United States / Lancaster, TX

Site of Confederate Arms Factory. Site of Confederate Arms Factory Established by Joseph H. Sherrard, William L. Killem, Pleasant Taylor and John M. Crockett in 1862 to manufacture pistols for the State of Texas. #6655

220 W. Main St., Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06733

Former Site of Head House. Former Site of the Head House Lucy Frances Jeffries (1840 - 1931) of Virginia married Henry Head, and while bringing up their four children discovered her talent for cooking. From 1891 to 1918, in her large home on this site, Mrs. Head operated a boarding house famous for good food such as fried chicken, popovers, cakes, pies, and ambrosia. Commercial travelers ("drummers") spread the fame of Head House nationally. Crowds thronged here, especially on Sundays and great occasions. The hostelry also attracted many honeymooners. It retained the Head name until it closed and was demolished in 1936. #6733

?, Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06891

W. A. Strain Home. This residence was built for W. A. (1861 - 1907) and Minnie (White) Strain (1867 - 1957), whose pioneer family bought this property in 1846. Begun in 1895, the structure was completed in late 1896. Noted architect James E. Flanders of the Dallas firm of Flanders-Moad designed the frame Victorian house, with its ornate porch decoration and fishscale shingling. The Strain's son Ellis White (b. 1900) later occupied the home with his wife Ruth (Clark) (1902 - 1975) and their four daughters. RTHL 1977 #6891

400 E. Pecan, Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06833

Rawlins Homestead. In 1845 Roderick Rawlins the elder settled this area. His son Roderick A. Rawlins (1833 - 1910) married his teacher, Virginia Bledsoe, daughter of the founder of Lancaster. They started this house in 1855. After serving as a Confederate officer during the Civil War (1861-65), Capt. Rawlins rebuilt his home in the popular Greek Revival style. It stood halfway between Waxahachie and Dallas. Travelers obtained water and sometimes camped at its well. RTHL - 1964 #6833

?, Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06688

Edgewood Cemetery. Earliest grave here is that of Lizzie Richardson, a pioneer child who died in the summer of 1845. The site for the cemetery was chosen by Roderick Rawlins, one of the area's first settlers; he was buried here in 1848. Among the graves in the older section is that of James Lemon, veteran of the American Revolution, who died on July 4, 1858. The land was not officially set aside as a cemetery until it was acquired from Thomas McKee Ellis in 1877. Since then the Lancaster Cemetery Association has bought additional land and currently maintains over 1500 graves. Marker Donor: Lancaster Historical Society #6688

?, Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06707

First United Methodist Church of Lancaster. Itinerant preachers often met with local Methodists in early days of settlement. Organized on May 25, 1868, by the Rev. Andrew Davis, this is one of the oldest churches in North Texas. Services were held in Masonic Hall until a church building was erected in 1874. This had separate entrances and seating for men and women, in the Victorian manner. After a new church was constructed in 1911, the original building was used as a Sunday School annex, but was later razed. The present sanctuary, erected in 1957, stands on site of the original church. #6707

201 S. Dallas Ave., Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06691

First Baptist Church of Lancaster. During the 1840s and 1850s, Lancaster Baptists met periodically in private homes. On Sept. 29, 1867, fourteen charter members gathered to organize the Missionary Baptist Church. They worshiped first in the Masonic Hall, a two-story frame building that also housed three other denominations and the community school. Early baptisms were held in Ten Mile Creek. In 1873 the congregation bought a lot at E. 2nd and State Street and erected the first church building in Lancaster, a structure shared for a time with the Methodists and Presbyterians. The bell that hung in the steeple of that frame edifice is now displayed in the church yard. The Ladies Aid Society, formed in 1877, helped purchase an adjacent lot for construction of the first parsonage in 1887. This fellowship became the First Baptist Church of Lancaster in 1902. A new church building was erected in 1902-03 on this property at E. 3rd and Henry Street, purchased from Lancaster Lodge No. 160, A. F. & A. M. The pulpit and stained glass windows were transferred from that sanctuary to the present structure, built in 1951-52. Other physical facilities were added as the First Baptist congregation expanded its membership and community services. #6691

305 E. 3rd, Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06703

First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster. In 1856 the Rev. Michael Dickson and nine charter members met in a crude cabinet workshop to organize this church. Services were first held in an early schoolhouse, shared with other denominations. After the Civil War, the Ladies Aid Society raised money for a permanent church site and donated $100 to launch the building fund. The first church was erected in 1884. The present structure, completed in 1912, was dedicated in 1917. The membership today includes descendants of the original families. Numerous community service activities are sponsored by this congregation. #6703

301 E. 1st St., Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06777

Lowrey-Hurst Homestead. Tennessee native James Barker Lowrey (b. 1823) came to Texas in 1859 with his wife, Elizabeth (Hunter), and their children. In 1881 he purchased this 124-acre tract of land. Three years later Lowrey conveyed title to the property to his second son, Nicholas (d. 1897), who continued his father's farming and cattle raising practices. The homestead was divided for a time, but later was reunited by John S. Hurst (d. 1943), a prominent Lancaster businessman and Nick Lowrey's son-in-law. The Lowrey - Hurst homestead and farm remained in the same family for more than a century. #6777

405 E. Pleasant Run Rd., Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06925

Winniford House. Kentucky native William Johnson Winniford (1827 - 1915) came to Texas as a Peters Colonist in 1845. A participant in California's Gold Rush, he returned and homesteaded 320 acres here in 1853. He married Sarah Allen Lewis in 1865. Their son, John L. (1870 - 1946) and his wife Emma L. Batchler (1875 - 1973), built this house in 1913, reared 4 children and raised corn, cattle, and cotton. Designed by John's brother, Andrew, the prairie school style house features a foursquare plan with large hipped roof, dormers, and distinctive multi-light windows. The house and farm complex remain in the Winniford family. RTHL 0 1994 Restored by Winniford Morton and Harry Lewis in 1978 #6925

1921 Nokomis Rd., Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06754

Town of Lancaster. Founded by A. Bledsoe (1801 - 1882), from Kentucky, joined by his son-in-law, Roderick A. Rawlins (1833 - 1910), and Mrs. Mildred Parks Rawlins (1789 - 1875). The elder Rawlins family came to this locality in 1844. Bledsoe, later to become Texas State Comptroller, settled here in 1846. With the Rawlins' cooperation, he established this town about 1852, patterning and naming it after the Kentucky town founded by his grandfather. Stores, a school, churches, a grist mill, tannery, cotton gin, and carding mill soon were built in or near the 1-square-mile townsite. During the Civil War (1860s), a Confederate pistol factory was operated here. After 1876, a town well on the Square provided water for citizens and visitors. The first railroad arrived in 1888, another in 1890. Randolph College, an enterprise of one of the Texas Christian University founders, Randolph Clark, operated here 1898 - 1900. Other schools used the college plant until it burned in 1912. Fires also destroyed some sections of this Square in 1877, 1889, and 1918. During its first century, Lancaster was a farmers' market town -- its fortunes fluctuating with yields and prices of cotton. Since 1950, a broader economy prevails, and the population has increased. Marker Donor: Lancaster Historical Society #6754

?, Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06841

Pleasant Run. Madison Moultrie Miller (1814-60) came west from Alabama and served under W. W. "Bigfoot" Wallace in 1844-45 as a Texas Ranger. Settling here in 1846 with a motherless daughter and son, he soon married Mary (Polly) Parks Rawlins, daughter of this area's pioneer settler Roderick Rawlins. Miller situated himself just north of present Lancaster, opening a store in his home on the road to Johnson's Station (present Arlington), and giving site for first local school. He enlarged his home to 15 rooms in 1848 and built a warehouse and a store, where goods imported from New York ranged from fine silks to hardware, medicines, and saddles. He had a grist mill, a stage stand and hotel; woodworking, tin, and blacksmith shops; and was first postmaster of Pleasant Run, 1848. In the 1850s, Miller laid out a town and sold lots. To benefit Pleasant Run and Dallas County, he tried to secure Trinity Navigation, and Railroad Service. His death at age 46 and the subsequent closing of his store and other enterprises halted growth of his town, but his family home stood until the 1950s. His post office building still exists as a part of a structure on Elm Street, and his town's name is memoralized in Pleasant Run Road, Lancaster. Marker Donor: Lancaster Historical Society #6841

1425 N. Dallas Ave., Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06874

St. Paul Freewill Baptist Church. According to oral tradition, this congregation was organized in 1870 by the freed Blacks of the Lancaster community. Land for a church building was acquired in the late 1870s, during the pastorate of the Rev. Augustus Ferrin, but the sanctuary was not completed until about 1892. It was enlarged in 1905 to accommodate a growing membership. Descendants of many of the early members still worship here. As they continue to uphold the ideals and traditions of the founders. #6874

335 N. Lancaster-Hutchins Rd., Lancaster, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #06696

First Christian Church of Lancaster. (Disciples of Christ) On July 5, 1846, Roderick Rawlins (1776 - 1848) and 13 settlers began this fellowship. They met in homes and a one-room log schoolhouse. For years ordained members and itinerant preachers led services. After disruptions of the Civil War, the membership reorganized in 1880. The first church house was built in 1887 at the corner of Main and Henry. It burned in 1918 with other structures on the Square and was replaced the next year. In 1957 this site was acquired; the building was erected in 1960. This is one of the oldest Christian congregations in continuous service in the state. #6696

750 W. Main St., Lancaster, TX, United States