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Benjamin Burke
Marker Location:
At the Burke Cemetery, Fm 2501, 4
miles north of Apple Springs
Marker Text:
Benjamin Burke
(1793-1863)
Pioneer farmer Benjamin Burke
migrated to Texas in 1829 and received an 1834 land grant from the Mexican
Government in what is now Tyler County. He served in the Texas Arm in 1836
during the war for independenced. About 1859 he moved to the Centralia Community
in Trinity County. He married Susan (Ogden) Burke (1808-1890) and had nine
children. Two of his sons fought in the confederate army during the Civil War
(1862-1865).
Recorded in 1977.
Calvary
Cemetery
Marker Location:
Form Apple Springs on hwy 94 west
take Fm 357 4.8 miles to Fm 233
Maker Text:
Sometime between 1865 and 1874
Alexander and Jane (Tucker) Smith moved from Alabama and settled here in the
community of Nogalus Prairie with their daughter Ann, and sons Thomas, Redick,
Kirby, and Nathan Marion.
The cemetery site was originally
part of 156 acres acquired by Nathan M Smith on June 2, 1874. According to Smith
Family set aside a one-acre section here out of his son’s 156 acres to bury
Nathan, who had been murdered. However, the 1875 dates on the grave sites of
James McClain and the unidentified child of J.W. and T.E. Bowman indicated
earlier burials. The cemetery later was deeded to the local Calvary Baptist
Church by descendants of Alexander Smith.
In1908 Mrs. Z.A. Lovelady donated
2.5 acres and J.W. and Millie Kee donated 0.4 acres to enlarge the cemetery. In
1965 another 1-6 acres were donated to the cemetery by the Davis Family Members.
The Calvary Cemetery Association, formed in 1962, purchased two acres from the
Champion International Corporation in 1988. Among the more than 380 grave sites
recorded here in 1992 were those of veterans of the Civil War, World Wars I and
II, and the Korean Conflict.
Chita Cemetery
Location:
11 miles west of Groveton on FM
355, then 0.25 miles south of Chita Cemetery Road
Marker Text:
The earliest known burial in this
cemetery is that of Virgil Foster, who died in 1861. According to local
tradition, Peter Parker, who died the same year and is interred here, chose the
site for the burial ground. Used primarily by residents of Chita, Sebastapol and
other communities, the cemetery is a reflection of the area’s pioneer heritage
and burial customs. Tombstones bear inscriptions disclosing the military service
of Civil War, World War I and World War II veterans, and mark the graves of many
who died of typhoid fever, an indication of the harshness of pioneer life in the
area. (2001)
Dorcas Wills Memorial Baptist Church
Location: Corner of Hwy 94 Hwy 19
Marker Text:
Originally known as the Trinity
Baptist Church, this congregation was formally organized on January 23, 1876, by
the Rev. D.S. Snodgrass. Charter members included J.R. and Rachel Shaw, Mrs. S.J.
Knox, O.G. Shaw, Dr. and Mrs. J.M. Arnold, and Catherine Turner. During
Snodgrass’ pastorate, which lasted until December 1877, a Union Sunday school
was organized and a sanctuary was built on land donated by the International &
Great Northern Railroad. Despite early setbacks, such as a 1909 fire that
destroyed the church building, the congregation grew in numbers and provided
significant service and leadership to the community. The current name was
adopted in 1934 upon the completion of a new sanctuary in memory of Dorcas
Sheffield Wills. Over the years, several members of the congregation have been
licensed to important part of the the religious heritage of Trinity, Dorcas
Wills Memorial Baptist Church continues to uphold the ideals and traditions of
its nineteenth-century founders. (1985)
First United Methodist Church of Trinity
Location: Northwest corner Elm and
Caroline Streets, Trinity
Marker Text:
This congregation was organized in
1872, the same year the city of Trinity was founded. The rev. John Woolam is
credited with the establishment of the church and also served as its first
itinerate minister. Woolam held services in Trinity one Sunday each month. His
preaching circuit at that time consisted on 12 to 15 stations, including
Trinity, Nevilles Prairie, Blackland, and Lovelady. Early worship services were
held in the Barnes-Lister store in Trinity. In 1873 a one-room log schoolhouse
was constructed, and it served for a time as a community church building as
well. The Methodist congregation built the first sanctuary during the early
1880s at the corner of what is now Robb and Madison. The one-room building soon
became too small for the growing fellowship, and additions were made in 1902 and
in 1913. The current sanctuary was completed in 1928. Throughout its history,
Trinity United Methodist Church has provided significant service and leadership
to the community. With its emphasis on Christian education and missionary
programs, the congregation continues to uphold the ideals and tradition of its
founders.
Glendale Cemetery
(Historical Marker)
Marker Text:
Trinity County was created in
1850. Settlers came to this area by 1854. By 1886, a town of about 100 had grown
up near the large antebellum Tullos Plantation. In 1887 the Glendale post Office
was established. The earliest known graves in the cemetery are those of
four-year-old Ida J. Arnold, who died in 1884, and infant Albert Munson, who was
born and died that same year. The earliest adult grave on this site is that of
H.W. Threadgill. By 1899, the year of Threadgill’s death, Glendale was a
boomtown of 1,200 residents due to the success of the J.I. Cameron Lumber
Company and the Glendale Orchard Company. Local industry declined after 1900,
and by 1914 the population had dwindled to 75. Area residents continued to care
for the cemetery, which remains a chronicle of Trinity County history. (2000).
Groveton
Marker Location:
South side of the Courthouse Lawn
in Groveton.
Marker Text:
Named for a grove of Black Jack
Oak trees, Groveton resulted from the establishment of the Trinity County Lumber
Company Sawmill in 1882. After the Trinity and Sabine Railroad Company built a
sixty-five mile branch line through area forests, the Trinity County Lumber
Company bought about 20,000 acres of land from the Trinity and Sabine Timber
Company, leaving acreage on either side of the railroad tracks for a town.
The county seat was moved from
Pennington to Groveton in 1882, by 1884 the first permanent courthouse was
completed and the town included a barber shop, grocery store, drug store, hotel,
boarding house, several saloons, homes, and a school. The city was incorporated
on September 29, 1919, and officials were elected.
By 1930 all of the timber for
miles around had been cut; consequently, the sawmill closed December 31, 1930.
The once prosperous town of Groveton went into decline. The civilian
conservation corps was responsible for road construction and a reforestation
program in the 1930s. Through the years Groveton has seen economic booms and
hard times, but as the county seat, it has served to leave a rich heritage.
Hedrick House
Marker Location:
Camp Olympia; from Trinity SH 94
northeast to FM 3188, then east on FM 3188 to Camp Olympia
Marker Text:
Originally located on tenth street
in Huntsville (30 miles SW), this house was built for J.E. Coldwell in 1900 by
Elias Jones. Walter Gibson Hedrick (D. 1944), the owner of a grocery store and
meat market, bought the home in 1919 and members of his family owned the
structure until 1978, when it was moved to this site. The Victorian residence
features a second floor turret with fish scale shingling and a large porch with
gingerbread ornamentation.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-
1981.
Jacob Pope and Elizabeth Ann Barnes
Marker Location:
FM 230, Cedar Grove Cemetery
Marker Text:
Mississippi natives Jacob Pope
Barnes (1832-1877) and Elizabeth Ann Rankin (1834-1912) were wed on June 12,
1860. They moved to Texas in 1866 and came to Trinity in 1872. Jacob opened a
mercantile store in partnership with Frank Lister and was serving as county
treasurer at the time of his death. Widowed at age 43, Elizabeth reared nine
children and operated the mercantile store with the help of her eldest son,
Samuel Edward (1861-1914).
McDonald, Ranald,
House
Marker Location:
Corner of Maple and San Jacinto
Period: 1875-1899
Marker Text:
Married after 1876 to Mollie
Turner (1857-1919), daughter of an early Trinity Pioneer, Ranald McDonald
(1846-1931) settled on his land along the Trinity River. He bought this lot in
1890 and hired John Denton Gibbs to erect this Victorian structure, which stands
on stone piers; McDonald kept bees, honey, buggies, and wagons. His son
Alexander (d.1944), the second owner of the house, built a power plant on this
property to provide Trinity’s first electrical system.
Recorded Texas Historic
Landmark-1976.
Acreage: 17
Old Red School
Trinity’s Old Red is a schoolhouse
built in 1911-1913. During its life, the red-brick building served thousands of
Trinity County children. The building had been abandoned as a school and was
becoming a community eyesore until its former students stepped in and raised
$100,000.00 to restore it with new exterior, new woodwork, and other
improvements.
With the exterior completed, the
Save Old Red Committee will turn the building back to its owner, the Trinity
Independent School District, for interior remodeling. Old Red’s rescue might not
have happened if Raymond Smith, who attended school inside Old Red in the 1940s.
He got involved in 1993 with other ex-students when they learned of the
building’s possible demise.
Old Red served as Trinity’s only
school building until 1928 when a second two-story structure was built next door
to house the town’s junior high and high school. Although Old Red’s bricks were
later painted yellow, their original red color gave the school its nickname. The
building was built in the shape of a T to capture wind from any direction it
could blow in Trinity.
The building had 91 wooden
windows, which were copied by the remodeling crews, many of which were made up
of Old Red’s former students. “When I found out Old Red had been condemned and
was going to be torn down, it really tugged at my heart,” said Smith.
Pennington Baptist Church
Marker Location:
Located at the Reese Farm in the
community of Friendship, Trinity County, Texas.
Marker Text:
George Washington Reese (d.1863),
his wife Celia (d. 1879), and seven children came to Texas from Alabama in 1857.
They settled at Sumpter, then the Trinity County Seat. Sumpter declined after
the Civil War, and in 1870 Celia and her twin sons, Robert (d. 1881) and William
(d.1925) bought land at this site in the Friendship Community. William built a
sawmill, grist mill, and cotton gin. He also deeded land in 1906 for Friendship
School, which operated until 1939. The community eventually disappeared, but
William Rees’s family has operated this ranch for over a century. (1985)
Scrub Creek School
Marker Location:
From Groveton, about 11 miles east
on Hwy. 94 to FM 358, west to sign for Scrub Creek Baptist Church go for .3
miles to church. Marker is across the road form the church.
Marker Text:
Settlement of this area of Trinity
County began after the Civil War. The farming communities of Scrub Creek and
Crecy grew gradually as people moved into the area they established homes and
community gathering places. The Scrub Creek Baptist Church was followed by the
Scrub Creek School and Crecy Post office, located in Chapman’s general Store.
The earliest documented record of
the Scrub Creek School days to 1877. It began as a one-room structure with one
teacher to instruct students in all grades. As the local population increased,
the school grew and eventually was housed in a three-room facility with several
teachers.
The school became an integral part
of community life in Scrub Creek and Crecy. Numerous events and activities
occurred at the schoolhouse, which served as the center of social activity as
well as education. The school was closed in 1935 when it was consolidated with
other rural schools in the county to form the Centerville School District. The
schoolhouse burned and the property reverted to the descendants of J.L. Mangum,
who had sold the land for school purposes in 1907.
Sebastopol
Marker Location:
An intersection of FM 356 and FM
355; 8.2 miles southeast of Trinity on FM 356
Marker Text:
An important shipping point
established in the late fifties. Named in commemoration of a naval station of
Russia. Declined in importance after railroads reached this region.
Erected by the State of Texas
1937.
Steele’s Academy
Marker Location:
Just off Hwy. 287 west on the road
leading into the town of Pennington, Texas.
Marker Text:
Named in honor of its founder and
principal D.W. Steel of New Hampshire Academy. Attended by students from many
countries.
Erected by the State of Texas
1936.
Sumpter
Marker Location:
In the pasture of Thunderbird
Ranch, 4.6 miles from Groveton, Texas on hwy. 287 south and the marker is about
¼ mile north of the highway.
Marker Text:
Site of the town of Sumpter, first
county seat, Trinity County. Land granted in 1850. County seat located here in
1854. Town was laid out November 20, 1854, incorporated in 1862. Courthouse and
records were destroyed by fire in 1872. In 1873 the county seat was removed to
Trinity. The legislature of the State of Texas created Trinity County out of
Houston County in 1850. A group of seven commissioners was appointed to locate
and survey a site for the seat of government. The town of Sumpter thus was
founded in this area, near the geographic center of the county. Trinity County’s
first seat of justice grew slowly. Early settler Solomon Adams operated a small
general store, and his log home also served as a hotel. The courthouse was a
small frame building located on the plaza, near which a small schoolhouse was
erected. When Goodwin Woodson and R.O. Crow opened a saw and grist mill four
miles south of Sumpter in 1857, the town began to develop rapidly and was
incorporated five years later. As the population increased, a larger courthouse
was built. An influx of businesses, such as drugstores and saloons, appeared
around the courthouse square. A number of plantations flourished in the area
until the coming of the civil war. In 1872, the courthouse at Sumpter burned,
and a rail line was built through the town of Trinity. Sumpter was gradually
abandoned, and nearby cemetery is all that is left of the once-thriving
community.
Marker placed in 1936.
Taylor Cemetery
Marker Text:
Georgia natives James T. Durbin
(b.1819) and his wife Sarah Washington Ricks (b.1819) and their five children
settled here on a land grant they purchased from Joel Clapp in 1851. Two of
their three sons, Washington Bruce and James Francis, died in 1852 and were
buried on their property at this site. In their sale of this property to James
E. and Mary E. Taylor in 1857, the Durbin’s set aside this site which they
called the Durbin’s graveyard. James Durbin died in 1859and was buried here
beside his two sons. The first recorded burial of a Taylor family member was
James’ and Mary’s granddaughter, Ida Arrenia Merrill, in 1873. James (d.1874)
and Nary Taylor (d.1912) are buried here. The Taylors continued to bury members
of their family here and about 1890 opened the graveyard to community burials.
The first person outside of the Durbin and Taylor families buried here was Mrs.
Joe Barnett, a resident of nearby Pegoda, in the 1890s. Citizens of Pegoda and
the surrounding area used the graveyard and by the 1920s were maintaining its
grounds. The Taylor Cemetery Association was formed in the 1950s. The property
remained in the Taylor family until 1946.
The Parker House
Marker Location:
304 North Maple
Maker Text:
Built about 1888, this was the
home of the local merchant Isaac Newton Parker (1841-1918) and his family.
Parker, a Confederate Civil War veteran, and his first wife, Mary C. Ashley (d.
1905) reared eight children here. After Mary’s death Parker married Lou Palmer,
who lived in the house until her death in 1955. According to family history,
Parker changed the original Victorian appearance of the house to a simpler
classical style about 1911.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-
1996.
Thornton Church Community
Marker Location:
Thornton Road, north off Hwy. 94
east of Glendale.
Marker Text:
James Thornton (1807-1870) came to
this area with his family in 1858. Traveling in a wagon train with other
families from their Mississippi home, the Thorntons joined friends and relatives
who had preceded them to Trinity County. A farming community was established,
and much of life centered around the Thornton Church and school, built on land
donated by James D. Thornton. Farming continued to be the principal economic
base until population began to decline after World War II. Many area pioneers
are interred in the Thornton Church Cemetery.
Trinity Cedar Grove
Cemetery
Marker Text:
The first documented burial in
this cemetery that of Phebe A. Martin, took place in 1875. Three years later,
the town of Trinity was laid out on the George W. Wilson survey. Nearly 100
graves, many of them from the 1897-98 diphtheria epidemic, date to the 19th
century. In 1914, a cemetery association was chartered to manage and maintain
the public burial ground. Among those buried here are the founders of Trinity,
professional and business leaders, and local citizens who served in the United
States Armed Forces.
Trinity Chapel African
Methodist Episcopal Church
Maker Location:
980 South Robb, Trinity
Marker Text:
The Trinity Chapel African
Methodist Episcopal Church traces its beginnings to 1882 when it was established
as a mission church. The Reverend W.M. Apling was appointed as the first pastor.
Land for a church was donated in 1887 by the New York and Texas Land Company,
Ltd. A small one-room building was erected by 1890. To house its growing
numbers, the members redesigned the sanctuary. Changes included relocating the
entrance, adding a bell tower, and attaching a wing to the north and south
sides. The pews were hand-hewn wooden benches, supported by backs decorated with
nine-inch spindles. Several prominent area citizens have been members of this
church. The congregation promotes programs such as Sunday school and vacation
Bible School, and supports civic responsibility through local scholarships and
financial patronage of Paul Quinn College in Dallas, and the Trinity Community
Cemetery. The church also sponsors a clothing bank, promotes an African American
parade and contributes to other social outreach programs. The Trinity Chapel
A.M.E. Church continues to serve the Trinity area as it has for more than a
century.
Trinity County Seats
Marker Location:
On the south side of the
courthouse lawn, Groveton, Trinity County, Texas.
Marker Text:
Trinity County was
formally organized by an act of the Texas Legislature on February 11, 1850. Soon
after, county residents chose between two sites for the establishment of a
county seat, which was named Sumpter (5 miles East). Government offices were
located in the residence of Solomon Adams until a courthouse was built. Now a
ghost town, Sumpter served as the Trinity County Seat until 1872, when the
courthouse was destroyed by fire. The town of Trinity (20 miles SW) was named
the new county seat by a legislative act. In 1874, however, local voters chose
to relocate the seat of the government at Pennington (12 miles NW). A courthouse
fire there in 1876, coupled with the theft of district court records in 1880,
Leo County residents to consider a new sire for the government offices. As the
result of an election on October 7, 1882, the sawmill and railroad town of
Groveton became the fourth seat of Trinity County. Official records were moved
here 13 days later. The courthouse square was donated by the Trinity & Sabine
Timber Company. The history of the Trinity County seats reflects a proud
heritage based on the early struggles and hopes of the area’s pioneer settlers.
(1982).
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