Texas Historical Marker #17208
The Cathey Buildings. #17208
Lipscomb Street, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #13748
Myrtle Springs Baptist Church, BMA. In the fall of 1861, William Setzler deeded land for church purposes, and the Myrtle Springs Missionary Baptist Church of Christ, as it was originally called, was organized and led by a Rev. Coker. Initially meeting in a nearby log schoolhouse, the congregation soon built a wooden church building. Later buildings were financed by gifts including cattle and eggs. In 1964, a baptistery was added to the 1949 sanctuary. Church members were previously baptized in ponds or in Myrtle Springs behind the church. Affiliated with the Baptist missionary Association (BMA), the church has continued to grow and add new facilities. With a focus on educational and missionary programs, it serves members from throughout Wood County. (2004) #13748
?, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #13409
Wood County. Wood County Created February 5, 1850 Organized August 5, 1850 Named in Honor of George T. Wood 1795-1858 Member of the Congress of the Republic of Texas An officer in the Mexican War Governor of tExas 1847-1849 Quitman, the county seat #13409
SH 37, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11671
Mountain Home. Birthplace of James Stephen Hogg, son of Lucanda McMath Hogg and Joseph Lewis Hogg. Born March 24, 1851, died March 3, 1906. First native Texan to serve as governor. Inspirer of the passage of the Railroad Commission law, stock and bond law, alien land law. (1936) #11671
Gov. Hogg Park, SH 37 South, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11669
Rock Hill Baptist Church. Organized in 1870 in school on Coke Road. First church was built in 1892. Charter members: Joe Bird, John Corley, W. W. Grice, and R. H. Galloway. First pastor: the Rev. Jeff Warlick. L. F. Banks, earliest ordained minister (in 1888). Since turn of century average membership has been 170. (1970) #11669
10 mi. N, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #09023
Captain Henry Stout. Henry Stout came to Texas in 1818 from Tennessee. Reported to have helped David Crockett plan his route to the Alamo, he served in the Republic of Texas Army in 1836, and from 1839 to 1845 was Captain of a Texas Ranger company. He moved here in 1847 and operated a grist mill and freight hauling business. He served on the commission to create Wood County in 1850, and was the first sheriff. He represented Van Zandt and Wood counties in the State Legislature in 1855-56, and was a Confederate officer during the Civil War. He is buried in a family cemetery adjacent to this site. (1992) #9023
FM 2088, 9 mi. E, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #09022
Col. James A. Stinson Home. Constructed in 1869 of virgin pine and oak by James A. Stinson, a widower who came to Texas in 1868 from Georgia after having served as a colonel in the Confederate Army. He brought with him his daughter Sallie. He bought extensive timber and farm lands in the eastern area of Wood County; operated a large sawmill which sent lumber throughout the state. Was also known as an early-day scientific farmer. Mrs. Nathan Jones, a widow with one daughter, Mary, became the second wife of Col. Stinson. The had two daughters, Lily and Cliffie, and one son, James F. In the parlor of the house, on April 22, 1874, Sallie Stinson married James Stephen Hogg, who later became the first native-born governor of the state. Col. Stinson was a southern aristocrat, a progressive thinker and a great scholar of government. He probably had great influence on James S. Hogg's ideas on good government. Was a leader in the county and state Grange, an organization which strove to protect rural interests. He was also instrumental in getting enacted into law the bill creating experimental farm, Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College. Stinson's home was always open to young and old. (1968) #9022
Park Rd. 45, off SH 37 S, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08975
Site of Little Indiana School. In 1900 a group of Indiana families, led by John M. Hart and Roland Alexander, migrated to this area of Texas. They arrived to find the land, which had been promoted as abundant in timber and rich soil, to be unfertile and susceptible to flooding. Many of the pioneers returned to their home state, but those who remained established a community they named Little Indiana. Soon after their arrival, the settlers of Little Indiana set aside land for a school. Construction of the schoolhouse was a community effort. Logs were hauled by oxen-drawn wagons to the local sawmill, where they were cut for use in the building project. The seven-grade Little Indiana School opened about 1901, with Alta Alexander Hart as the sole teacher. Later teachers included Hazel Alexander, Harrison Bullock, William McCreight, and OIa McCreight. The community grew for several years; by 1907, however, illness and poor crops brought about the abandonment of Little Indiana. The school and other establishments closed, and though many of the settlers returned to Indiana, others moved to different parts of Texas. Little Indiana School, while short-lived, remains part of the history of Wood County's early pioneering efforts. (1983) #8975
CR east of FM 2225, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08973
Lee Cemetery. North Carolina natives Benjamin Lee, his wife Alice, and their family came to this area about 1853, and soon acquired over 1,230 acres of land. The Lees operated a large cotton plantation with the help of their ten children and slave labor. Benjamin Lee became a community leader and was elected county commissioner one year after his arrival in the area. Currently covering over thirteen acres, this cemetery began as a small family burial ground in 1856, upon the death of Benjamin Lee. Alice Lee was the second person to be buried here, and their graves are included in the Lee family plot in the oldest section, surrounded by an iron fence. The graves of the four Lee sons, all of whom served in the Confederate army, are also in the family plot. Although established as a family graveyard, the Lee Cemetery was expanded to include graves of neighbors and gradually became a public community cemetery. Many types of stones and grave markers can be seen here, including one above-ground brick vault burial. Members of the community interred here include banker Charles H. Morris; mayor and state legislator William D. Suiter; doctor John B. Goldsmith and newspaper publishers Homer R. and Mae O. Weir. (1986) #8973
1.5 mi. S on SH 37, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08967
J. H. Jones and the Old Settlers Reunion Grounds. A native of Alabama, J. H. Jones (d. 1923) came to Texas in 1877. After teaching school for several years, he was elected clerk of Wood County in 1886. He later became a successful merchant in Quitman. In 1902 Jones donated property at this site to the Old Settlers of Wood County Association, organized three years earlier under the leadership of newspaper editor James L. Ray (d. 1929). Except for a short time during World War I, annual homecoming activities have been held here. The reunion grounds were deeded to the Governor Hogg Shrine State Park in 1952. (1981) #8967
SH 37 S, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08965
Indian Cemetery and Villages. Found during road-building operations and reported Nov. 1966. In Jan. 1967, eight graves were studied, but the bone fragments unearthed were so old that they crumbled upon exposure to air. Pieces of pottery were also found in the cemetery and in six villages in the vicinity. Grindstones, a jar with red paint, water jugs, and skinning stones suggest that the area may have been inhabited about 1200 to 1500 A.D., and possibly at an earlier time, by the Caddo Indians, an agricultural people with a highly advanced culture. Other cemeteries exist nearby. (1968) #8965
CR 1416, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08961
James Stephen Hogg. (March 24, 1851-March 3, 1906) Texas statesman whose nationally-acclaimed public career began at this site. The third son of Gen. Joseph L. and Lucanda (McMath) Hogg was born near Rusk. Orphaned during troubled Civil War era, he began at age 14 to earn his own way as a farmhand, clerk, printer's devil, typesetter, country editor. At 22, he was elected Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, and headed Commissioners Court of Wood County, 1874-75. He was admitted to the bar in 1875 and soon held higher offices: county attorney (1879-81), district attorney (1881-85), Texas Attorney General, (1887-90). Inaugurated on Jan. 20, 1891, he was the first native Texan to become Governor of the state. He championed the common people. An intellectual and physical giant, personally fearless, he saw Texas as victim of Wall Street greed, and corrected many injustices. To equalize business opportunities among great and small, he led in creating Texas Railroad Commission, hailed as a model throughout the world. Public office left him financially insecure. Later came wealth, which has been invested by his heirs in Texas mental health and culture. His wife was Sallie Stinson of Wood County. Their children -- Will, Ima, Mike and Tom -- were all philanthropists. (1971) #8961
Main & Goode streets (Courthouse Square), Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08960
Flora Lodge No. 119, A.F. & A.M.. Founded before the Civil War, as Quitman Masonic Lodge. Petition for charter was made on Jan. 5, 1852. First officers: James N. Brown, Worshipful Master; A. Gunter, Senior Warden; Francis C. McKnight, Junior Warden. Petitioners (other than the officers) included George Birdwell, W. L. Brown, S. M. Flournoy, I. D. Goes, E. H. McRee, I. H. McRee, M. W. Matthews, and Joshua Smith. Without any recorded explanation, the lodge was given its present name on Christmas Day of 1852. Original furniture was made by illustrious Wood County pioneer Peter Gunstream at cost of $10.75. In 1854 fire destroyed lodge charter, jewels, and furniture. Combination Presbyterian church and lodge hall was built on this site and occupied in 1855. Members voted to prohibit smoking on the premises. Ending of Civil War found the lodge penniless and hard pressed to pay 30 cents a pound for candles bought in 50 pound lots. In 1917 electric lighting closed a 65-year time span of candles and kerosene lamps. The early lodge worked diligently, often meeting on Saturday mornings, dismissing to attend preaching services downstairs, and afterward resuming work. Flora Lodge built new two-story structure at this historic location in 1949. (1972) #8960
214 E. Goode Street, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08955
First Baptist Church of Quitman. One of the earliest churches in Wood County. Organized Nov. 16, 1850, by pioneer settlers in a meeting moderated by a Cumberland Presbyterian, the Rev. Simon W. Weaver. Charter members included: Ursula Benton; M. M. and Mary Bigham; James, Robert, Silas, Mary A. L., and Elizabeth Duncan; Joseph, Alexander, and Martha Greer; Peter, Frances, and Mary Rozell; James N. Stedman; and John and Augusta Williams. Worship services were held in homes and open air in early days. A 2-story building with belfry was erected at College and Good streets in 1855 by the Presbyterians and Masons. In 1865 the Masons bought that building and made it available to all faiths until its razing in 1900. On same lot, Baptists and Masons erected another 2-story frame edifice. Under capable pastors, congregation grew. A 1929 building at Lane and College streets was replaced by the present plant in 1952. This bell (used from 1855 to 1929) is preserved as an historical relic. The pulpit here has been filled by notable guests, including the Rev. George W. Truett, world-renowned minister of Dallas. This is also noted as the home church of James Stephen Hogg (1851-1906), the first native-born Governor of Texas. (1970) #8955
N. College (Sissy Spacek Dr.) & E. Lane, Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08953
Collins-Haines Home. 1860 - First brick structure in Wood County. Erected by James A. and Harriet C. Collins, 1859 settlers from Mississippi. Bricks were molded and burned nearby; furniture crafted in plantation shop by Collins and slaves. They also planted fine gardens and landscapes. Past this home, 1861-1865, marched Confederate units, to Civil War. Since 1870 owned by family of George W. Haines. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965 #8953
1/2 mi. SE on FM 778 (Horton Street), Quitman, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08952
Clover Hill Cemetery. Families from Georgia and Alabama settled this land in 1856. The next year they chose this hill which was covered with yellow clover for construction of the Clover Hill Baptist Church. In 1868 "Little Buddy," son of G. H. and Sallie Pogue, was the first burial in this community cemetery. Soon a stranger died of smallpox and was interred here. The oldest marked gravestone is that of Martha Benton (1840-1862). She was buried, according to custom, near her home and later the family moved the headstone here. In 1926 the cemetery association was organized. (1979) #8952
FM 69, 5 mi. N, Quitman, TX, United States