to serve as a Confederate soldier, a preacher, a teacher, a lawyer, and a…
You're driving through Mineola, Texas, a place that played a crucial role in the early political career of James Stephen Hogg. From 1868 to 1882, Hogg lived right here in Wood County, laying the groundwork for his…
You're driving through Mineola, and right here is the site of the Coleman Family Drug Store and Clinic. The Coleman family arrived from Alabama in 1897, and by 1902, Dr. Walter Coleman opened this pharmacy. He was known…
You're driving past the site where Sarah Rosalie Patten Buchanan lived out her later years. Born in 1855, Rosa was a Quitman native who married John Creighton Buchanan. Tragedy struck early when she was widowed at just…
You're driving through Mineola, a town that owes its very existence to a furious railroad race. Back in the summer of 1873, two lines, the Houston and Great Northern and the Texas and Pacific, were barreling towards a…
You're driving past Mineola, a town that owes its very existence to the railroad. Back in 1873, the Texas & Pacific Railroad was building west, and the Houston & Great Northern was building north. Communities popped up…
You're driving past the Lott House in Mineola, a beautiful example of early 20th-century architecture. Angus and Lena Beaird started building this home in 1918, finishing it in the early 1920s. It showcases Prairie…
You're driving through Mineola, and just ahead is the First National Bank Building. Chartered way back in 1898, the bank operated out of a few spots before building this beauty in 1912. It replaced the Mineola…
You're driving past Mineola, where Thomas Breen, an Irish immigrant, arrived in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1873</say-as> to work for the Texas & Pacific Railroad. He became the town's very first ticket…
You're driving past the historic Mineola Post Office. Postal service here started way back in 1873 with an unofficial office in a drugstore, but the official U.S. Post Office wasn't granted until 1875. This building you…
You're driving past the site of the First National Bank of Mineola, chartered way back in May of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1898</say-as>! With a starting capital of fifty thousand dollars, it was led by…
You're driving past the former site of the Barney B. Hart House, a Mineola landmark that stood for over a century. Built in 1906 by J.J. McLeod for attorney Barney B. Hart, this two-story home was a beautiful example of…
Born here on July 10, 1882, Ima Hogg was the only daughter of Sarah Stinson and Gov. James S. Hogg. Ima studied fine arts at the University of Texas in Austin, and in New York and Europe. In 1918 oil was discovered on…
You're driving past the site of a home built by Harry W. Meredith, a man who left a huge mark on Mineola. Originally from Kentucky, Meredith came to Texas around 1907. He got into banking in 1908, eventually leading…
You're driving past the O. P. Pyle House in Mineola, a home built in 1903 and 1904 for a man who was a leading voice for farmers during Texas's progressive era. Pyle was also a national spokesman for their concerns, and…
You're driving past the site of a library that started with a vision from a teacher named Vivian Williams Lott, who saw a need back in 1913. After a stalled effort in 1940, Mineola finally got its public library in…
You're driving past the former home of Owen Pinkney Pyle, a journalist who championed Texas farmers. Born in Arkansas in 1867, Pyle became editor of the Mineola 'Courier' and was key in founding both the Texas Farm…
You're driving past the site of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Mineola. Founded in 1871 by Rev. John Branham in a pioneer home, the congregation built its first sanctuary just two years later. The church…
You're driving through Mineola, passing the site where Dr. Adolph Leander Patten lived and practiced medicine. Born in North Carolina in 1823, Patten first opened a practice in Georgia before heading west with his…
You're driving past the Mineola area, the former stomping grounds of John Creighton Buchanan. Born in Louisiana, Buchanan set up his law practice in Quitman and quickly rose to prominence. In 1876, he became the first…
You're driving through Mineola, and right here is a marker for a team that's mostly forgotten today: the Mineola Black Spiders. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, African-American baseball teams played separately from…
You're driving past Mineola, where George C. Reeves arrived in 1873, just as the town was getting started. Reeves wasn't just a local businessman; he played a key role in the state penitentiary system as a transfer…
You're driving through Mineola, and just ahead is a marker for Richard Malcolm Smith. Born in Kentucky in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1852</say-as>, Smith came to Texas young and jumped into journalism,…
You're driving past Mineola, where Robert N. Stafford made his mark. Born in Georgia in 1856, Stafford arrived here in 1880 and quickly became a prominent figure. He served as county attorney, district attorney, and…
Mineola High School (Mineola, TX): Most recent: 35-14 over Yoakum · 2016 3A Division 1 final.
Mineola (Mineola, TX) placed on the 3A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Matthew Ballew (0.561 avg, 2 HR).
Ima Hogg, philanthropist and patron of the arts, daughter of Sarah Ann (Stinson) and Governor James Stephen Hogg , was born in Mineola, Texas, on July 10, 1882. She had three brothers, William Clifford Hogg , born in…
Jack Rhodes, songwriter, sound engineer, and producer, was born Andrew Jackson Rhodes in 1908 in Van Zandt County. Reportedly, he dropped out of school. During World War II , Rhodes worked in the shipyards in Houston. A…
Barney McKinney Giles, chief of the Air Staff and deputy commander of the United States Army Air Corps during World War II , was born on September 13, 1892, on a farm near Mineola, Texas, to Richard Portlock and Louisa…
You're driving through Mineola, a town born from a railroad race. Back before 1873, this spot was called Sodom. But then, two railroad companies, the Texas and Pacific and the International-Great Northern, raced to see…
You're driving through Mineola, Texas, the birthplace of Paul Russell, a groundbreaking African-American ballet dancer. Born in 1947, Russell shattered barriers, becoming the first Black dancer to perform Siegfried in a…
Noble Henry Willingham Jr. was a much sought after character actor who appeared in film and television from 1970 until the year before his death in 2004. Usually cast as an insightful "good old boy," his characters…
You're driving through East Texas, not far from Mineola, the birthplace of Benjamin Franklin Giles. He was an Air Force general, born in 1892 on a farm right here. Giles saw action in World War I, flying over enemy…
You're driving through East Texas, not far from Mineola, where Robert Byron Giles, Sr. was born. He could have been a pro baseball pitcher, even had an offer from Cleveland! But Giles chose medicine instead, heading to…
You're driving through East Texas, maybe near Mineola, where Owen Pinkney Pyle made his mark. Pyle was a farmer turned farmer's advocate, a powerhouse speaker for the Farmers' Alliance in the late 1800s. He even bought…
You're driving through Mineola, a town born from railroads. Back in the 1880s, fire was a constant threat. Imagine this: one night, eighteen downtown buildings went up in flames! Residents rebuilt with brick, but the…
You're driving through Wood County, a place with a rich history tied to the East Texas timberlands. Back in 1873, a tiny village called Sodom existed right here, with only about twenty residents. But then, the Texas and…
You're driving past Wisener Field, the site of one of the first airports in Texas! On July 4th, 1917, a U.S. Army Signal Corps pilot landed a Curtis JN-4D 'Jenny' biplane right here. Back then, it was called Massengale…
You're driving through Wood County, following the Sabine River, a place that's been home to the Caddo people for over a thousand years. <break time="400ms"/> By the early 1800s, American settlers were moving in, finding…
You're driving past Sand Springs Cemetery, originally Big Spring Cemetery. It was formally set aside for burials in 1860 when Matthew Cartwright conveyed seven acres to the Big Spring Baptist Church. The grounds were…
You're driving through East Texas, not far from where the last Cherokee War Camp of the Republic of Texas once stood. Imagine soldiers under Generals Rusk and Burleson, mustering out after a decisive victory. It was…
You're driving past the site of New Hope Baptist Church. This fellowship started as a Baptist Church of Christ in 1864, reorganized in 1890 as Stephen's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, honoring elder Stephen Kelley.…
You're driving past Mineola, where Wood County held its very first election on August 5th, 1850. It all happened under a giant post oak tree on Gaines Greer's farm. Twenty men gathered to organize the county, pick a…
You're driving through Wood County, passing the New Hope Cemetery. It began around 1864, linked to the New Hope Baptist Church. The earliest marked grave is from 1875, but leaders sold the land to the church for a…
You're driving through Smith County, past the site of the Flewellen-Thweatt Cemetery. This quiet resting place began in 1861, when Frances Maria Drake Flewellen was buried here after moving to Texas from Georgia and…
You're driving through East Texas, near Lindale, where a historic trail once stretched. In 1788, Pierre Vial and Francisco Xavier Fragoso blazed the Vial-Fragoso Trail. Their mission? To travel from Santa Fe, New…
You're driving past the site of Smith Chapel United Methodist Church. Organized around 1885 as Davis Chapel, it was renamed Democrat Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and finally Smith Chapel. The current sanctuary was…
Golden, Texas. It's a small place, tucked away in Wood County, but it's punched above its weight for a long time. You wouldn't know it just driving through, but this little spot has been home to some serious talent.…
You're driving through Golden, and right here is the Reneau Building, a place that was the heart of this town for decades. It started in 1913 as a home for the local Masonic Lodge, but by 1916, it was also a general…
You're driving through Smith County, not far from Lindale, and you might just be passing the forgotten site of Flora. It started in 1845 when James K. Beene settled here, and by 1849, he'd established a post office…
You're driving past Concord Cemetery, established in the 1870s by settlers of the Concord Community. The earliest marked grave here belongs to Velinda Wood, dated July 31st, 1875. Today, it's the final resting place for…
You're driving past the site of a groundbreaking conservation effort! Back in 1929, this area became home to one of just ten research stations in the entire United States, all focused on tackling the nation's growing…
You're driving past the site of Flora Lodge, founded as Quitman Masonic Lodge back in 1852. It was named Flora Lodge on Christmas Day of that same year, and its original furniture cost just over ten dollars. The lodge…
You're driving through Wood County, and right here is the final resting place of Martin Varner. He came to Texas before 1820, a pioneer who partnered with Henry Jones to run a trading post. Varner was one of Stephen F.…
You're driving through Wood County, heading towards Mineola. Keep an eye out for a marker honoring Martin Varner. He was a volunteer soldier who fought in the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, the fight that…
You're driving through Quitman, and you're passing the site of the first brick structure ever built in Wood County. Look to your right! This home was erected in 1859 by James and Harriet Collins, who came here from…
You're driving past the historic home of James A. Stinson, built right here in 1869. Stinson was a Confederate colonel who came to Texas after the Civil War and became a successful sawmill operator and early scientific…
You're driving past the site of the Sabine Methodist Church, organized back in 1894 by the Rev. W. L. Pate and named for its proximity to the Sabine River. Land for the church, school, and cemetery was donated by Joe…
You're driving past the early home of James Stephen Hogg, the man who would become governor of Texas. He bought this cottage in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1873</say-as>, right here in Quitman. Young Hogg was…
You're driving past the historic Old Settlers Reunion Grounds near Quitman. In 1902, a local merchant and former county clerk, J. H. Jones, donated this land to the Old Settlers of Wood County Association. Founded just…
You're driving through Quitman, in the heart of Wood County. Look around – this is where James Stephen Hogg started his incredible journey. Born near Rusk in 1851, Hogg was orphaned young and worked his way up from…
You're driving through Quitman, Texas, a town that once celebrated a legendary musical act: the Light Crust Doughboys. Formed in 1931, this band became a powerhouse of western swing music, performing across the country…
You're driving through Quitman, Texas, a town founded in 1850 and named for a governor of Mississippi and a hero of the Mexican War. Quitman's early growth was slow, but it became the center of a political battle in…
You're driving through East Texas, not far from Quitman, where Charles Taylor Bowling was born in 1891. He spent most of his life in Dallas, working as a draftsman for Texas Power and Light for nearly fifty years. But…
You're driving through Quitman, in Wood County, and right here south of downtown is Governor Jim Hogg City Park. It started as Quitman City Park back in 1941, but by 1946, it was named Governor Hogg Shrine State…
You're driving through Quitman, the county seat of Wood County, which was created way back in 1850. This courthouse you see has a fiery history! The first log courthouse was replaced by a frame building that burned down…
Alba, Texas, nestled in the piney woods of Wood County, owes its name to a simple observation. The town sits near two creeks, and early settlers noticed the white clay soil along their banks. “Alba” is derived from the…
You're driving through Quitman, and right here is the site of the First Baptist Church, but its story starts way back in November of 1850. It was organized by pioneer settlers, and get this – the meeting was led by a…
You're driving through Wood County, and just ahead is the site of the Macedonia School. Established in 1885, this was one of the very first one-teacher schools in the county. It served the community of Macedonia, later…
Quitman sits nestled in the East Texas timberlands, a place where the land rolls just enough to keep things interesting. This part of the state, unlike the flat plains further west, is defined by its gentle hills and…
You're driving through Wood County, and right here is Lake Fork Reservoir. It might look like just a big body of water, but it was built for a very specific purpose: to supply water for industry and cities like Dallas…
You're driving through Wood County, not far from Quitman, and right here in Hainesville, a mystery from Texas history might be buried beneath your tires. Back in the 1870s, construction workers digging for a mill…
You're driving through Wood County, and right here, you're passing through the area where Holly Springs once stood. This community owes its existence to Peter Magnus Gunstream, a Swedish immigrant and one of the…
You're driving through eastern Wood County, near Quitman, where the community of Little Hope got its name. In 1881, settlers organized the Little Hope Missionary Baptist Church. Legend has it, they named it that because…
You're driving through eastern Wood County, near where the community of Speer once stood. It all started in the early 1840s when Baptist minister Prescott Davis settled here, building bridges over Big Sandy Creek. But…
You're driving through Wood County, near the community of Stout. It all started around 1848, when Captain Henry Stout, one of the earliest settlers, arrived. He wasn't just a settler; he was the first county sheriff and…
You're driving through Wood County, and right here, just a mile north of Cloverhill, was the site of a major oil discovery. In 1943, Bobby Manziel struck oil, kicking off a brief boom for this small community. The…
You're driving through Wood County, not far from Quitman, and you're passing through the site of Redlands. This community has roots stretching back to the Martin Varner land grant, possibly the earliest white settlement…
You're driving through Wood County, near the waters of Lake Fork. Right here, over a thousand years ago, was a bustling Caddoan settlement known as the Taddlock Site. Between the years 1037 and 1070, people lived and…
You're driving through Wood County, and right here is the site of Webster, one of the oldest settlements in this area. It all started back in 1854 when Gilbert Smith Matthews bought this land and named it after…
You're driving through what used to be Cartwright, Texas, way out in Wood County. It wasn't always called Cartwright. Back in the 1850s, settlers called this place 'The Barrens' because it was so isolated and full of…
You're driving through Wood County, heading north of Quitman. Right here is the site of Coke, a community that owes its existence to a black rock. Coal was discovered nearby, and by 1885, this spot had a post office…
You're driving through Wood County, heading southeast of Quitman, and you're passing through the community of Crow. <break time="400ms"/> It started back in 1876 as Graham, a stop on the railroad. <break time="400ms"/>…
You're driving through Wood County, heading towards Lake Hawkins. Right here, you're passing through the community of Fouke. It started around 1873 as a Black community called Center, with a log building serving as…
You're driving through Wood County, near where a community once known as Greer's Neighborhood sprung up. It was likely named for Gaines Greer, an early landowner and sawmill owner. By 1864, a Baptist church was…
You're driving through Golden, Texas, a community that owes its start to the railroad. Back in the late 1870s, a sawmill kicked things off, but it was the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad building through in 1881…
You're driving through southern Wood County, and right here is Hoard, once known as Democrat. Before 1870, a schoolhouse called Democrat stood here. The community likely took its name from Hoard's Mill, which operated…
You're driving through what was once Mount Pisgah, a rural community in Wood County. Its story really starts in 1853, not here, but in the nearby community of Holly Springs. That's where the Holly Springs Baptist Church…
You're driving through eastern Wood County, not far from Quitman. Right here is the site of Ogburn, originally known as Jim Hogg. It all started around 1900 when J.W. Ogburn operated a sawmill. By 1908, Ogburn himself…
You're driving through East Texas, in what was once the community of Peach, also known as Genevie Switch or Elberta. This place owes its existence to timber, specifically the W. G. Ragley Lumber Company. They built a…
You're driving through Wood County, and right here is Perryville. This community sprung up around the intersection of Farm roads 2088 and 852, eight miles southeast of Winnsboro. Its story really begins in 1853, when…
You're driving through Wood County, near Quitman, on what's now Farm roads 14, 49, and 312. This area wasn't always called Pine Mills. Back in the 1850s, it was known as Liberty Hill, home to a sawmill and a church. By…
You're driving through Wood County, heading west of Winnsboro. Right here is the site of Pleasant Grove. It started in 1872, likely named for the big oak trees, when Henry Robinson opened a blacksmith shop. By 1896, it…
You're driving through Wood County, heading north of Quitman. You're passing through the area once known as Rock Hill. Settled as early as 1850 by Andrew Gilbreath, the community got its name from a local geological…
You're driving through Wood County, near Hawkins, and you might just pass through the old community of Smith. It was also known as Terrapin Neck, named by P.M. Faulk because of all the terrapins on his land near Big…
You're driving past the Hubbard Family Cemetery near Lindale. This isn't just any family plot; it's the final resting place for the family of Richard Bennett Hubbard, a man who went from Harvard Law to serving as Texas…
Italian fine dining in tiny Lindale at 75 Miranda Lambert Way — named for the town's famous daughter. Scratch kitchen, fresh-baked bread, upscale-casual…
You're driving past the site of Bethesda Presbyterian Church. In 1879, the Henderson family arrived from Alabama and soon began holding worship services here. The congregation was officially recognized in 1881, later…
You're driving through Pruitt, a community named for its first postmistress, Adelia Pruitt. The town, established in the 1880s, had a cotton gin, blacksmith, and general store. The Pruitt Baptist Church was organized in…
Lindale, Texas, a small town in Smith County in the piney woods of East Texas, punches well above its weight for famous people.
You're driving past Union Chapel Cemetery, where the earliest marked grave dates back to August 1873. Just a month later, land was deeded for a Methodist Church and cemetery. The original sanctuary served the community…
You're driving by the site of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, one of the oldest fellowships in Wood County. It began as Holly Springs Baptist Church of Christ, with its first meeting in 1853 at the home of pastor J. D. J.…
You're driving through Grand Saline, but you're passing the ghost of its original namesake: Jordans Saline. John Jordan settled here in 1844, and he and A.T. McGee organized a salt company. By 1860, this place had a…
You're driving through Wood County, and right here is Alba, a town that boomed thanks to coal. Around 1900, lignite coal was discovered nearby, and soon railroads were built to haul it out. By 1911, five mines around…
You're driving through East Texas, near Alba, the birthplace of Leon Roger Payne. Born in 1917, Payne lost the sight in one eye as a child and the other later, but that didn't stop him from becoming a legendary country…
You're driving past Grand Saline, a town whose salt deposits were absolutely vital to the Confederacy during the Civil War. Before the war, salt was already being produced here, but by 1861, the owner left his wife in…
Van (Van, TX) placed on the 4A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Connor Mccurley (2 HR).
You're driving past the site of a Texas oil boom! In 1929, the Pure Oil Company was drilling for oil near the small farming community of Van. After weeks of anticipation, and even a day where thousands of onlookers left…
You're driving through Van, where the discovery of oil dramatically changed this community, and its school, forever. Back in 1916, two smaller schools merged to form Van Common School. Local folks even hauled 114 wagon…
You're driving through Lindale, a town that started as a simple post office in 1873. Just a year later, the name changed to Lindale, and it became a stop on the International-Great Northern Railroad in 1875. By 1884, it…
You're driving through Van, Texas, where the discovery of oil in 1929 completely transformed this community. Suddenly, the small rural school, which started with just 90 kids, was overwhelmed by an influx of over 600…
Look down. Somewhere under Grand Saline is the only rock human beings actually eat. Table salt is the mineral halite, and in its raw form it really is rock, mined in solid chunks just like coal or marble. But unlike…
In a town that mines salt by the trainload, here's a word worth chewing on: salary. It comes from the Latin salarium, built on sal, the Latin word for salt. In the Roman world salt was so valuable, so essential for…
You're driving past the site of Damascus Baptist Church, organized in 1890 with 12 charter members. Services were held in a schoolhouse until 1895 when the congregation grew and began planning this building. The first…
Here's a town that's exactly what it says on the label. Grand Saline means 'great salt marsh' in French, and it sits on top of one of the largest, purest salt deposits in North America. Caddo people were boiling salt…
You're driving past the site of Grand Saline's First Methodist Church. A congregation was organized here in 1889 by the Rev. Samuel N. Allen and a small group of worshipers. They held services in homes and the…
The salt under Grand Saline isn't a flat layer. It's a column, a dome that rises like a frozen plume from deep underground. It started as the Louann Salt, the dried-out remnant of an entire sea that evaporated here…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, not far from where Wiley Post was born near Grand Saline. Before man even dreamed of space travel, Post was pushing the limits of flight. In 1931, he and navigator Harold Gatty…
Before refrigerators, salt was how the world kept food from rotting, and the trick is pure physics. Pack meat in salt and you set up osmosis: water always flows toward the saltier side of a membrane. Bacteria and mold…
You're driving through Grand Saline, the "salt capital of Texas"! This town owes its existence to the vast salt deposits beneath your wheels. When the Texas and Pacific Railway arrived in 1873, landowner Samuel…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, and right here is the Van field, a place that changed Texas oil. Discovered in 1929, this wasn't just another oil strike. The Van field was the very first oil field in Texas, and…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, and right here is the story of Samuel Q. Richardson, a salt king of Texas. He arrived in Texas in 1848, eventually settling in Van Zandt County where he bought 4,000 acres and…
You're driving through East Texas, and right here, you're passing through a place that's been a source of something essential for centuries: salt. Long before Texas was even a state, Native Americans were harvesting…
You're driving through Van, Texas, a town that owes its existence to a surprising discovery. Originally known by colorful names like Ratty Towns or Who'd-a-Thought-It, the community was renamed for a local schoolteacher…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, and right here, the Texas Short Line Railway once connected two vital industries. Chartered in 1901, this ten-mile line ran from Grand Saline, home to a booming salt mine, to the…
You're driving through the area that was once known as Swindall. Around 1880, George W. Swindall donated land for a community school, which eventually took on his name. The school served local children until a new,…
You're driving through Van, where a congregation formed in 1885 to serve this community. Originally called Antioch Church, members met under a brush arbor before building their first sanctuary in 1891. The church has…
You're driving through Wood County, near Quitman, where the land beneath your wheels might just be ancient history. Back in 1966, road construction unearthed an Indian Cemetery and the remnants of six villages. When…
You're driving through Van, and right around here, the Great Depression hit the rest of the country hard, but this town's economy was booming! Back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1929</say-as>, geologists…
You're driving past the site of Poletown and Rhodesburg, a community with a unique political past. Fleeing Civil War battle sites, settlers arrived here as early as 1863, forming a community called Poletown. But the…
You're driving through Wood County, passing Clover Hill Cemetery. This spot was chosen by settlers from Georgia and Alabama back in 1856, who also built their Baptist Church here. In 1868, a young boy known as 'Little…
You're driving through the Jobe community, founded by African American families who settled here in the late 1800s. Brothers Phelix and Sampson Jobe bought land starting in 1881, setting aside a portion for this…
You're driving past Marvin Chapel Cemetery, which began as Marvin Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1860s. The first recorded burial was in 1872, though older graves likely exist. Over three acres were donated…
You're driving past the Milburn-Gary House, a testament to 19th-century Texas craftsmanship. Built in 1855 by Reverend Williamson Milburn, this home was constructed with hand-picked, knot-free lumber, featuring solid…
You're driving through East Texas, near Van, where one of the Republic of Texas's biggest clashes with Native Americans took place: the Battle of the Neches. On July 15th and 16th, 1839, over a thousand warriors and…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, a place that once proudly called itself 'The Free State of Van Zandt'! This nickname wasn't just about independence; settlers here in the 1840s could sleep outdoors without fear…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, and you're passing the park dedicated to Brady P. Gentry. Born right here in 1895, Gentry wasn't just a local figure. He rose to become Chairman of the Texas Highway Commission,…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, passing the site of Creagleville. This rural community sprang up in the 1840s, named for German immigrant Henry Creagle, who settled here around 1847. His land lay right on the…
You're driving through the vast expanse of what was once Mercer's Colony. Back in 1844, Charles Fenton Mercer set out to settle a huge chunk of North Central Texas – about eighteen counties' worth! His ambitious plan…
You're driving past the site of Hopewell Baptist Church, organized in 1858 with 30 members. Harvey Yarborough deeded land for the first structure, built in 1859. The congregation celebrated its 140th year of continuous…
You're driving past the site of East Point Missionary Baptist Church near Winnsboro. Land was donated in 1878 for a church and school. The church itself was established in 1893 by twelve charter members, with services…
You're driving through Quitman, where the Rock Hill Baptist Church was organized in 1870. It started in a schoolhouse on Coke Road, and the first church building wasn't constructed until 1892. The congregation has…
You're driving past the area where Captain Henry Stout made his home. He arrived in Texas way back in 1818, and some reports say he even helped David Crockett plan his famous route to the Alamo. Stout himself served in…
You're driving past the site of Little Hope Missionary Baptist Church, organized in 1881 by Elder Jacob Ziegler and Deacon P. M. Gunstream. Legend says the church got its name because folks doubted it would last, but it…
You're driving past the site of Antioch Baptist Church, established by the Smith County Baptist Association back in 1851. Members met in homes and the schoolhouse until their first sanctuary was built in 1857. The…
You're driving through Tyler, passing the site of New Harmony Baptist Church. This congregation was established in 1867 and accepted into the Cherokee Baptist Association in 1869. Seven of its charter members are buried…
Hawkins, Texas, sits atop a geological oddity: the Hawkins Oil Field. Unlike the flat farmland surrounding it, this area had a unique concentration of oil-bearing structures deep underground. That accident of geology…
You're driving through Hawkins, Texas, a town that hit the jackpot back in 1940. Until then, it was a quiet community shipping lumber and cotton. But then, Bobby Manziel drilled a wildcat well just north of town,…
You're driving through Hawkins, Texas, home to Jarvis Christian College. What's amazing is that this school, founded in 1912, was the only historically Black college still operating that was founded by the Christian…
You're driving through Wood County, not far from Hawkins, Texas. Right here is where Lillian Richard Williams lived. Born in 1891, she grew up on a farm near Fouke. Though she had little formal schooling, she left East…
You're driving through Wood County, near Hawkins, in a region once known as Sand Springs. Settlers arrived as early as 1848, drawn by fertile land. By 1852, a post office was established, and the community grew around a…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, near Edom. Look around – this is where the last major battle between Cherokees and Texans took place. On July 16, 1839, Chief Bowles led 800 Native Americans into a fierce fight…
You're cruising past the site of Belzora Landing, once a bustling port on the Sabine River. From the 1850s until the railroads arrived in the 1870s, this was a vital hub for Tyler and East Texas. Despite the challenges…
You're driving past Colfax Cemetery. In 1883, A. L. Kellam donated five acres to establish this burial ground. The first person laid to rest here in 1884 was Elisha Tunnell, who founded the community that would become…
You're driving past the Frontier Red Hill Cemetery, a place that began with a tragic family loss. The first grave here belongs to 19-year-old Elizabeth Piles, who died way back on May 4, 1856. Just two days later, her…
You're driving through Wood County, near Quitman, where a community called Little Indiana sprung up around 1900. Indiana families, led by John M. Hart and Roland Alexander, came here seeking timber and rich soil. But…
You're driving past Shady Grove Cemetery, one of Wood County's oldest burial grounds. It started with pioneer settlers like Reuben Elledge, who arrived around <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1845</say-as>.…
You're driving past Hawkins, where a vital part of Texas's African American history took root. Back in 1904, the Texas Negro Disciples of Christ and the Christian Women's Board of Missions joined forces to create a…
You're driving past the site of the Pleasant Grove School. Land for this community school and its cemetery was donated in the 1870s, and the school grew from a log cabin to larger buildings. Professor D. Speer named it…
You're driving through Emory, where in 1905, Walter B. Fraser built a pioneer Texas factory. This was the first industrial plant in Rains County, producing bricks and hollow clay tile, and employing about 40 men. The…
You're driving through Yantis, a community named for its very first postmaster, George R. Yantis. He arrived and by 1890 was running a gristmill and gin right here. By the late 1800s, Yantis was a bustling hub with…
You're driving past the site of Hopewell Church, established in 1855. It started with a brush arbor and log house before moving to this three-acre plot donated in 1876 for church and cemetery use. The church building…
You're cruising through Edom, and right here is the Roseland Plantation Home, built way back in 1854 by B. H. Hambrick. This wasn't just a house; it was the hub of a massive 3,000-acre estate, built with incredible…
You're driving near Ben Wheeler, where Stanger Springs Church was organized on July 3, 1875, with 27 charter members. Originally built on land donated by the Stanger family, it later became a shared space for both…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, and right here is Ben Wheeler. This community was settled in the 1840s and first called Clough. But in 1878, it got its current name, Ben Wheeler, after a local mail carrier. He…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, the birthplace of Morgan Gurley Sanders. Born in 1878, Sanders wasn't just a small-town lawyer; he rose to represent Texas in the U.S. Congress for a decade, from 1920 to 1930.…
You're driving through Van Zandt County, a place that was once a major syrup-producing hub. Back in the late 1800s, folks migrating from the Deep South brought sugar cane and sorghum farming with them. Willis Jarrell…
You're driving through the historic heart of Ben Wheeler, a town with roots stretching back to 1868. It all started when George W. Clough bought 640 acres, and his land became the core of the original downtown. Clough…
You're driving past Prairie Springs Cemetery, which began in 1866 with the burial of R. W. Berry's infant grandson. Berry deeded land for the graveyard in 1880, though burials happened earlier. The cemetery was formally…
You're driving past the area where Mt. Zion Church was founded back in 1874. Members from several nearby communities gathered on a local farm to start this congregation. It wasn't just about worship; Mt. Zion offered…