HISTORY OF TYLER AND SMITH COUNTY

Extracted from Tyler High School  - The Alcalde - 1915
{Pages 133 to 138, inclusive}

Tyler, Smith County, Texas

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Copyright.  All rights reserved.
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Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
      Lawrence E. Oliver - loliver@tyler.net
      March 3, 2001

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The transcription of this history article has been accomplished by the 
kind permission of Nila S & Frank S Glenn, who provided the copy of the
1915 Alcalde.

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HISTORY OF TYLER AND SMITH COUNTY

   In the earlier days, most of the inhabitants of Texas, were Indians, 
but the red skins were usually friendly towards the white, and caused 
very little trouble.

   Smith County, lying in East Texas, in the Third Congressional 
District, and having organized from a part of Nacogdoches County in 
1846, has an area of 984 square miles and a population of about 45,000.

   The surface presents a succession of hills and sloping valleys, 
which are well watered by numerous streams, the most important river 
in the county being the Sabine. It is about twenty miles from Tyler 
and in olden times it was of great importance, because nearly all the 
traffic between Shreveport and Dallas was ferried across the river at 
Belzora, a ferry owned by Mr. Berry who kept a small commissary.

   In 1860, Mr. Berry sold Belzora to Mr. Thomas R. Swann, and floated 
down the pass with his family on a flat boat.

   Belzora was named for a young lady, a belle of antebellum days, of 
Henderson, Texas, Miss Belzora Ham. This little ferry was intended to 
be a city and the visions of such at once leaped into the minds of a 
large crowd "picnicing" at Belzora when "Uncle Ben," a steam boat 
bringing supplies from Sabine Pass to Mr. Swanns General Merchandise 
store, plied up the river. These hopeful people tried to get an 
appropriation bill passed through congress, providing for the dredging 
and digging out of the Sabine, but Mr. Reagan was in Congress at the 
time, and he opposing it, the bill failed to pass.

   Thus Belzora was never anything more than a ferry managed by 
Mr. T. R. Swann from 1860 to 1866.

   The soils of Smith county are divided into three classes: the 
alluvial of the bottoms, the gray and sandy, and the red lands. The 
bottom lands are well adapted to corn, peaches, and strawberries, 
and the red, to fruits and vegetables.

   The county is well supplied with timber. The uplands are thickly 
studded with pine, post oak, red oak, hickory, and black jack, and 
the bottoms with pin oak, water oak, Walnut, sweet and black gum.

   The Sabine River forms the northern boundary, and the Neches the 
western. There are many natural lakes, while near the city of Tyler 
are half a dozen reservoirs covering from 100 to 400 acres apiece.

   The St. Louis Southwestern, the International and Great Northern, 
and the Texas and Pacific railroads have a total of 100.9 miles of 
operated lines through this county. Probably it will be of interest 
to note the origin of a few of the early railroads.

   With captain James P. Douglas, as president, William Goodman as 
vice-president, and Charles T. Bonner, then quite a young man, as 
secretary, the first twenty-two miles of the Cotton Belt railroad was 
built from Tyler to Big Sandy, then called the Tyler Tap. During the 
next two years it was extended to Mt. Pleasant, with cross ties marking 
the town, and later Mr. Paramore and his associates buying the road, 
completed it to Texarkana, then westward to Waco. This company named 
the road the "Cotton Belt."

   When the original owners of the road sold it to Paramore and 
associates, they stated clearly in the contract that they should 
establish the principal offices and shops of this railroad at Tyler, 
Texas, perpetually and forever. They were so particular about this 
point because at that time, Marshall and Dallas were wrangling over 
the location of the Texas and Pacific shops.

   There was a law then by which Texas gave all completed roads in 
operation sixteen sections of public land. The owners could not raise 
enough money to build more road; so they sent Mr. Douglas to the Senate 
to get an amendment, and he succeeding, got eight sections of land on 
the grade and the other eight on completion. By subscriptions gotten by 
Dr. Goodman in Tyler and Shreveport, twenty-two miles was graded from 
Tyler to Big Sandy, by an experienced grader, Daniel Heartnet.

   Thus they had one hundred and seventy-six sections of public land. 
Captain Douglas and Governor Hubbard then went up North and sold the 
land and bought iron and rolling stock, built the track, and put it 
into operation.

   Mr. Reynolds was engineer of the first train; just anyone acted as 
conductor, brakeman, and fireman. The first passengers were mostly 
immigrants, seeking homes in productive East Texas.

   In 1905, when Mr. Brittain, president of the St. Louis Southwestern, 
published a notice that in ten days the Cotton Belt General Offices 
should he moved from Tyler to Texarkana the citizens of Tyler raised 
forty-five hundred dollars and engaged Judge Edwards and Horace Chilton, 
Tyler lawyers, who defended the case through all the courts, it being 
appealed clear up to the Federal Supreme Court, but this court, refused, 
because they had no jurisdiction over State questions. Ellis Perkins 
represented Mr. Brittain, hut he failed to get the offices moved from 
Tyler; so, being a big-hearted man, President Brittain built new shops, 
and put many thousand-dollars worth of improvements on the old ones.

   Now in 1870, a railroad known as the Houston and Great Northern was 
being constructed under the presidency of a certain Mr. Young.

   This railroad was built about forty miles from Houston to a little 
town called Willis, where one day, President Young was sitting on a 
flat car loaded with cross ties, looking over the work, and with a 
sudden lurch of the train he was thrown in front of the cars and killed.

   Mr. Gatusha A Grow, succeeding him, continued the construction of 
the road toward Palestine.

   In the meantime, H. M. Hoxie, president of another railroad company, 
known as the International, started a road out of Hearn, Texas, building 
toward Palestine also.

   These two roads were completed into Palestine about the same time, 
so the two companies consolidated under the presidency of Mr. Grow, and 
assumed the name of the International and Great Northern Railway, its 
present name. Mr. Hoxie, as general manager, looked after the work 
personally for a great many years.

   The road was constructed through to Longview in about 1872, and a 
branch was started from Troup towards Mineola, and was built into Tyler, 
in the first part of the year 1873, and was afterwards completed into 
Mineola in the part of the same year.

   When the I. & G. N. Railroad company was beginning, Smith county 
agreed to pay $250,000 to have the road pass through the county, and 
Tyler paid $50,000 of this amount to have the railroad constructed so 
that it should pass within a half mile of the Court House the money 
being paid in bonds by the citizens of Tyler.

   Mr. Gould bought the I. & G. N. Railway Company in 1875, and it 
is still owned by him. There have been many strikes on the road since 
Mr. Gould's purchase, but none have affected this part of the road.

   The first I. & G. N. station ever owned in Tyler was at the 
intersection of the present Mulberry Street and railroad avenue. 
The first freight depot was situated on the lot where the Pierce 
Fordyce Oil Association now is. The depots remained in these locations 
a good while and it was then moved to East Ferguson street and located 
on the lot directly opposite and across the track from the position 
where Palmore and Dean's Lumber Company stands. When the station was 
placed on the lot adjoining the present Tyler Hotel where it stands today.

   In 1907, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company and the 
International and Great Northern Railway Company built a union depot 
at its present position.

   The first engine ever operated on this section of the road used 
wood as fuel. Coal was then introduced, and today both coal and 
oil are used.

   There have been a great many improvements made in this most 
excellent means of transportation, as there have been in the other 
roads through Smith County.

   General James Smith, in whose honor, this county was named, was 
born in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, September 10, 1792, being 
reared and educated there. He volunteered as a private at the age of 
twenty, and served under General Jackson during the War of 1812, his 
last service in that war being the Battle of New Orleans. He returned 
to Carolina in 1816 and married Hannah Parker. Three years later he 
moved to Tennessee.

   He came to Texas in 1834 and settled in Nacogdoches (now Rusk) county 
on a league and labor of land.

   When the war with Mexico opened he went back to Tennessee and raised 
a volunteer company of seventy-five men, and being chosen captain, brought 
them to Texas. He fought brilliantly in the war, attaining to generalship, 
and enjoyed the close friendship of Houston, Rusk and Henderson.

   He died and was buried on his farm, December 25, 1855. He was buried 
with military honors, General Rusk officiating.

   He was in politics, a faithful disciple of Andrew Jackson and in 
religion a loyal member of the Baptist church. He has many descendants 
in Texas, some of whom have taken a leading part in the different walks 
of life.

   Smith County is composed of a number of small towns and Tyler, 
the county seat, with a population of 15,000.

   When this county was organized in 1846, two places were proposed 
as location of the county seat, the present city of Tyler, and the 
other, about three miles east of Tyler on what is now known as the 
Omen road. The majority vote being in favor of the location first 
mentioned. Tyler was made the county seat in 1846.

   J. C. Hill, E. E. Lott, father of our townsman, Jno. A. Lott; John 
Dewbury, Jno. Loller and W. B. Duncan were appointed to locate time 
county boundary and sear. The commissioners located the city of Tyler 
quickly, J. C. Hill being the surveyor who laid off the city.

   What few families who lived here then used water from the spring on 
the west side of Spring Street, and opposite where the American Laundry 
now stands. This spring was regarded as public property, and desirous 
to keep it so, the surveyor began his work by setting his compass four 
feet west of the spring and running north to where west of Spring street 
strikes the public square, where it now is, and then competed the survey 
of the first laying out of Tyler. The spring was also used as the 
baptizing pool.

   The first court house was a little log house, about where the rear 
of the Jester National Bank now stands, and the first county jail was 
also a small log house built on East Ferguson street where Palmore and 
Dean Lumber Company now is.

   In 1848 a controversy arose between the locating commissioners and 
the commissioners' court of the county over the permanent location of 
the court house, but it was retained in the old place.

   Tyler was named for one of the most prominent and distinguished' 
men of the United States, John Tyler, tenth president of the said States.

   Soon after Tyler was made a town in 1846, and her streets laid off, 
business began in a small way in this thinly peopled section of the 
country.

   Dr. Caldwell was an early merchant; Savala another, and Frank Bell 
kept a grocery store on the north side of the square. The business 
houses were built of hewed out logs cut from the surrounding forest; 
the stocks of merchandise were small but answered the purpose. A path 
led from one store to the other. The Caldwell business house ranked 
first. Caldwell also kept the postoffice.

   The social features of the forties were dances, candy pullings, 
quiltings, and sometimes a game of cards, such games as solitaire and 
"seven-up."

   The women of Smith County spun and wove their own dresses from the 
cotton and fashioned their hats from cornshucks and wild palmetto. Two 
young ladies who lived close to Tyler wove beautiful Neapolitan straw 
from the tails of white horses. The shoes worn by the society girls, 
as well as all other clothing, were home productions.

   Mollie E. Moore, famous for her poetry, was educated at the noted 
old Charnwood School. She was the leading spirit among the young people 
of the sixties.

   Tyler has always been an intellectual center, and was early known as 
the Athens of Texas. The first Club was organized immediately after the 
Civil War with Mr. Richard Long as president. One of the leading spirits 
of the' Tyler Literary and Social club, which met at the homes of the 
members, was Dr. J. H. McBride.

   A literary club of much patronage and wide fame met in the college, 
now known as the High School.

   The Sandford House, during the War, afterwards the Bates hotel, 
which stood on the east side of the square just south of East Ferguson 
street; the old Henry house, located on the southeast corner of the 
square; and the big three storied brick Ferguson House where Mayer & 
Schmidt's store, now stands, have all played their part in Tyler's 
social as well as business life.

   The first opera house in Tyler was built by Tom and Eliff Albertson 
in 1879 and occupied the entire space over the store now run by Goldstein 
and Brown.

   Tyler stands preeminently the musical center of East Texas and 
paralleled in the United States only by the largest cities.

   The first prominent violinist in Tyler was Professor Schue. He took 
part in the first orchestra of the Baptist church, and taught in Tyler 
for many years. His two "brag pupils," were Mary Bonner and Nell De 
Shong. At the same time, Prof. Schue, a pianist of note, was organist 
at the Methodist church. He had a large class, and organized a band of 
about twenty musicians who amused Tyler audiences twenty-five years ago.

   Mrs. Benson Roberts was the leading in musician of her day. Other 
renown musicians of eighteen hundred and eighty-six were Mrs. Wash Cain 
and Mrs. Bob Cain.

   The first music club, organized in Tyler on March 27, 1887, was the 
Mendelsohn Club, with W. H. McBride as president, Miss Nita Wells, vice 
president; Mrs. C. B. Epes, secretary, and Miss Annie Bonner, treasurer. 
The first meeting of this club was at the home of Mrs. M. H. Bonner. 
The charter members were: Mrs. C. B. Epes, Mrs. J. M. Sharp, Misses 
Nita Wells, Annie Bonner, Bethe Bonner, Nannie McBride, Mamie Grinnan, 
Ellis, Mr. Frank Allen, W. H. McBride, Ernest Wild, T. B. Ramey and Miss 
Mary Herndon.

   The name was changed to Sherwood, in 1894, in honor of the famous 
American Pianist who gave a recital in Tyler. The membership greatly 
grew, and, in honor of the old club, the name of the Mendelsohn-
Sherwood club was adopted.

   Mrs. L. L. Jester, daughter of Wash Cain, and a graduate of the 
New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, Mass., had charge of the 
Marvin Choir many years. Her voice was always in demand. She won fame 
by singing at the State Fair to the accompaniment of Sousa's Band, 
and again to that of the Mexican Band at the Fruit Palace.
   Nor must we forget Mrs. A., P. Baldwin amid Mrs. Walter Wiley who 
are now educating Tyler musically. These two ladies are sisters and 
have unusual talent.

   Tyler is certainly God's country, for from the earliest times 
churches were established here.

   The Methodists founded the first church in Tyler, in a blacksmith 
shop, 1847. Mrs. Miller Johnson is the only charter member living. 
The first church was located where Jester's Bank now is; the next, 
a log building on the court house square, and the next across the 
street from the present church. Rev. Wells organized the first Methodist 
Sunday school of twenty-five scholars, in his school room. Mrs. W. G. 
Cain organized the first church choir and Ladies' Aid Society. In 1878 
Miss Jessie James was Sunday school organist. The world famous Sam P. 
Jones held a revival meeting at an early date, converting many, and 
raising a large sum of money for the building of the new church. The 
Woman's Foreign Missionary was organized in 1882, by Mrs. M. B. Adams, 
the Star Circle by Mrs. Alex Woldert and the Epworth League, by Rev. 
W. B. Hays

   In 1848, the Baptists organized with thirteen members, and their 
first meetings were held in the old log court house. The first ice 
cream ever seen in Tyler was made in a tin bucket and served at a 
Baptist church "supper."

   The first Episcopal Church service ever held in Tyler, Texas, was 
in the old Methodist church at early candle light a few days before 
Christmas, in 1866, and was conducted by Bishop Alexander Gregg. The 
communicants were: Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Grennan, Mrs. Susan A. Smith, 
and Arch Bowen.

   In 1867, Bishop Gregg confirmed Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Brown, and 
arranged for occasional services to be held in Tyler by ministers 
from nearby towns.

   Rev. Emie Hamvassey became minister in 1872, and held services 
regularly at the Federal court room and the old Christian church.

   Under the supervision of Rev. M. Hamvassey and with the aid and 
donations of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Brown, Mr. J. H. Bonner and Mr. W. W. 
Grinnan the present church was erected. Rev C. H. B. Turner presented 
the first confirmation class in Tyler, March 1893, to Bishop Kinsolving, 
Miss Maggie Clark and Miss Alberta Askew composing the class.

   The first organ was given by Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Brown; the second was 
bought by the church. The first communion service was held while Mr. Turner 
was Rector. A lot for a new church was bought in 1913. It is situated 
on the corner of West Erwin and College streets, purchase price being 
$7,000. The first Catholic priest to visit Tyler was Reverend Father 
C. M. Chambordut who was located at Nacogdoches from 1848 to 1854. 
Different priests visited Tyler every year. In 1879 or 80 the two lots 
where the present church and residence stand were purchased for $650. 
The first suscriber was Mr. E. W. Ferguson, a non Catholic, who gave 
$100, seeing it would help Tyler. Mr. K. W. Wright, Anthony Smith, 
and Mr. DeLaney were among the first Catholics. At first, the church 
here was a mission, priests coming every Sunday. Father Henckemer came 
in July, 1890, as first resident priest. In 1904, Father Donohue took 
charge of the church. The membership now was four hundred. He resided 
here until 1912. During his stay here he made valuable improvements 
in and around the church. He had the church building changed from faring 
North College Street to that on West Locust. He enlarged the parsonage 
from one to seven rooms, and the cement side walks, flowers, and 
shrubbery brought about by him serve to show the church property off 
beautifully. Two priests have succeeded him.

   Various other churches were established in Tyler at an early date, 
and are of equal importance to those mentioned.

   Tyler has a cotton seed oil mill, shops of Cotton Belt Railroad, 
cannery, box and crate factory, pottery and brick plants, overall and 
ice factories, creamery, bottling works, and other manufacturing 
establishments as well as wholesale houses, general offices of Cotton 
Belt, large nurseries, dairies, etc. In the county are 110 cotton gins 
and fifteen saw mills.

   There are four ward schools in Tyler for white children and two for 
negroes, and a magnificent new High School building. The country has 
135 public free schools employing 235 teachers. The Tyler Commercial 
College, and Phillips University (for negroes) are located here, and 
the location of a new state normal in Tyler is being greatly agitated 
at present.

   In the election of 1881 Tyler was a candidate for the location of 
the State University, but Austin being the capitol of the State, won 
over Tyler.

   Tyler has the only Confederate cemetery in the State. It is 200 
feet by 80, and 200 by 70, and had its beginning in 1863 when a 
Confederate soldier was buried in a clearing made in the forest.

   After the war 231 Confederates rested in this cemetery. The Molly 
Moore Davis Chapter of the United States Daughters of the Confederacy 
raised the funds for a monument of General Robert E. Lee, which was 
erected in the middle of the cemetery and dedicated in 1909 to the 
memory of those valiant heroes.

   The first post office of Smith County was a little log house on 
the corner of the square where Gaston & Son store now stands. W. S. 
Caldwell being postmaster. The second post office was at the northwest 
corner of square where Mayer & Schmidt's store is. This was then a 
small plank house. The next office was about where the Citizens National 
Bank is, this too being made of plank. The office was afterwards moved 
to the south side of square on the east corner of South Broadway. Then 
a plank building was erected where the present postoffice now stands, 
which succeeded the former. The present, handsome brick building has 
been improved and added to since construction, and in it are employed 
ten rural and six city carriers, ten clerks, a postmaster (McClendon) 
and an assistant postmaster.

   In 1850 the first newspaper was established by David A. Clapton in 
Tyler, known as the "Tyler Telegraph" but in 1852, it was purchased by 
William H. Parsons, J. C. Hill, Everett Lott, and B. T. Selman. This paper 
was a six column four page paper, well set, made up, and printed. Agents 
for it were in all parts of the State.

   Later Mr. C. L. Collins bought the paper and changed its name to 
"Tyler Reporter," with H. V. Hamilton as journalist. It was twice sold 
to different parties, and again the third time, in 1860 to James P. 
Douglas and H. V. Hamilton. It was the leading journal in the section.

   In 1856 the publication of a paper, "Intelligencer," was begun by 
C. L. Collins, and in 1859, another, "The Hornet," whose motto was 
"Touch me and I'll sting." The publishers of these were at first unknown, 
but later found to be small boys, Matt Hays and Irwin Cowsar.

   Before the Civil War, William H. Smith and George M. Johnson, 
published the "States' Rights Sentinel," but it was suspended the 
first year of the war.

   To these papers, Mollie E. Moore, W. F. Hamilton and William F. 
Logan contributed verses and poems regularly.

   About 1866 Ex-Senator Horace Chilton conducted a paper in Tyler 
with Ex-Governor Hogg as type-setter.

   In 1812 the "Tyler Democrat" was established and soon became the 
property of Lush Beaird and H. V. Hamilton and was conducted under this 
management until 1908 when it was merged into the "Tyler Times," then 
run by F. E. Rafferty. From 1873 to 1875, the Tyler Reporter was under 
the supervision of Captain Sid S. Johnson and Dr. G. A. Shuford. In 1876 
the Tyler Courier was established by L. M. Green, and in the same year, 
the Reporter was consolidated with the Tyler Democrat, then known as the 
Democrat-Reporter until the publication was absorbed by the Times.

   About 1906, the Times was absorbed by the Courier, and has since been 
known as the Daily Courier and Times. The present proprietor is T. B. 
Butler & Co., with H. A. McDougal as editor and manager.

   About 9 years ago, Mr. Cooper established the Smith County Weekly News 
which was conducted by Frank Boyette.

   The last established paper in Tyler is the Texas Democrat, which 
began publication February 1914, owned and edited by D. M. Reedy.

   Recently associated press has been installed under the Courier 
and Times management.

   From the earliest times Tyler and her worthy citizens have been 
progressive in every line, as has been shown. Another evidence is this:

   In 1869, the first fair in Texas was held at Starrville, a small 
village four miles north of Winona and eighteen miles northeast or 
Tyler. This fair continued its exhibitions several years, until 1873, 
when the Sabine Valley Fair Association organized at Tyler, broke it up. 
Mr. John A. Lott was a stockholder in the association, and Mayor B. B. 
Beaird was president. It was held the first time, in 1876 on the 
Bergfeld property one mile South of the courthouse, and was a grand 
success. People came to it from all the surrounding country.

   The next fair was held at the compress for two years. Following this 
came the Fruit Palace of 1895 and 1896, a more extensive exhibit of 
horticultural and orchard products of East Texas. The president of 
Mexico honored the U. S. by furnishing the music. The latter fair 
proved a financial failure; so no more fairs were attempted until 
the last few years, but now, we own our Fair Grounds and intend to 
make it equal the State Fair.

   When the Civil War broke out, five military companies went out 
from Tyler, and fought in some of the world known battles, many being 
killed, others captured, while there were a few who returned at the 
close of the cruel conflict. The stockade was located a few miles out 
of Tyler.

   Then followed the period of reconstruction when no lady was safe 
to leave her home even in the day time, and the men had to always be 
on guard. Many outrages, which put death to many of the Ex-Confederate 
heroes, were committed by the unruly negroes and spiteful "Yankees," 
which existed.

   The spark of hatred between the two factions finally died out.

   Among the earliest and most prominent settlers of Tyler who did 
much to build our city up are: Judge Stephen Reaves, who settled in 
Tyler on April 4, 1847; Col. Thos. B. Erwin, 1850; Col. Everette E. 
Lott, 1845; and Jno. M. Patterson, 1848. Tyler was chartered as a 
city in 1875.

   -Margaret Smith