Tenaha, Texas

Everything Tenaha is known for

4 songs mention this city 0 artists from here

Music in Tenaha

Songs About Tenaha

Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo and Blair
Tex Ritter
83%
"TITLE"
Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo and Blair
Tennessee Ernie Ford
79%
"Tenaha"
frisco
johnny lee
19%
Ping Pong, Pool
Max Stalling
5%
"Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo and Blair"

Artists From Tenaha

No artists from Tenaha in the database yet.

Rivers & Roads in Song near Tenaha

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Tenaha.

U.S. Route 59 9 songs Sabine River 13 songs Angelina River 4 songs Interstate 49 4 songs Interstate 20 13 songs

Musical Heritage

Riley's Tavern RoadyGoat

Picture a seventeen-year-old kid sitting on the steps of the Texas Capitol in 1933, waiting. Prohibition had just been repealed, and James Curtis Riley wanted to be first in line — and he was. He walked away with the first official license to sell beer in the state of Texas. Weeks later he opened a tavern back home in Hunter, and he kept it running for close to sixty years. Joel and Angie Hofmann took it over in 2004, and they've left well enough alone — the mint-green barroom, the pool table, the stage where local players still plug in. Billy Joe Shaver himself has stood up there and sung. Not bad for a bar that started with a teenager and a hunch that Texas was thirsty.

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History of Tenaha

The Regulator-Moderator War RoadyGoat

The quiet landscape you're passing through was once the battleground for one of America's largest and most violent feuds. Before Tenaha was a town, this corner of Shelby County descended into chaos during the Regulator-Moderator War, from 1839 to 1844. It began with accusations of fraudulent land speculation and escalated fast. A faction called the Regulators, led by Charles W. Jackson and, after he was killed, by Charles W. Moorman, aimed to expel the 'outlaws.' They were opposed by the Moderators, led by Edward Merchant and others, who claimed the Regulators were the real criminals. Assassinations, ambushes, and even pitched battles involving hundreds of men became common. The violence got so far out of hand that in mid-August 1844 Republic of Texas President Sam Houston ordered some five hundred militiamen into East Texas under Travis G. Broocks and Alexander Horton, then came east himself and ran the peace from San Augustine for two weeks. The leaders signed a truce. Roughly fifty-two men were dead.

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The Highway Forfeiture Scandal RoadyGoat

The highways passing through Tenaha, U.S. 59 and 84, became the center of a national controversy in the late 2000s. A practice known as civil asset forfeiture turned into what critics called 'policing for profit.' Local law enforcement began routinely stopping drivers, a disproportionate number of whom were minorities. During these stops, officers would search for cash. If they found any, they would seize it, claiming it was connected to drug trafficking, even if no drugs were found. Drivers were often given a choice: sign a waiver forfeiting your money on the spot, or face felony charges and have your car impounded. The ACLU of Texas filed a class-action lawsuit, and stories emerged of innocent people losing their life savings. The case made Tenaha a national symbol of forfeiture abuse, leading to a settlement in 2012 that required sweeping reforms and policy changes.

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Tenaha, TX RoadyGoat

Tenaha, a town in Shelby County, Texas, has a history marked by a significant legal event. In 2009, the town became embroiled in a class action lawsuit due to allegations that local police were improperly seizing cash, jewelry, and property from African-American and Latino motorists. This case highlighted a troubling practice where drivers were coerced into surrendering their valuables to avoid jail time on money-laundering charges, even when no contraband was found and no crime was committed. The Marshal’s Office was accused of using state forfeiture regulations to seize property from nearly 200 motorists between 2006 and 2008, with many of these incidents involving minorities and totaling over US$3 million in value.

Ramah Cemetery

1870

The Ramah community dates to the early 1870s, when William Tell Pou and his wife Mollie Lucy (Grace) Pou first homesteaded here. They helped found Ramah Baptist Church, established in 1874 and named for the biblical city of Ramah, meaning high place. The log church building also served as a schoolhouse, and became the center of a community with a store and cotton gin. This land was used for burials beginning in the 1870s. In 1891, the congregation built a new frame sanctuary, and in 1909, William and Mollie Pou officially deeded 3.6 acres to Ramah Baptist Church to be dedicated as Ramah Cemetery. The oldest marked burial, for Ella Holley, dates from 1878. More than 100 veterans are buried here, representing service in the U.S.-Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean Conflict. Also notable are gravestones for organizations including the Woodmen of the World, order of the Eastern Star and local Masonic lodges. Ramah Cemetery was later enlarged to more than six acres and has more than 1,000 marked burials. The oldest section contains tall marble monuments, obelisks, a brick crypt, and the granite curbed Parrish family plot. Mollie (d. 1917) and William (d. 1934) Pou are buried here, along with ten children and more than fifty descendants. Also buried here is George E.B. Peddy (1892-1951), who was a soldier, attorney and politician. In 1917, he was elected state representative while a student at the University of Texas at Austin, and he ran for U.S. Senate in 1922 and 1948. Peddy also served in both World Wars, receiving the Bronze Star and croix de guerre. Other notable burials include longtime superintendents, teachers, county officials and other community leaders. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2006

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Johnston, Franklin Lewis

1873

Franklin (Frank) Lewis Johnston, also referred to as F. L. Johnston, Confederate soldier, attorney, state representative, and state senator, was born in Madison County, Mississippi, on October 1, 1840, the son of Luke and Mary Jane (Farrar) Johnston. The Johnston family immigrated to Texas in 1844, settling in Shelby County where Johnston was raised. In February 1862 following the outbreak of the Civil War , Johnston volunteered for service in the Confederate Army, enlisting as a private in Company H of the Eleventh Texas Infantry Regiment. He received promotion to sergeant on October 19, 1862, as well as served as quartermaster's clerk from April 1863 until it was disbanded at Hempstead, Waller County, in May 1865. Johnston had married Margaret William Dysart in Shelby County on February 7, 1865, immediately prior to this disbandment, and upon being discharged he returned to Shelby County, settling at Buena Vista. The couple had ten children, including three sets of twins, but only seven grew to adulthood. He was admitted to practice law here in 1866 and in addition was active in state and local politics. In 1873 he won election on the Democratic ticket as representative for District Two-comprised of Nacogdoches, San Augustine, Sabine, Shelby, and Panola counties-to the Fourteenth Texas Legislature. He won reelection to the house for the Sixteenth Legislature in 1878, this time representing the District Eight counties of Shelby and Panola. In 1882 he won election as senator for District Two-comprised of Shelby, Sabine, San Augustine, Rusk, Nacogdoches, and Panola counties-to the Eighteenth Texas Legislature. After these turns at state office Johnston retired to Shelby County. He died on July 12, 1897, and was buried at Johnston Cemetery near Flat Fort Creek in Tenaha.

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First United Methodist Church of Tenaha

1886

This Methodist church was one of the first institutions established in Tenaha after its founding in 1886. The congregation was established by Methodists from the Woods Post Office and Ramah communities, who had come to help develop a railhead town for the Houston East & West Texas Railroad. The Methodist congregation was served by circuit preachers for many years. The members constructed their first sanctuary in 1890 during the pastorate of the Rev. W. L. Pate of the Woods circuit. A second building, completed in 1928, served the growing congregation until 1971, when a new sanctuary was built. For many years, the ministers who served this fellowship lived in the Woods community, but as Tenaha grew, a house was rented here for a parsonage. The First Methodist Church was given its first full-time minister in 1946. Through out its history, the congregation has placed an emphasis on missionary work, particularly through the efforts of the women's groups. The First United Methodist Church of Tenaha has provided significant service and leadership to the community. Descendants of many of the founders continue to worship here.

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Woods Methodist Church

1876

Organized as Methodist Church Concord; had a house of worship before 1858. Present site was deeded to church Nov. 28, 1876, by E. S. Hull. This building was erected by men of community in winter of 1876-1877. About 1900 name was changed, to conform to local post office (named for first postmaster, Theodorick B. Wood, appointed Jan. 16, 1854). This church is one of oldest buildings in Panola County still in use. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1970

Historical Marker → · 4.7 mi away

Knight, Raymond Lee

1945

Raymond Lee Knight, Medal of Honor recipient, was born in Timpson, Texas, on July 15, 1922. His family later moved to Houston, where he graduated from John Reagan High School in 1940. He entered the United States Army Air Corps at Houston in October 1942 and received his pilot's wings and commission at Harding Field, Louisiana, in April 1944. After further training in the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber, 2d Lt. Knight was assigned to the 350th Fighter Group, Twelfth Air Force, in Northern Italy, where he completed eighty-two combat missions. During his first year of combat he won the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Purple Hearts, and the Air Medal with five oak-leaf clusters. His most notable exploits, however, came in action against heavily defended German airdromes at Ghedi and Bergamo, Italy, in April 1945. On the morning of April 24 he led two other pilots, each flying a single-engine P-47 Thunderbolt, against the heavily defended airdrome at Ghedi. He ordered the other aircraft to stay aloft while he descended to low altitude through heavy antiaircraft fire and located eight German aircraft under heavy camouflage. After rejoining his flight, Knight led the attack and destroyed five of the enemy aircraft, while his teammates shot down two others. After returning to base he volunteered to lead a reconnaissance mission of three other aircraft to the airbase at Bergamo. He ordered his flight to remain out of range of enemy guns while he flew through the fire at low level. Although his Thunderbolt was badly damaged by intense ground fire he observed a squadron of enemy aircraft, heavily camouflaged, and led his flight to the attack. After this strafing, he made ten more passes over the field, and although hit by enemy fire twice more he destroyed six heavily loaded twin-engine aircraft and enemy fighters. He safely returned his damaged aircraft to base. He returned to Bergamo the next morning, April 25, 1945, with a flight of three and attacked an aircraft on the runway. Three more twin-engine aircraft were destroyed. His plane was heavily damaged and virtually unflyable, but he chose to attempt to return the valuable equipment to base for repair. He crashed in the Appennini Mountains and was killed. His gallant action eliminated enemy aircraft that were set to attack the Allied forces in their attempt to establish the first firm bridgehead across the Po River. He personally destroyed fourteen grounded enemy aircraft and led attacks that wrecked ten others. The Medal of Honor was presented to his widow, Johnnie Lee Knight, and his 2½-year-old-son on the stage at Reagan High School, where Raymond and Johnnie had graduated five years earlier. His remains were buried in Woodlawn Garden of Memories in 1949 and reburied in the Houston National Cemetery in a special section for Medal of Honor recipients on April 25, 1992.

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Everything Near Tenaha

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