Texas Historical Marker #15006
Jordans Saline. John Jordan established the community of Jordans Saline when he settled here in 1844 and joined with A.T. McGee in organizing a salt company. When Van Zandt County formed in 1848, Jordans Saline was named temporary county seat. Although the county seat moved in 1850, Jordans Saline continued to grow and by 1860, it had a thriving salt industry and other businesses. In 1873, the Texas & Pacific Railroad extended from Marshall to Dallas, passing one mile north of the town. S.Q. Richardson, a successful salt maker, donated land for a townsite on the railroad, and Grand Saline was laid out. Residents moved, establishing the community of Grand Saline and soon Jordans Saline ceased to exist. (2008) #15006
Intersection of FM 857 and CR 1701, Grand Saline, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11432
Wiley Hardeman Post. Pioneer aviator Wiley Hardeman Post was born on November 22, 1898, in the community of Corinth in Van Zandt County, to William Francis and Mae Laine Post, who moved to Oklahoma when Wiley was a boy. Wiley was inspired as a youth to learn to fly. In the late 1920s he obtained flight training, made his first solo flight, and acquired an air transport license. Despite the loss of one eye in an oil field accident, Post worked as a barnstormer, commercial pilot and flight instructor. Post set many flight records and won the national air races in 1930. He and Harold Gatty circled the world, flying 15,474 miles in less than 9 days in 1931. Post soloed around the world in less than 8 days in 1933. Post invented and developed the first pressurized flight suit, explored stratospheric flight, and used an early Sperry autopilot mechanism. He worked with the U. S. Army Air Corps on an experimental automatic direction finding (ADF) radio compass, and was a pioneer in the use of liquid oxygen for high altitude flight. Post and humorist Will Rogers died in a plane crash on a trip to Alaska in 1935. His plane the "Winnie Mae" is in the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. (1996) #11432
?, Grand Saline, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11431
Morton Salt Company Building. [medallion only] #11431
?, Grand Saline, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11408
First Methodist Church of Grand Saline. Methodists living in Grand Saline during the early years of its settlement traveled to Creagleville (3 mi. W) to attend worship services. In 1889, after Grand Saline experienced a period of growth due to industrial and business expansion, a Methodist congregation was organized by the Rev. Samuel N. Allen and a small group of worshipers. Grand Saline became a circuit in the denominational district, and was served by circuit-riding ministers. Early pastors, in addition to the Rev. Mr. Allen, included the Rev. John C. Burgamy and the Rev. Edgar R. Large. Early worship services were held in private homes and in the community schoolhouse at the southwest corner of Frank and Green streets. The congregation purchased land on the southwest corner of O'Hara and Richardson (now Hiram) streets in 1894, and their first house of worship was completed in 1896. The church moved to a new building at Main and O'Hara streets in 1904, and has remained at this site in a variety of structures. The First Methodist Church has grown with the city of Grand Saline. Throughout its history, the church has served the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs. (1991) #11408
501 N. Main St., Grand Saline, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11394
Creagleville. The rural community of Creagleville traces its beginnings to the 1840s. It was named for German native Henry Creagle (1826-1872), who settled in Van Zandt County about 1847. The community was located on the Dallas-Shreveport Road, a major east-west thorough-fare across the north portion of the county. The road, which bisected Henry Creagle's land survey, was used by Creagleville farmers, immigrants, freight wagons, and stock drovers. A school was founded in Creagleville by 1854, and a schoolhouse was built near the Creagle home. As the agricultural community of farmers grew, homes were built, a church was established, a cotton gin and gristmill were erected, and a cemetery was established. Three acres were deeded for the original cemetery by B. F. Wheeler in 1879, although burials had taken place earlier. The community eventually declined as citizens moved away; the school was consolidated with Grand Saline in 1941, and the church closed in 1991. The cemetery remains active and contains burials of more than 50 Civil War veterans, early settlers to the area, and their descendants. (1997) #11394
?, Grand Saline, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11390
Corinth Cemetery. Land for this cemetery was first deeded in 1886 by James Richardson (1814-1887), on whose land grant the Corinth community had developed. Over the years, additional acreage for the graveyard has been given by members of the D. D. Richardson, Oliver, Carroll, and Davis families. The oldest legible tombstone in the Corinth Cemetery bears a death date of Jan. 14, 1874. Many of the headstones have weathered and deteriorated so that they are illegible, while others have disappeared over the years. Some of the early burial sites were marked only with fieldstones or by the planting of Cedar trees. Six known Civil War veterans are buried here. Early settlers in the Corinth community whose family names are common in the cemetery are Crestman, Yoes, Rawson, King, Cox, and Blair. Renowned aviator Wiley Post (1898-1935) grew up in the Corinth community and attended the Baptist Church. Several members of his family, including his mother, father, brother, and grandparents, are buried in the Corinth Cemetery. His grandfather, the Rev. Thomas M. Post (1843-1931), a well-known circuit preacher, founded many area churches and served as an early pastor of the Corinth Baptist fellowship. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 #11390
?, Grand Saline, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11389
Corinth Baptist Church and School. The church and cemetery at this site are all that remain of the once-thriving community of Corinth. Settled during the 1800s, Corinth boasted a gin, grist mill, blacksmith shop, doctor's office, sawmill,stores, and a school during its early years. A post office, established in 1888, operated until 1906. An early Van Zandt County history records that a school existed on this property in 1849, taught by professor James J. Kuykendall. The log schoolhouse also served the Baptist church congregation. It was replaced about 1899 with a two-story building in which the Oddfellows also held their meetings. A third schoolhouse was built in 1916 and later was sold to the church to serve as Sunday School classrooms. Little is known of the origin of the Baptist congregation, since early church records were destroyed by fire. The earliest pastor on record is the Rev. Thomas McAdams Post (1843-1931), who came in 1884 and served a membership of 25. A Civil War veteran, Post is buried in the adjacent cemetery, which is the burial site of several other Civil War veterans and many early settlers in the Corinth area. Although little is left of the Corinth community, its history remains a strong part of Van Zandt County heritage. (1984) #11389
?, Grand Saline, TX, United States