Texas Historical Marker #13937
Emporia Cemetery. This pioneer burial ground predates later timber towns of the area. The land was originally set aside as a family cemetery, with the first burial for W.E. and Emily Waltman's infant son William in 1882. The Emporia sawmill operated a few hundred yards west from 1893-1906; some sawmill workers and their families are also buried here, mostly in unmarked graves. Relatives of Jeremiah and Hester Anthony are also buried here, and while that family took care of the graveyard it was also known as Anthony Cemetery or Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Noteworthy features here include the use of landscape petrified wood and homemade concrete gravestones. Once a rural cemetery, the site is now within the city limits of Diboll. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2006 #13937
?, Diboll, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08726
Thomas Lewis Latane Temple. (1859 - 1935) Virginia native Thomas Lewis Latane Temple, son of Henry W. L. and Susan (Jones) Temple, moved to Texarkana, Texas, in 1877. He married Georgie D. Fowlkes in 1880. In 1893 Temple organized the Southern Pine Lumber Company in Texarkana and began timber operations on lands he purchased here in Angelina County. Temple founded the town of Diboll in 1894 at the site of the company's main sawmill. His legacy of conservation and reforestation practices, and philanthropy towards the Diboll community and his employees was recognized by the Texas State Senate upon his death in 1935. (1994) #8726
300 Park St., Diboll, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08723
Southern Pine Lumber Company Commissary. The original commissary at this site was constructed about 1894 when T. L. L. Temple (1859 - 1935) started the first Southern Pine Lumber Company sawmill here. The store was moved to the present building when it was completed in 1923. The inventory included groceries, medicine, ice, furniture, dry goods, and coffins. Items were purchased with "company checks," special tokens of metal or wax-coated paper. Managed from 1896 to 1938 by W. P. Rutland, the commissary closed in 1953. The building housed company offices until 1979. (1980) #8723
?, Diboll, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08715
Old Diboll Library. Built about 1908 by T. L. L. Temple for his Southern Pine Lumber Company employees, this building served for many years as a community library and recreation hall. While the lower floor included a reading room and recreational facilities, the upper floor contained living quarters used at various times by the Temple family, single male employees, and schoolteachers. The building was used as a Red Cross sewing room during World War I and as a food distribution point for needy families during the Depression. It later served as a residence and office. (1990) #8715
116 N. First St., Diboll, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #06998
First Methodist Church of Diboll. This congregation was founded about 1897, soon after Diboll was established as a sawmill town. Early worship services were held in a local schoolhouse and in a two-story structure shared with the local Baptist congregation and fraternal organizations. Church leaders acquired this site by lease in 1914 and built their first sanctuary that year. The land was deeded to the congregation in 1922, and additional facilities were later built to accommodate the growing membership. The church still counts among its members descendants of some of its founding families. (1991) #6998
401 Hines St., Diboll, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #06993
Emporia. Emporia Lumber Company co-owners S. F. Carter and M. T. Jones purchased over 5,000 acres of land in south Angelina County and established a company town named Emporia in 1893. The town included sawmill facilities, a railroad spur to ship lumber, logging camps, company houses, schools, churches, stores and a cemetery. In 1906 the sawmill burned and was not rebuilt. Although the company ceased operations, people continued to live in Emporia. Eventually the town was absorbed within the city of Diboll. (1996) #6993
?, Diboll, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #06989
Diboll. A sawmill established here in 1894 by T. L. L. Temple gave rise to a town that by 1900 contained a commissary, post office, churches, homes, and schools run by the Southern Pine Lumber Company. The town was named for the Diboll family of New Orleans from whom Temple initially purchased timber rights. Diboll remained a company town until Southern Pine Lumber Company began promoting private ownership of homes and businesses in the 1950s. Diboll was incorporated in 1962 and today boasts a multiethnic citizenry which supports numerous community activities. (1994) #6989
400 Kenley, Diboll, TX, United States