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Clarksville
by Robin
JettI
visit Clarksville quite often, since my Grandmother used to run the store and
post office in the tiny Red River county settlement of Acworth, which is where
my parents live now. I've always loved Clarksville's Old South look - kind of
dilapidated but dignified. Most of the downtown streets are still paved with brick,
and weathered old houses sit in the shade of giant oak and cedar trees
Clarksville is actually one of the oldest cities
in Texas. It came into being in 1837, but was already an established settlement
in the 1820s. However, because of confusing boundary lines carved out of the Louisiana
Purchase, surveyors placed it in Miller County, Arkansas. After independence,
the U.S. government ceded the area to the Texas Republic. Seems only fair, since
Red River County citizen Albert Latimer was one of the signers of the Texas Declaration
of Independence. Another influential figure to come out of Clarksville was Charles
DeMorse. He began publishing The
Northern Standard, one of the Republic's first newspapers, in 1842. A true
confederate, he changed the name of the paper to simply The Standard when he believed
the Union got too pushy.
Clarksville also has the distinction of being
one of the only towns in the state that never suffered through a fire.
Consequently, the courthouse
contains records from the beginning of the Republic until today. The county clerk's
office is always teeming with genealogy folks looking for clues - including those
studying their African American
roots. Names of the slaves that lived in the county from the earliest times can
be found in old probate records. |
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Clarksville
Today Although
it's loaded with all this history, Clarksville doesn't have much to offer for
travelers, but hopefully that'll change soon. Rebecca Hale of the Red River County
Historical Society says that they plan to open several museums. Right now, all
they have is a small, private museum above an antique shop that isn't always open,
and an old drug store that they converted into a tourism information center. They've
already received two grants: one to restore the old courthouse,
the other to create a museum out of the antebellum Charles
DeMorse house. In early 2003, they cleaned up downtown when Anita Perry visited
to officially designate Clarksville a "Texas Main Street City." I recommend a
visit to Clarksville to any serious Texas history buff - or practically anyone
who likes to look at towns and muse "what used to be, what could've been, what
will happen now." It's a fine old town with a slow southern pace that'll make
anyone feel right at home.
© Robin
Jett, July 2003
Book Clarksville Area Hotels - Paris
Hotels | Mount
Vernon Hotels | More
Hotels
Clarksville
Landmarks: |
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Page's
Tree - Clarksville's old hanging tree inside the city cemetery.
Photos courtesy
Robin
Jett, 2003 |
Confederate
monument in Clarksville
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2006 |
People
Colonel
Charles DeMorse and The Standard by Bob Bowman
Anyone who has read
a history of Texas in the 1800s will find many references to the Clarksville Standard,
which DeMorse founded as the Northern Standard in 1842. It was one of Texas' foremost
newspapers, largely because DeMorse not only recorded Texas history; he was one
of the principal makers of it.
An
Orphan’s Gift
by Bob Bowman
"Standing atop Mount Locke in the Big Bend area, McDonald
Observatory is far removed from East Texas, but without the interest and generosity
of an orphaned Confederate soldier from Clarksville, the world-famous astronomy
center might not exist today. William McDonald ..." |
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