Texas Historical Marker #13976
Site of Kountze Baptist College Kountze Baptist College (also known as Jermany College) served African American students in the area for nearly two decades. In 1910, the Trinity Valley Baptist Association opened the primary and secondary grade level school. Such institutions were often known as colleges at the time. Professor W.H. Jermany served as president of the school and also taught classes along with four other teachers, including his wife. Affiliated with Bishop College in Marshall, the school initially enrolled 15 students housed in a small wooden building. Classes included Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Home Economics and Sewing, Dressmaking and Millinery, Music and Theology. The school also operated a truck farm on part of its 81-acre campus to support its agricultural education programs, and included a college preparatory academy and a teacher training program. Kountze Baptist College thrived in the 1910s and into the 1920s. The small wooden school building was replaced by a larger structure, and in 1915 the school obtained additional land and erected a three-story building which contained dormitory rooms, classrooms and a chapel. By the late 1920s, Professor Jermany had resigned and was replaced by a Professor Schlyde. Because of financial difficulties compounded by the Great Depression, the school closed in 1930. Many of the young African American men and women who were educated here went on to graduate from college. Serving as a source of pride for both blacks and whites in the area, Kountze Baptist College left a legacy as an institution of vital importance and significance in Hardin County. (2007) Marker is property of the state of Texas #13976
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11930
Courthouses of Hardin County. Hardin County was created in 1858. The first official Hardin County building was probably a two-story log building that burned about 1886. Early county records were destroyed in the conflagration. In 1887, architect Frank Smith of Beaumont designed a two-story frame structure built in Kountze by local contractor W. B. Pedigo. A safe was positioned inside the structure and the walls were built around it. The building was replaced in 1905. J. B. Hooks moved the old courthouse across the street to become the J. B. Hooks Abstract Company. A new masonry courthouse was erected in 1905. It was designed by Andrew P. Bryan and built by M. J. Lewman and Company. Domed in the tradition of the nation's capitol and the Texas State Capitol, the edifice was built of native stone from the Pecos area of West Texas. Salmon-colored brick was imported from the Hydraulic Press Brick Company of St. Louis, and the columns and bases were crafted by Bedford Stone Company. A carbide lighting system was installed in 1918. A three-story colonial-style sandstone building was erected with four 24-foot two-story columns front and back and 16 smaller columns supporting the dome. This building served until 1958. A modern facility was planned by Dickson-Dickson and Associates and built by Lumbeck Construction Company in 1958. The 1905 edifice was destroyed in 1960. At the end of the 20th century, the 1958 courthouse was still in service and the 1887 building continued to stand, now the home of law offices, near the courthouse square. (2000) #11930
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11159
Hooks Cemetery. North Carolina native William Hooks (1818-1894) lived in Florida and Georgia before moving to Texas in 1849. He settled here on his survey in 1852. Soon after, he set aside land at this site for a burial ground. It was originally used for family members and for residents of the adjacent area known as Pigeon Roost Prairie. William Hooks took a personal interest in the cemetery; he built coffins, dug graves, and maintained the grounds. After his death, it was administrated by his two youngest sons, Bud (d.1933) and Ben (d.1949). #11159
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11153
Old Hardin. Founded 1859 as first county seat of Hardin County, created in 1858. Prospered until bypassed by Sabine & East Texas Railroad in 1881. A fire of suspicious origin razed the Courthouse here on Aug. 8, 1886. In an 1887 election, Kountze, on the railroad, was named the county seat. #11153
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11155
Hardin-Concord Road. (In use 1859-1900) One of oldest landmarks in area. Formed by wagon and horseback travel from early settlements on Pine Island Bayou (to the SE) to Hardin, first county seat. Much of old road can be traced today. The highway crosses its course here. #11155
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11154
Hardin County. Created January 22, 1858; organized August 9, 1858. Named in honor of the Hardins of Liberty County, five brothers-- Benjamin Watson, Augustine Blackburn, William, Franklin and Milton A. who came to Texas in 1825. County seat, Hardin, 1858-1887; Kountze, since. #11154
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11933
Kirby-Hill House. Designed by Frank T. Smith of Beaumont and built in 1902, this was the home of James L. (1844-1922) and Martha Slater (1840-1907) Kirby. James Kirby was superintendent of the Kirby Lumber Company, founded by his brother John Henry Kirby. Most of the home's materials came from the Kirby Mills. Colonial revival and Victorian stylistic features include vertical siding, 48 pillars, curved walls, and six shingled gable ends. The house was inherited by the Kirby's daughter Lucy and her husband Austin M. Hill, Sr. Their descendants lived here until 1990. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1998 #11933
210 Main St., Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11163
Kountze Church of Christ. This congregation was established in 1886, one year before Kountze was named Hardin County Seat. First services were held in the Masonic Hall and in the Courthouse. In 1891 a permanent building was constructed on Brown Road on land given by Judge and Mrs. W. W. Cruse. It served the congregation until 1952 and was equipped with an 1819 church bell that provided the traditional call to worship. First elders of the church were John R. Bevil and J W. Daniels, with D. A. Leake serving as first minister. For over a century, the Church of Christ has been an important part of the history of Kountze. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 #11163
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11152
First United Methodist Church of Kountze. The town of Kountze developed in the 1880s, after the Texas and New Orleans Railroad was built through this area. The county seat, which had previously been located at the town of Hardin, was moved to Kountze in 1886. Soon after the town's creation, a group of worshipers led by the Rev. James S. Murphy joined together to organize a Methodist congregation. Land was acquired in 1887 from P. S. Watts, and plans were made to erect a sanctuary to be used by all denominations. The cornerstone was laid on May 11, 1888, and the first church building in Kountze soon was completed. Worship services were held on alternate Sundays by Methodists and other denominations. Murphy continued to serve as circuit-riding minister to the Methodists until December 1888, when he was succeeded by the Rev. V. A. Godbey. The Methodist Church in Kountze continued to grow over the years. Sunday School and missionary programs were organized, and in 1940 the congregation became a full charge in the denomination, with its own full-time pastor. A new sanctuary was built in 1951 to serve the growing congregation. The church has been a part of Kountze history for over a century. #11152
US 69 and SH 326, Kountze, TX, United States
Pine Lodge # 642, A. F. & A. M.. Organized in September 1886, and chartered in December of that year, the Pine Lodge drew its original thirteen members from all over Hardin County. William B. Pedigo served as the first master of the lodge and would continue his association with it for many years. The Washburn Building on Main Street was the first home of the lodge, which responded to appeals for assistance in the county and helped start new lodges in other area towns. The lodge began renting this building in 1923 and bought the property in 1945. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 #11164
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11931
First Baptist Church of Kountze. The Baptist Church of Hardin was organized in 1860 with Pastor D. W. Jordan. When the railroad bypassed Hardin (then the county seat) in 1881, area residents began moving to nearby Kountze. Hardin Baptists are believed to have followed, probably meeting in a multi-denominational building known as the first house of worship in Kountze erected in 1887. Southern Baptist Convention records list the origin of the Baptist Church of Kountze in 1890; the congregation declared itself in 1893 under Pastor J. W. Rhodes. In 1908 a loan from the Southern Baptist Convention to the First Baptist Church of Kountze facilitated the erection of a frame structure on Redwood Street. It was located two blocks from the original building, which had become the Methodist Church. In 1951 fundraising and planning began for a new brick building, dedicated in 1955. By 1979, a two-story wing was added; in the 1980s the church library and sanctuary were expanded and new youth programs established. The First Baptist Church of Kountze marked its 100th anniversary with a celebration lasting from the spring of 1990 to January of 1993. With such developments as a new fellowship hall added in 1997, the church continues to serve the community. (1998) #11931
100 Munro, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11157
Hooks Abstract Company. Established in 1902, the Hooks Abstract Company is thought to be the oldest continuously operating business in Hardin County. Named for its major investor J. B. Hooks, the company initially provided land ownership research for oil and timber companies. Co-founder Amos Rich operated the company until 1906 when J. A. McKim, Sr., assumed management of the firm. In the 1950s title insurance services were added by J. A. McKim, Jr., and his wife, who purchased the business in the 1960s. Their son succeeded them, changing the name of the firm to Hooks Title and Abstract Co. #11157
245 Crocker St., Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11932
Hart-Herrington Cemetery. William Henry Hart was born in Georgia in March 1804. Hampton Jackson Herrington was born in the same state in 1817. Hart married Sarah Granberry Herrington, becoming "Hamp" Herrington's brother-in-law. Herrington married Rachel Overstreet in 1838; after Rachel's death he married her sister, Elizabeth Overstreet, in 1845. The Hart and Herrington families moved to the East Texas community of Providence in 1853. In that year Hart served as a delegate from Jefferson County to select a nominee for congressman for East Texas. Hart and Herrington purchased eighty acres of the W. M. Bumstead survey n 1854. A portion of that land was to be set aside for a cemetery. When Hardin County was created in 1858, William H. Hart was elected county treasurer and his brother-in-law, "Hamp" Herrington, became the first chief justice (county judge). William Hart died in 1861 and his body was interred near this site, formally establishing the cemetery. The next burial was that of Sarah Ann Teel of Saratoga, who died in 1872. Sarah Herrington Hart was buried beside her husband in 1896. Hampton Herrington served the people of Hardin County until his own death in 1899. Of the nine marked graves in Hart-Herrington Cemetery, eight are those of relatives of William and Sarah Hart or Hampton and Elizabeth Herrington. Believed to be the second graveyard established in Hardin County, the Hart-Herrington Cemetery remains as a chronicle of the pioneers of East Texas. #11932
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12882
Richard E. Jackson. Richard E. Jackson Conservationist Richard E. Jackson was born August 12, 1880, in Leary, Georgia. In 1886, he came with his parents to Jasper, Texas, where they opened a general mercantile store. As a teenager, he worked for the family store and carried mail from Jasper to Woodville. In 1896, he was the first ticket agent for the GB & CK Railroad at Silsbee "Junction." Working as a conductor for the Santa Fe by 1904, he carried freight to sawmills and oilfields. In 1907, he married Velma Ophelia (Byrum), of Gainesville, and settled in Silsbee. Because of his admiration for the Big Thicket, Jackson began leasing land in the region, which was threatened by development, timber activity and oil explorations. His leases exceeded 18,000 acres, and he formed the Hardin County Co-operative Pasture and Game Preserve Group. Envisioning a park and hunting club, in 1929, he began an effort for the area's preservation and attracted wide support. In 1936, Jackson called a meeting in the offices of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce and organized the East Texas Big Thicket Association with 52 members. He hosted field studies for scientists, offered tours for public leaders, used his leases to show off the Big Thicket and delivered speeches publicizing it throughout the state and the region. Among other factors, the Great Depression and World War II contributed to the collapse of this early organization, but Jackson continued his conservation efforts until his death in 1957. Many of his followers later joined to establish the Big Thicket Association. Due to Jackson's early initiative and vision in preserving the unique landscape he loved, a national preserve was finally created here in 1974. Because of his unselfish dedication, R.E. Jackson is widely recognized as the "Father of the Big Thicket." (2003) #12882
?, Kountze, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11149
General Braxton Bragg, C. S. A.. (1817-1876) American military leader honored in this county in name of an early town (12 mi. W). Born in North Carolina, Bragg was in Texas in 1840s with army of General Zachary Taylor, to fight in Mexican War. Made a brigadier general of the Confederacy, 1861, he won renown by capturing many guns and prisoners at Shiloh (1862), and for Southern victory in Battle of Chickamauga (1863). He was respected as a strong disciplinarian, a devoted patriot, and a man with a stern sense of duty. Serving as military advisor (1863-1865) to President Jefferson Davis, he traveled with President Davis after Confederate surrender on a suggested escape route, but was captured by Federals and paroled in Georgia in May 1865. After an 1866-1870 term as Alabama commissioner of public works, he moved to Galveston. There he was chief engineer in charge of construction of Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, chartered May 28, 1873. When the G. C. & S. F. built into this area, a junction point on the line was named for General Bragg. The 1901-1934 town of Bragg (now a ghost site) had many facilities serving the Saratoga Oil Field. This was one of many towns (and counties) in Texas named for statesmen, military leaders and soldiers. #11149 [full inscription unknown]
?, Kountze, TX, United States
"Old" Hardin. Founded 1859 as first county seat of Hardin County, created in 1858. Prospered until bypassed by Sabine & East Texas Railroad in 1881. A fire of suspicious origin razed the Courthouse here on Aug. 8, 1886. In an 1887 election, Kountze, on the railroad, was named the county seat.
, Kountze, TX, United States