Texas Historical Marker #11426
Marvin Chapel Cemetery. This cemetery traces its origin to the Marvin Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, South, established here (in the pioneer community of Owlet Green) in the 1860s. The first recorded burial was that of Nannie E. Graham in 1872. However, deed records and unmarked grave sites in its oldest section suggest prior burials. In 1884, Amplias Smith donated 3 acres for cemetery use. William and J. E. Rose donated one acre to the Marvin Chapel Church in 1885 which was later added to the cemetery. Interred here are area pioneers and veterans of conflicts from the Mexican War to Vietnam. (1993) #11426
?, Van, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #15698
Van. #15698
Corner of Walnut and West Main Street, Van, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12265
Primrose-Sexton Community. Thomas Horsley received much of the land in this area from the state of Texas in 1847, and settlers began to arrive in the 1850s. Johnson Watts and his family came in 1858 and bought 820 acres of Horsley land. B. H. Denson, his family and 30 slaves moved to the area in 1859 and bought 1,890 acres. The Sexton community developed on the Denson and adjoining Watts land. By 1866, when Denson sold land to John M. Williams, the deed excluded three acres for "Shilo Meeting House," believed to have been the area's first church and school. In the 1880s, Littleton Davidson and his family built a cotton gin, attracting more settlers. The one-room log New Harmony Church-School building east of Shilo Meeting House was in operation by 1880. It was east of and across the road from the cemetery. The first grave in the New Harmony Cemetery was that of James A. Fulgham, who died at age two in 1880. The New Harmony school closed in the late 1890s. Fern and Ann Williams and Al Sexton conveyed two acres for the Sexton community school in 1899. The school grew rapidly. A federal post office was established in 1902 in Davidson's store under the name "Primrose," so residents called the community both Primrose and Sexton. J. D. Johns and his wife conveyed two acres for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1904, establishing the Sexton Chapel Church. The post office closed in 1910. In 1912 Al Sexton formally deeded two acres for the cemetery. A larger schoolhouse was built in 1914. It served the community until consolidation with the Van Independent School District in 1938. (2000) #12265
?, Van, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11422
Jarman No. 1 Discovery Well. The Pure Oil Company conducted seismograph surveys in Van Zandt County in 1927 and that summer leased about 17,000 acres in the Van area for exploration. Core drilling began in January 1929, and the first derrick was erected in a cotton patch on the farm of W. T. Jarman (1856-1928). The flurry of activity in the area brought many curious onlookers. Families brought picnic lunches and spent entire days watching the drilling crews. On October 13 thousands of people came and waited all day, leaving that evening disappointed that nothing had happened. Early on the morning of October 14 the Number One well quietly came in, launching the village of Van into a boomtown overnight. In 1929 Van was a small farming community, with a general store and a two-room school. Suddenly stores, hotels, and dance halls sprung up throughout the town, and new schools and roads were built to serve the increased population. The Jarman Number One Well was the first of 591 wells in the Van field. In the first twenty years over 200 million barrels of oil were produced, and in December 1985 the field yielded its 500 millionth barrel of oil. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 #11422
?, Van, TX, United States