Texas Historical Marker #07710
Camp of the Army of the Republic of Texas. Last Cherokee War. Under Gen. Kelsey H. Douglass, Gen. Thomas J. Rusk, Gen. Edward Burleson, and Col. Willis H. Landrum. Texas Secretary of War Albert Sidney Johnston ordered the army mustered out after its decisive victory in Battle of the Neches against Chief Bowles of the Cherokees and associated tribes on July 16, 1839, in Van Zandt County. From the Burleson Lake Camp, the soldiers departed for their homes on July 15, 1839. #7710
?, Lindale, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07753
Sabine Methodist Church. Organized in 1894 by the Rev. W. L. Pate, this congregation was named for its proximity to the Sabine River. Land for the church, school, and cemetery was donated by Joe Crone. The fellowship was served first by circuit preachers, but in 1922 began sharing a minister with the Lindale Methodist Church. In 1969, the Sabine and Lindale congregations merged. Throughout its history, Sabine Methodist Church has placed an emphasis on Christian education and has provided fellowship for members who often live miles apart in the surrounding rural area. #7753
?, Lindale, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12508
Flewellen-Thweatt Cemetery. The family of Thomas and Frances Maria Drake Flewellen came to Texas from Georgia and Arkansas in the 1850s. In 1859 Thomas Flewellen purchased 1,426 acres of rich farmland on which he established his home and a large farm. When Frances Maria died in 1861 she was buried near the family home, the first burial in what became the Flewellen-Thweatt cemetery. Three of the Flewellens' nine surviving children married members of the Thweatt family. The Flewellens and the Thweatts engaged in farming activities, using slave labor until after the Civil War. Many of the Flewellen slaves and their descendants are buried in the nearby Fluellen/Flewellen cemetery. The Flewellen-Thweatt cemetery is a reminder of the hardships faced in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as 20 of the burials are for children and women under 40 years of age. Others buried here include Thomas Flewellen (d. 1889) and other members of his extended family. In 1919 Thomas and Frances Maria's daughter, Mary Margaret Flewellen Hill, deeded this property as a cemetery for the lineal descendants of Thomas Flewellen, and it continues in use for that purpose. As the resting place for members of two prominent pioneer families, who were joined through marriage and are representative of Smith County's plantation culture, the Flewellen-Thweatt cemetery is a physical reminder of this part of Smith County's history. (2001) #12508
?, Lindale, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07717
Damascus Baptist Church. This congregation was organized by 12 charter members in 1890. The Rev. David Skiles was chosen as the first pastor and M. W. Wadsworth as first elder. Services were held in the nearby Nebo community schoolhouse until about 1895 when the addition of 40 new members during a revival meeting prompted the congregation to begin plans to build a larger, more permanent church building. Amy Wells donated three acres here for church and cemetery purposes in 1895. Water for the congregation was provided by a spring on 1.5 acres located across the road and donated by Mr. and Mrs. D. B. McDowell. The first sanctuary was completed in 1896. At that time the church was named Damascus by Army Wells, presumably for the Damascus in a Bible story related to the conversion of the Apostle Paul. The Rev. Robert Gorsline was chosen the first full-time pastor in 1948. Baptisms were held in a nearby creek and pond until 1956, when an indoor baptistry was included in the church's new brick sanctuary. Over the years additional facilities have been built to house educational and fellowship programs. The congregation is active in missionary work and continues to provide spiritual guidance for the community. #7717
?, Lindale, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07722
Duck Creek Soil Erosion Project. In 1929, one of ten erosion control research stations in the United States was set up southeast of this site for the purpose of studying erosion problems and the effectiveness of erosion control methods. This was one of the first organized efforts to solve the nation's soil erosion problems in a planned, scientific manner. Five years later, in 1934, the Duck Creek watershed near this site was approved as a demonstrational project for working with all known methods of erosion control. In cooperation with the landowners in the 25,000-acre area, a plan of conservation treatment was devised for each farm. Much of the labor used in carrying out these plans, such as building dams and fences and planting trees and pasture grass, was provided by a nearby Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp. The success of the Duck Creek project attracted much attention and many visitors to the area. Duck Creek was used by the Soil Conservation Service as a training ground for agronomists, soil surveyors, engineers, biologists, foresters, economists, and others who carried knowledge learned here to many other states across the country. #7722
?, Lindale, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07742
Milburn-Gary House. Anglo settlement of the Gum Springs area in Smith County was underway when the community name changed to Starrville in 1852, in honor of pioneer Russel Julius Starr. Located on the Dallas-Shreveport freight route, Starrville included a post office, school, Masonic Lodge and Bethel Baptist Church. The Rev. Williamson Milburn was appointed pastor of the Baptist Church in 1854. The Rev. Mr. Milburn bought land from Benjamin Harry in 1853 that was part of the A. J. LaGrone survey patented in 1850. This home was built by the Rev. Mr. Milburn in 1855. The structure was built with hand-picked knot-free lumber on a foundation put together with wooden pegs, and featured solid oak walls. Its wide doors and floor plan are indicative of a 19th-century house. Business owners W. D. and W. V. Hyer purchased the home and sold it to Jesse B. Gary, a local farmer, in 1880. John Henry Gary, Sr., bought the property from his father in 1900, and moved the house 400 yards north of its original location to access a better water supply. The home remained in the Gary family until 1964. The home was uninhabited for many years. It was moved to this site in 1995. #7742
?, Lindale, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12385
Site of Flora. James K. Beene settled in this area in 1845 and established a post office called Flora in 1849. John and Delila Austin and their daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Willis Jones, bought adjacent farms in 1850. Flora community grew up around their properties on the Dallas-Shreveport Road. By 1853, James Monroe Luckey had opened Flora's first store and Carmel Baptist Church was organized nearby. The first sale of a town lot in Flora was recorded in 1855. By 1860 the town boasted three doctors, two blacksmiths, a Masonic lodge and three stores. The hardships of the Civil War years brought about the decline of the thriving community. By 1871 all the businesses were gone, the Masonic lodge had moved to Garden Valley, and Flora became a ghost town. (2001) #12385
?, Lindale, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07735
Hubbard Family Cemetery. This site once overlooked the plantation home of Richard B. Hubbard (1800-1864) and his wife Serena Carter, who came here from Georgia in 1854. They operated a prosperous 720-acre plantation with 44 slaves. Their son Richard Bennett Hubbard (1832-1901), later a governor of Texas, had graduated from Harvard Law School and set up his practice in Tyler. While young Hubbard served with the Confederate army during the Civil War, his wife and children moved to the plantation. His twin daughters Mattie and Hattie died in 1863 and were buried on this hill. Also interred here are Hubbard's father, his infant daughter Claudia and his wife Eliza (d. 1868). The last interment was his nine-year-old son Bennie in 1877. Slave burials are marked with ironstone in this family plot. Hubbard served as lieutenant governor, 1874-1876, and governor, 1876-1879. He was a railroad promoter and a leader in the state and national Democratic Party. President Grover Cleveland appointed him United States Minister to Japan. During his service there, 1885-1890, his second wife Janie Roberts died of cholera. She and Hubbard, along with other members of the family, are buried in Tyler's Oakwood Cemetery. #7735
?, Lindale, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07766
Vial-Fragoso Trail. Blazed in 1788 by Pierre Vial and Francixo Fragoso on their way from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Natchitoches, Louisiana. #7766
?, Lindale, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07706
Bethesda Presbyterian Church and Cemetery. In 1879 William Lee Henderson (b. 1808), his wife Eleanor Shelby (b. 1817), and their nine children moved from their Alabama home to Texas by wagon train. Church records indicate worship services were held in a shelter built by the Hendersons shortly after they settled here. At the Hendersons' request the East Texas Presbytery officially recognized the new congregation as the Lindale Presbyterian Church in March 1881. Its name was changed to Bethesda in 1885, for a church the Hendersons had established in Perry County, Alabama. William's son, Franklin Smith Henderson, was buried here on family land in 1881. Other interments near Franklin's grave site, including that of his father William in 1883, formed the nucleus of this cemetery, which from its beginning had been a community burial place. A cemetery association was organized in 1905. Among those buried here are veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. The congregation erected a new sanctuary at this site in 1895 which was enlarged in 1959. Descendants of the original Henderson family and of other area pioneers buried in the cemetery have gathered here each summer for many decades for a reunion and other religious and social activities. #7706
?, Lindale, TX, United States