Texas Historical Marker #14764
Antioch Cemetery. This graveyard has long been associated with the Antioch Primitive Baptist Church, which was organized in 1859. The first marked grave, that of Mary J. Cramer, is dated 1860. Antioch Cemetery also contains unmarked burial sites, many of which are for transient sawmill workers who lived in the area while the 4C Mill was in operation at Ratcliff. The communities of Ratcliff, Hagerville, Kennard, and Stubblefield continue to use the cemetery for the burial of descendants of Antioch Church members. (1985) #14764
CR 4720, Ratcliff, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12087
William Preston and Rebecca Kate Conner House. Built on land purchased in 1852, the W. P. "Press" and Rebecca Kate Conner house was constructed by W. C. McKelvey in 1891 with logs harvested on site. The home was a vernacular L-plan residence with an enclosed center passage. A second story was added in 1910 and Conner descendants have made many other additions and improvements. Press Conner was a farmer and rancher; Kate was the area midwife. The family continues to own and care for the property. (1998) Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1997 #12087
?, Ratcliff, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #10986
Druso. When the Four-C Company built a large sawmill in nearby Ratcliff in 1900, the Eastern Texas Rail Line was built through the area for shipping. Druso was the only stop on the rail line between the Four-C mill and Lufkin, and changed from a farming to a logging boom town. Druso included a post office, cotton gin, general store, blacksmith and saloon. Children attended nearby Mt. Pisgah School. In 1920 the mill closed, the rail line was abandoned, and the town declined. Much of the land became part of the Davy Crockett National Forest in 1935. #10986
?, Ratcliff, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07040
Four C Mill. R.M. Keith, agent for Central Coal & Coke Co., Kansas City, Mo., in Oct. 1899., began purchasing the virgin pine timberlands of this region. Lumber for construction of a new mill was cut by a small sawmill bought by Keith, Jan. 10, 1901, from local landowner, J.H. Ratcliff. Although known as"Four C" mill, it was operated by the Louisiana and Texas Lumber Co., organized by Keith in July 1901. The mill began sawing lumber in June 1902, producing 300,000 board feet per 11-hour day. The Texas Southeastern Railroad laid tracks from Lufkin; tram roads and tap lines were built into the forest to haul fresh-cut timber to the mill. The company built houses and a "company store" at the mill, and several logging camps in the forest to house and feed lumberjacks. Hostility erupted when Town of Ratcliff was begun nearby, competing for the workers' trade. Between the mill and Ratcliff the company erected a 16-foot fence, which was dynamited several times, thwarting the attempts to establish a company-controlled town. By 1917, the company had exhausted the 120,000 acres it had purchased. The mill was shut down and dismantled in 1920, due to shortage of good timber. Nearby Ratcliff Lake was the Four C millpond. #7040
?, Ratcliff, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07035
Ratcliff CCC Camp. J.H. Ratcliff's 1880s sawmill and village here gave way to major timber industry operations that by the early 1930s had decimated Houston County's densest virgin forest. As part of federal efforts to restore the nation's natural resources, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp F-4-T was built at this site in 1933-34, and the Davy Crockett National Forest was established in this area in 1935. CCC workers constructed fire towers, built roads, developed an old sawmill pond into a public lake with recreational facilities, and planted about 3,000,000 trees. Ratcliff CCC Camp closed in 1941. #7035
?, Ratcliff, TX, United States