Used to have a reputation for being a "speed trap". Who knows now?
Texas Towns We All Know and Love
Ysleta Texas
The community of Ysleta, Texas, was settled between October 9 and October 12, 1680, when Spanish conquistadors, Franciscan clerics and Tigua Indians took refuge along the southern bank of the Rio Grande. This is the oldest European settlement in the area that is the present-day U.S. state of Texas. These people were fleeing the Pueblo Revolt in New Mexico.
The settlement and associated mission moved several times over the next few hundred years. In 1691 the original refuge mission was replaced by an adobe structure. A flood in 1740 washed away that mission. It was rebuilt on higher ground four years later. The Tigua of Ysleta were among the most faithful Christian converts in the area and the Spanish were keen to keep the settlement healthy and vibrant. In the period of 1829 and 1831 the river moved much further south than usual. In 1836 the new country of Texas claimed the new channel of the Rio Grande as the boundary. In 1848, with the ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Ysleta was ceded to the United States.
In 1955, El Paso annexed Ysleta, although residents voted against the change. Ysleta was allowed to keep its own school district although that required an appeal to the Supreme Court.
This message was edited Jan 25, 2008 1:24 PM
AMARILLO, TEXAS
Potter County Seat, Texas Panhandle
I-40 & I-27
119 miles from Lubbock
255 miles from Odessa
361 miles from Dallas
30 miles N of Happy
Population: 173,627 (2000) 157,571 (1990)
History in a Pecan Shell
The railroad (Fort Worth and Denver City) was coming through the Panhandle in 1887 and merchants from Colorado City wanted to establish stores at a logical stop. Since they needed voters to choose the county seat and most of the voters were ranch hands of the LX Ranch, the promoters promised them each a residential and business lot to vote for Oneida. Not surprisingly Oneida won and was promptly renamed Amarillo.
The first houses in town were actually painted yellow in honor of the new name and perhaps in guilt for mispronouncing the Spanish word.
A rancher named Sanborn bought land on the other side of the tracks because of its elevation and convinced others to move their businesses there as well. Actually, rains and the subsequent flooding did most of the convincing. This was the beginning of Polk Street, the city's main commercial boulevard.
The city grew steadily, adding an Opera House in 1909 and a library in 1910. Helium discoveries in the late 1920s and the establishment of an Army AirField, led commercial growth until the depression arrived. Because the city was the focal point of government programs during the depression, the city's infrastructure benefited greatly from the Work Projects Administration.
Amarillo grew 85% in the decade of 1950-1960, from 74,000 to 138,000. The population in 1980 was 149,000 and in 1990 it was 158,000. The 2000 Official Highway Map shows the population to be 168,562.
ORANGE, TEXAS
Orange County Seat, Gulf Coast / East Texas
Highway 90 and 87
Dangerously close to Louisiana
On the Intra-coastal Waterway
98 miles E of Houston
24 miles E of Beaumont
Population 18,643 (2000) 19,370 (1990)
Orange, is considered a point of what is known as the "Golden Triangle" - the other points being Port Arthur and Beaumont
History in a Seashell
Orange had several names before 1858 - the year it officially became Orange. Originally called Green's Bluff after an early Sabine River boatman, it was renamed Madison in 1840, but it sometimes delayed mail - which was sent to Madisonville (Madison County) in error.
The town's post office was granted in 1850 and two years later, Orange County was organized with Madison as county seat.
The final name change took place in 1858 when it finally became Orange - to the great relief of postmasters and the mail-receiving public.
The name reportedly comes from a local orange grove owned by a man named George Patillo.
Outlaws used Orange as a temporary residence while they waited for the heat to cool down in Louisiana. The town became a major port on the Sabine from the 1840s through the 1890s.
The railroad (Texas and New Orleans) arrived in 1860, but service was disrupted when the rails were torn up during the Civil War. After the war the town was occupied by troops from Illinois.
At the peak of East Texas lumber production, Orange was the center of the Texas lumber industry - having seventeen sawmills within the city limits. It was Orange's zenith.
A timeline of selected or significant events in Orange's history
1897: The Kansas City Southern Railroad reaches Orange
1902: Six large lumber companies acquire ownership of 17 smaller lumber mills
1914: Population reaches 7,000
1916: port dredged - making Orange a deep water facility.
WWI: Orange serves as a major shipbuilding center for both world wars
1920s: East Orange becomes famous for its 1920s nightclubs - crime rampant between wars.
1938: Rainbow Bridge opened across the Neches River between Orange and Port Arthur.
WWII: Shipyards increase population to 60,000 people. After the war, ships were mothballed on the Sabine River and the population decreases to a manageable 21,100 in 1950.
In August, 2000 the USS Orleck, after having served in the Turkish Coast Guard returned to the port where she was built in 1945.
I was born just on the other side of the Neches River from Orange.
Christi the details are on the link at the top of the thread, click on it and it will take you there.
Or if its a town you know exists but isn't there--google it. There are a lot of towns not on there.
dmj1218 - Thanks for the additional info . . . those details weren't in the earlier post this morning. (I like that comment - Dangerously close to Louisiana!)
ENERGY, TEXAS
Comanche County, North Central Texas
FM 1702
16 Miles SE of Comanche
Population: 65 (1990)
Book Your Hotel Here & Save
History in a Pecan Shell
From the Handbook of Texas Online:
[Energy] was established around 1896 and was reportedly named for its energetic residents by Will and Charlie Baxter, store owners in the area. The community's post office opened about 1896, with John W. Moore as postmaster. The population of Energy was reported as sixty-seven in 1940 and sixty-five in 1990, when the post office was still in operation.
YOAKUM, TEXAS.
Yoakum is on the Lavaca-DeWitt county line. It was built on a league of land granted to John May by the government of Coahuila and Texas in 1835 and was used as a gathering ground for cattle to be driven up the Chisholm Trail. Yoakum did not grow until the construction of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway in 1887. At this time a townsite was laid out and named after Benjamin F. Yoakum, vice president and general manager of the line. J. P. Jamieson built a store in 1887, and a post office opened that year. Railroad shops were located in Yoakum in 1888, and hundreds of people from surrounding towns found employment at its large roundhouse. The town was incorporated on May 13, 1889, with L. W. Thomas as mayor. By 1896 Yoakum had a cotton mill, three cotton gins, a compress, several churches, a bank, an ice factory, specialty and general stores, two weekly newspapers and one daily, a school system with 700 pupils, and a population of 3,000. By 1914 the number of residents had reached 7,500. In 1919 Carl Welhausen took over a small tanning company, the first of several in the city. The firm, known as Tex-Tan, a manufacturer of saddles, bridles, harnesses, belts, billfolds, and novelties, later became part of the Tandy Corporation. By 1940 other local industries included a creamery and a mattress factory.
The first commercial tomatoes in the Yoakum area were grown in 1926. By the 1940s fifteen packing sheds in Yoakum shipped tomatoes north, and the town was sometimes called the tomato capital of south central Texas. (GARDENING!)
In 1970 Yoakum had 170 businesses, including a leather-goods shop, a meat-packing plant, a food-processing plant, a metal workshop, a cannery, a newspaper, and two banks. Yoakum community services in 1989 included a nursing home, a hospital, a library, a municipal park, and a municipal airport. The Bluebonnet Youth Ranch, a home for neglected children, was founded by Charles Kvinta in 1968. The former home of J. K. Elkins and Mr. and Mrs. William Browning became the Yoakum Heritage Museum in 1982. The town had twenty-one churches of ten denominations. Among them is St. Joseph's Catholic Church, which celebrated its centennial in 1969. The First Baptist and First Methodist churches were built in 1889. Yoakum is a division point for the railway and also the site of a Texas highway department office.
Since 1960 the town has sponsored an annual wildflower trail in the spring, which includes a guided tour and wildflower art exhibits. (GARDENING!)
The May Tom-Tom Festival, which first publicized the tomato business, began in 1928, was suspended for five years in World War II, and resumed in 1946. (GARDENING!)
The population of Yoakum, listed as 4,733 in 1940, grew steadily throughout the next four decades. In 1984 it reached 6,148, with 3,283 in Lavaca County and 2,325 in DeWitt County. In 1990 the population was 5,611. In 2000 the population was 5,731.
This message was edited Jan 25, 2008 2:39 PM
MOUNT PLEASANT, TEXAS
Titus County Seat, East Texas
I-30, US 271, and Hwy 49
16 miles E of Mount Vernon
115 miles E of Dallas
33 miles N of Gilmer
61 miles SW of Texarkana
Population: 13,935 (2000) 12,291 (1990)
Mount Pleasant History
"...The town was founded, incorporated, and designated the county seat when the county was formed in 1846. The townsite was given by John Binion, Sr., Burrell Moore, Richard Moore, and L. Gilbert, early settlers. A post office was established in 1847, but the town remained small until the completion of the Texas and St. Louis Railway in the early 1880s...."
In the 60's, 70's and 80's my gransparents owned a restaraunt in Mt. Pleasant
Oops! Someone beat me to an M!
TYLER, TEXAS
Smith County Seat, East Texas
Junctions of US Hwy 69 & 271,
State Hwy 14, 31, 64, 110, & 155
99 miles SE of Dallas
37 miles W of Longview
59 miles W of Marshall
Population: 83,650 (2000)
Tyler, settled in the l840s, owes its name to President John Tyler. Smith County, of which Tyler has been the only county seat, was created in l846 from part of what is now Nacogdoches County. the county was named for General James Smith, a Texas Revolution leader who was serving in the Republic of Texas Congress when the county was named for him.
This message was edited Jan 25, 2008 3:04 PM
This message was edited Jan 25, 2008 3:05 PM
Sorry to interupt the game but I got this e-mail and wantedto share it with y'all. Don't worry none of the towns listed will count in our game.
Here's something to put a smile on your face . . . .
> Forget Rednecks, here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about folks from
> Texas .
>
> If someone in a Lowe's store offers you assistance and they don't work
> there, you may live in Texas.
>
> If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Texas.
>
>
> If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a
> wrong number, you may live in Texas.
>
> If "Vacation" means going anywhere south of Dallas for the weekend, you
> may live in Texas.
>
> If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Texas.
>
> If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you may
> live in Texas.
>
> If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both
> unlocked, you may live in Texas.
>
> If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use
> them, you may live in Texas.
>
> If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and
> everybody is passing you, you may live in Texas.
>
> If you find 60 degrees "a little chilly", you may live in Texas.
>
> If you actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all your Texas
> friends & others, you definitely live in Texas.
>
> Need a vacation? Here is a list of actual places to travel to in Texas:
>
> Need to be cheered up?
> Happy, Texas 79042
> Pep, Texas 79353
> Smiley, Texas 78159
> Paradise, Texas 76073
> Rainbow, Texas 76077
> Sweet Home, Texas 77987
> Comfort, Texas 78013
> ! ; Friendship, Texas 76530
>
> Love the Sun?
> Sun City, Texas 78628
> Sunrise, Texas 76661
> Sunset, Texas 76270
> Sundown, Texas 79372
> Sunray, Texas 79086
> Sunny Side, Texas 77423
>
> Want something to eat?
> Bacon, Texas 76301
> Noodle, Texas 79536
> Oatmeal, Texas 78605
> Turkey, Texas 79261
> Trout, Texas 75789
> Sugar Land , Texas 77479
> Salty, Texas 76567
> Rice, Texas 75155
> And top it off with:
> Sweetwater, Texas 79556
>
> Why travel to other cities? Texas has them all!
> Detroit, Texas 75436
> Colorado City, Texas 79512
> Denver City, Texas 79323
> ! Nevada, Texas 75173
> Memphis, Texas 79245
> Miami, Texas 79059
> Boston, Texas 75570
> Santa Fe, Texas 77517
> Tennessee Colony, Texas 75861
> Reno, Texas 75462
>
> Feel like traveling outside the country? Don't bother buying a plane
> ticket!
> Athens, Texas 75751
> Canadian, Texas 79014
> China, Texas 77613
> Egypt, Texas 77436
> Turkey, Texas 79261
> London , Texas 76854
> New London, Texas 75682
> Paris, Texas 75460
>
> No need to travel to Washington D.C.
> Whitehouse, Texas 75791
>
> We even have a city named after our planet!
> Earth, Texas 79031
>
> And a city named after our State!
> Texas City, Texas 77590
>
> Exhausted?
> Energy, Texas 76452
>
> Cold?
> Blanket, Texas 76432
> Winters, Texas
>
> Like to read about History?
> Santa Anna, Texas
> Goliad, Texas
> Alamo, Texas
> Gun Barrel City, Texas
>
> Need Office Supplies?
> Staples, Texas 78670
>
> Men are from Mars, woman are from
> Venus, Texas 76084
>
> You guessed it... it's on the state line...
> Texline, Texas 79087
>
> For the kids...
> Kermit, Texas 79745
> Elmo, Texas 75118
> Nemo, Texas 76070
> Tarzan, Texas 79783
> Winnie, Texas 77665
> Sylvester, Texas 79560
>
> Other city names in Texas, to make you smile..... :
> &n! bsp; Fro gnot, Texas 75424
> Bigfoot, Texas 78005
> Hogeye, Texas 75423
> Cactus, Texas 79013
> Notrees, Texas 79759
> Best, Texas 76932
> Veribest, Texas 76886
> Kickapoo, Texas 75763
> Dime Box, Texas
> Telephone, Texas 75488
> Telegraph, Texas 76883
> Whiteface, Texas 79379
> Twitty, Texas 79079
> The Anti-Al Gore City
> Kilgore, Texas 75662
>
>
> P.S. Whoops, left out
> Muleshoe
> Cut'n shoot,
> Hoot And Holler,
> Ding Dong, and don't forget......
> Farewell, Texas
>
> And, of course, there is a place in Texas that is......
> KNOTT, TEXAS
"If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and
> everybody is passing you, you may live in Texas. "
This must be about Dallas - every morning I get this on I35...
Oh, that's funny! And I could hear Foxworthy's voice while I was reading it!
MitchF - I don't think it's just Dallas - I think it's the whole of I-35 !
This message was edited Jan 25, 2008 3:20 PM
scarry right?
Bronc, you left out strikebreaker - Fink, Texas.
Texas is just priceless, and Texas humor unique.
and how about.....Josephine, Texas.
(Yes, really. Just down the road from Nevada.)
ROUND TOP, TEXAS
Fayette County, Central Texas S
FM 237, South of US 290
93 miles W of Houston
77 miles E of Austin
22 miles SW of Brenham
25 miles SE of Giddings
4 miles N of Warrenton
31 miles scenic drive from Bellville
Population: 90, 96 or 77 (2000)
The original name was Jones Post Office and named after the town's postmaster John Rice Jones Jr. who also happened to be the first postmaster general for the Republic of Texas. Later, a house with a tall octagonal tower served as the post office and since the tower's "round top" could be seen from a distance, the name gained acceptance
Well, I didn't know there was a town named after me! I'll have to go and see what it looks like.
Poteet, just a short drive south of San Antonio
Poteet is a city in Atascosa County, Texas. The population was 3,305 at the 2000 census.
Poteet is known for its "Poteet Strawberry Festival" - Biggest in Texas, y'all.
It is the birthplace of country singer George Strait.
TERLINGUA, TEXAS
Texas Ghost Town
Brewster County, West Texas
80 miles Sof Alpine
95 miles SW of Marathon
4 miles W of Study Butte
13 miles E of Lajitas
Population: Study Butte-Terlingua CDP. 267 (2000)
History in a Pecan Shell
Terlingua started as a simple Mexican village on Terlingua Creek just North of the Rio Grande. The name Terlingua is a corruption of Tres Lenguas or three languages (tongues) that were spoken by the inhabitants of the village.
When mercury-bearing ore was discovered in the 1800s, a mine was opened and the tent village of the laborers and miners appropriated the name Terlingua. The village became known as Terlingua Abajo, or "Lower Terlingua".
At the turn of the century there were about 300 workers and they had their own post office.
By 1905 the population was over 1,000 and when the mine closed in 1910, the post office moved 10 miles East, keeping the name Terlingua.
oh my, that was funny! especially because i am the woman in Lowe's that is always helping folks with plants and i dont work there. i am there enough that i guess folks think i do!
tracie
,ACTON, TEXAS
Home of the Smallest State Park in Texas
Hood County, North Central Texas
Highway 4
5 miles E of Granbury
38 miles SW of Fort Worth
Population: 450 (1990)
Elizabeth Crockett
Davy Crocketts second wife and two of her sons came to Texas from Tennessee to claim his hard-won posthumous land grant of 320 acres.
She was buried in the Acton Cemetery and in 1911 the state erected a statue of her here. Now known as Acton State Historic Site - at .006 acres its the smallest registered state park in Texas.
History in a Pecan Shell
Acton is the oldest known settlement in Hood County and it was settled when it was still part of Johnson County.
In 1855 a church building was built and four denominations used it one Sunday per month.
In 1856 the settlement was granted a post office under the name Camanche [sic] Peak.
The first physician, Dr. J. C. Cornelius arrived in 1855 and was soon followed by Dr. S. R. McPherson in 1858.
The Acton Masonic Hall drew additional families to town when it was completed in 1868.
Around 1861 the name Acton was chosen to replace Camanche Peak. It has been said that the name Acton was derived from Oak Town. The Acton post office was active from 1861-1906.
By 1887 the population was estimated at 200, but the 20th Century showed a decline to a low of 75 during the 1950s. The construction of the De Cordova Bend Dam increased the population. Acton is surrounded by three neighboring highly populated communities.
There are 2 interesting communities near Jacksonville.
Reklaw is in Cherokee County and has a population of around 266.
It was named after Margaret L. Walker but the name Walker was taken so they spelled it backwards to make Reklaw. It boomed with the arrival of the Texas-New Orleans railroad.
Just a few miles down the 204 highway in Nacogdoches Co. is located the community of Sacul----you guessed it, Lucas spelled backwards. It too grew due to the Texas-New Orleans railroad. On the 4th Saturday of each month in the 100 year old mercantile building there is a pickin' and singing for the locals.
aggiegrl,
Obviously you and I are not the only ones, if Jeff Foxworthy added it to his sayings. I've never met the man - LOL.
DING DONG ....... was named after my Great Grandfather Bert Bell....... and the story above about the origin and how the name became is very acurate ,,,,,,,,,,my Grandfather lived at the store until his late teens and could tell many stories about the village known as Ding Dong !!
james t
This is so much fun!!! And all the history is great, so many neat memories, I love it.
one of the common things talked about fondly over the years .......... was that after Hoover named the place ding dong ..........all of the locals called the two men "Ding and Dong" (based on whose name was attached to which bell ........and I cannot remember right now which was which) a lot of times instead of their given names !!!!! ........in good nature of course!!
Hey guys I know this is out of turn, but I just had to list this town. I think the name is hilarious, and also one of our long standing DG members, EyesofTexas lives there.
Texas Ghost Town
TOADSUCK, TEXAS
Grayson County, North Central Texas
Now part of Collinsville
History in a Pecan Shell
The area's original settlement dates to the 1850s. After the Civil War a townsite was surveyed a half mile SE of present-day Collinsville. With no local heros around and hardly any geographic features, they looked around for a name and saw the Toadsuck Saloon. This apocryphal story is as good as any other. The name had already been in use as a town name in Arkansas - a place where the residents might have indeed resorted to such amusements.
It was supposed to be a reference of drinking until one swells up toad-like. Obviously, this was good for the saloon-keeper, but an unfortunate condition for his patrons to suffer. In 1869 William (Alfalfa Bill) Henry David Murray, later a popular Governor of Oklahoma was born in Toadsuck - a fact that might've cost him election if it hadn't been kept under wraps.
When the T & P ran their rails away from Toadsuck, the town of Collinsville sprang up from businesses drawn to the depot. Collinsville incorporated in the 1890s and Toadsuck became hardly more than an amusing place name.
I'm also out of sequence. Surprised that DeSoto was not listed in the link Bronc furnished us. We have lived in our home since Feb. 10, 1967. DeSoto was still less than a wide place in the road when we moved here. What a change. When we came here there were less than 2,000 people. Estmated pop. now is some 44,000.
DeSoto is one of the oldest settlements in North Texas. It was in 1847, just eleven years after Texas won its independence from Mexico, that families first settled in the area that is now DeSoto. Curtis Parks, one of the first settlers in the DeSoto area, built his home in 1847. He came from Indiana with his wife Amelia. A few of the other early settler families to the area were Thomas Cheshier, Zebedee Heath, Otway B. Nance, Allen Q. Nance, F. M. Hamilton, and John P. Voorhies.
Around the year 1848, T. J. Johnson, fresh from Tennessee, built a tiny general merchandise store near the "crossroads." This crossroads was located where one road (just a wagon trail in those days) went from Dallas to the Shiloh community in Ellis County. Another trail crossed the road, running east and west, from Lancaster to Cedar Hill. This crossroads is now known as Belt Line and Hampton.
In 1881, a post office was established and the settlement was given the name of DeSoto in honor of Dr. Thomas Hernando DeSoto Stewart, a beloved doctor dedicated to the community. During those early years, DeSoto remained a farming community and not much changed until the 1940s.
City Growth
After World War II the area began to grow, as did all of the towns and cities in Dallas County. Because of the growth that the community was experiencing, the people felt the need to incorporate in order to improve an inadequate water distribution system. On February 17, 1949, a petition signed by 42 eligible voters was presented to Dallas County Judge W. L. Sterrett requesting an election for incorporation. The election was held on March 2, 1949, with 50 votes in favor of incorporation and 2 opposed. On March 3, 1949, the results of the election were entered into the records of the Commissioners Court of Dallas County, thereby creating the City of DeSoto. On March 15, 1949, a City Officers election was held. Wayne A. Chowning was elected mayor, and T.O. Hash, Malcolm Hamm, S.I. Vaughn, Roy E. Spurgin and A. P. Bagby were elected councilmen (aldermen at that time).
The first called City Council meeting was held at the schoolhouse on E. Belt Line Road on March 17, 1949 with C. H. Estes appointed as City Secretary. It was determined that the City of DeSoto had a population of approximately 400. Thus, DeSoto became the nineteenth organized municipality in Dallas County. The City of DeSoto celebrated the 50th anniversary of its incorporation on March 3, 1999.
Very good Christi, I love the history.
NOTREES, TEXAS
Ector County, West Texas
Hwy 302
21 miles NW of Odessa
21 miles E of Kermit via 302
Population : 338
Notrees is one of Texas' later towns. The town's birth was the building of a gas plant for the Shell Oil Co.
As with many Texas towns, the first store served as the first post office and the storekeeper, one Charlie Brown, was the first postmaster. The store opened in 1946 and Mr. Brown named the town. Since there were already a plethora of "Brown" towns (Brownwood, Brownsville, etc.), Mr. Brown decided to name the town after its arboreal deficiency.
Anakarko Oil Pump
Anakarko Oil Pump
Photo Courtesy Charlene Beatty Beauchamp
It's interesting to note that the construction of the plant caused the only tree in the area to be cut down. We suppose we should all be thankful that the town wasn't named Stumpville.
Ten years after the founding, there was a population of 500, a school, competition for Charlie Brown's store and at least one liquor store. The camps for the plant are now gone, but enough people stayed to keep the town alive.
and I have to put in a plug for the place I live near and work daily LOL...additional info to what was put above *S*
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County in East Texas, United States.GR6 The city is named for President John Tyler in recognition of his support for Texas's admission to the United States. The 2000 census recorded the city's population to be 83,650, while in 2005 it was estimated to have reached 106,143[1]. Tyler is the principal city of the Tyler Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Tyler-Jacksonville Combined Statistical Area.
Tyler has been nicknamed the "Rose Capital of America" because of its large role in the rose-growing industry; about 20% of commercial rose bushes produced in the U.S. are grown in Tyler and Smith County and more than half of the rose bushes are packaged and shipped from the area. It boasts the nation's largest municipal rose garden and hosts the Texas Rose Festival each October, which draws more than 100,000 spectators.
In 1985, the international Adopt-a-Highway movement originated in Tyler when, after appeals by local Texas Department of Transportation officials, the local Civitan chapter adopted a 2-mile (3-km) stretch of U.S. Highway 69. Tyler is also home to the Caldwell Zoo.
On the shores of nearby Lake Tyler is the 2005 HGTV Dream Home. The 6,500 square feet (600 mē) house briefly boosted tourism and interest in the community.
Tyler State Park is a few miles away where visitors can camp, canoe, and paddle boat on the lake. The park also houses numerous mountain biking and hiking trails
Annually, the Texas Rose Festival draws thousands of tourists to Tyler. The festival, which celebrates the role of the rose-growing industry in the local economy, is held in October and features a parade, the coronation of the Rose Queen, and other civic events. There is also a Rose Museum featuring the history of the Festival.
The East Texas State Fair is held in Tyler...you haven't missed much if you've never been to it takes a whole 5 min to walk from one end to the other looking (personal note there)
Camp Ford was the largest Confederate Prisoner of War Camp west of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. The site of the camp is now a public park, managed by the Historical Society. The park features a kiosk with extensive graphics detailing the history of the camp, a walking trail with interpretive signage, a reconstruction of a POW cabin, and picnic facilities. It is open daily from dawn to dusk with free admission. It is located on Highway 271, 0.8 miles north of Loop 323.
Tyler's higher education institutions include the University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, both part of the University of Texas System; Tyler Junior College , and Texas College, a historically black four-year college affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Phyllis, you are more Texan that a lot of people born and raised here. You are a tribute to the Texan's who got here as soon as they could. Welcome, sister.
We love you.
Oh, I wouldn't mind living in Tyler area . . . I'd still be in Texas, but have trees . . . and hills . . .
Well Syrumani I would love to find the time to travel to San Antonio..... my daughter and her BF went there this last fall I forget what was going on but she brought back a purple metal thing that has a hummingbird in the center that twirls in the breeze and a post card I have on my frig LOL...Tyler has soo many nurseries it's gonna take me some time to find adn visit them all LOL
LouC love ya too and thanks for the complement ...I was surfin around and found this post so I had to put in my 2 cents LOL...am learning alot about Texas not even leaving my puter LOL...now I suppose I best look at the route we have to take Sunday to get to DFW airport to pick up DH oldest boy that is coming for a week visit...his flight gets in at 3:30
I hope you mean pm, Mibus2! If you need company going to all those nurseries, let me know. I can schedule some vacation time . . .
yes pm so we will need to leave her by 1 I am guessing to get there and get inside and find the gate...he is legally blind and handicapped so they should let at least hubby to the gate to get him and bring him out.
as for the nurseries I love to have someone to go shopping with even if it is window shopping...I just need to drive by some of them and get the names so I can call and find out the hours since right now I work 2 jobs and Sundays are my only full day off from either one of them (am looking to find a way to drop the restaurant one and keep the bus driving one )
If you guys are going to nurseries let me know. You can come down to Jacksonville and we can go 11 miles to New Summerfield. This area is the greenhouse capitol with many, many of them. Most are open to public. They grow and ship bedding plants all over the U.S. The largest one is Powell's. Several acres of greeenhouses and even have a cannon that shoots a chemical into the clouds to prevent hail. It works. Lots of Mom/Pop GH that offer real bargins and different types of plants. A fun day for garden nuts.
New Summerfield started up in 1850 when Caley Amos Summers donated land for the first school. It did not incorperate until much later and the name Summerfield was taken, thus New Summerfield.