Texas Historical Marker #00542
Bruceville Baptist Church. This church was organized as Salem Baptist Church about 1870-71 in the town of Mastersville. Early worship services were held in the home of the minister, and in an arbor. The church name was changed in 1884 to Mastersville Baptist Church. The congregation moved 2 miles south to the new railroad town of Bruceville. In 1896 a sanctuary was built that stood until 1975 when a new church building was erected in its place. The church supports many outreach programs in the U.S. and in foreign nations, and has served the community for more than 125 years. (1996) #542
Benton & Plum St., Bruceville, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #01037
Boyhood Home of Tom Connally. N/A #1037
?, Bruceville, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03229
Martin Irons. A native of Scotland, Martin Irons (1833-1900) came to the United States at the age of fourteen as a machinist's apprentice. After learning the trade,he lived and worked in numerous places throughout the country. By 1884,he was employed as a machinist in the Missouri Pacific Railway shop in Sedalia, Missouri. A firm believer in organization as a means by which individuals could improve their lives, Irons became an active participant in groups such as the Knights of Pythias and the Grange. While working in Sedalia, he became interested in an early union society known as the Knights of Labor and was instrumental in organizing workers employed by Jay Gould's network of southwestern railroad lines. The Railroad Union, known as District Assembly 101, went on strike in 1886. Irons, then chairman of the executive committee, came into prominence as its leader. The strike was marked by violence, and when it ended, Irons was blacklisted. He retired in nearby Bruceville but remained active in social reform movements until his death. Iron's grave in the Bruceville Cemetery is marked by a monument, placed in 1911 by the Missouri Federation of Labor. #3229
?, Bruceville, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04734
Site of Bruceville Methodist Church. According to local tradition this congregation traces its beginning to the Cedar Bridge Methodist Church, which held services just prior to the Civil War in a sanctuary near a cedar bridge constructed by pioneer settler E.T. Cox. Members of Cedar Bridge Methodist reportedly organized a Methodist church in nearby Mastersville in 1863. Local tradition claims the 1863 Mastersville Methodist Church is the parent church of Bruceville Methodist Church. The earliest record of Mastersville Methodist is an 1865 notice of Rev. J.L. Crabb's selection as pastor. Soon after the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas railroad extended its track through here in 1881 many of Mastersville's citizens and businesses moved to be near railroad. The town which developed was officially named Bruceville with the granting of a post office in 1887. It was named for Dr. Lucien N. Bruce, on whose land the railroad depot was built. The first Bruceville Methodist Church sanctuary was built sometime during the 1880s. A new church building, erected at this site in 1895, served the congregation until 1983 when Bruceville Methodist Church merged with the nearby Eddy Methodist Church. The Bruceville Methodist Church building was later razed. #4734
?, Bruceville, TX, United States