Jefferson, TX
Music connected to Jefferson
About Jefferson
- • Blues musician Blind Willie Johnson died impoverished in Jefferson, TX, in 1945.
- • The steamboat transportation method significantly impacted national commerce from Jefferson.
- • Steamboat commerce along the Big Cypress Bayou River established Jefferson's prominence.
- • Diamond Bessie's unsolved murder in 1880 continues to intrigue and haunt the town.
- • The Great Raft removal in the 1870s caused Jefferson's economic decline.
- • Named for President Thomas Jefferson, it was incorporated in 1848.
- • With about 1,800 residents, it's significantly smaller than its boomtown days.
- • Sitting at 167 feet above sea level, flooding can pose a real threat.
- • Tourism and hospitality are primary industries, driven by history and charm.
- • Being in Jefferson feels like stepping back in time, full of Southern charm.
- • The Dallas Cowboys are the closest NFL team, winning Super Bowl XXX in 1996.
- • Jefferson High School won the state football championship in 1966.
- • The area's geology is influenced by the East Texas Oil Field, discovered in the 1930s.
- • Caddo Lake, known for its cypress trees and Spanish moss, lies near Jefferson.
- • Big Cypress Bayou is a major waterway defining the area.
- • The Red-cockaded Woodpecker, an endangered species, inhabits the pine forests around Jefferson.
- • Loblolly pines dominate the forests surrounding the town.
- • The Caddo people inhabited the area for centuries before European contact.
- • Jefferson was a major port until the Great Raft on the Red River was cleared in the 1870s.
- • The Excelsior Hotel, built in the 1850s, is a landmark of antebellum architecture.
- • The Grove, a historic home, is rumored to be haunted by its former residents.