The county’s first
jail still stands in the gullies and housed inmates until the early 1980s when
a new jail was built on a hill. The new Coldspring was also built atop the hill
with a new courthouse in 1918.
On Highway 190 is Oakhurst, which
was once a prosperous sawmill town named for Oakhurst, Oklahoma, home of of several
lumber men who moved to Texas.
Three miles
north of Oakhurst is Raven Hill, the one-time home of Sam
Houston, the hero of San
Jacinto. The hill got its name from an Indian name for Houston. Further up
Highway 190 from Oakhurst is Point Plank, which was originally named Point
Blanc by a Frenchwoman who moved here from Alabama. The town was also called Point
White and White Point.
About a mile south of Point Blank is Robinson
Cemetery, where a large monument marks the grave of Governor George Tyler
Wood, who served from 1849 to 1851. Wood’s grave was unmarked for more than a
half-century until the monument was built.
At Coldspring,
historical markers dot the community. Coldspring United Methodist Church is believed
to be the oldest Methodist church in continuous use in Texas. Another church,
Evergreen United Methodist, was organized in 1862, several years before the county
was formed.
The Trapp-McClanahan
house, built around 1880, is privately owned and Council Hill, also located
on private property, was the home of Vernal B. Lea, brother of Mrs. Sam Houston.
Several
old cemeteries dot the county, including Laurel Hill, where General James Davis
is buried.
Old Waverly,
an early center of culture, is located on Highway 150 about 14 miles west of Coldspring.
The town of Shepherd, located
on U.S. 59, originated near Old Drew’s Landing on the Trinity River, and the Coushatta
Indians inhabited an area on Coley Creek from 1835 to 1900.
Bob
Bowman's East Texas
May 1, 2011 Column.
A weekly column syndicated in 109 East Texas newspapers
Related
Topics: East Texas | Texas
Towns |
Stories From Texas' Past
| Texas | |
