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If
you're an admirer of General Sam Houston -- the respected and sometimes-cursed
maker of Texas history -- this Sunday Drive is just for you. The drive
will also take you through a good portion of the Sam Houston National
Forest and along the shoreline of Lake Livingston.
Start at Huntsville,
and spend some time in the town before you launch your Sunday Drive.
An excellent guide is the Huntsville Fun Trail, a publication you
can pick up at the local Chamber of Commerce office.
Some of the local stops you'll want to touch include the Sam Houston
Memorial Grave and Monument in Oakwood Cemetery. Since
1911, an impressive monument inscribed with the promise that "the
world will take care of Houston's fame" has marked the grave of the
first President of the Republic of Texas. The cemetery can be reached
by traveling down the two blocks of Spur 94, the shortest highway
in Texas, which intersects Texas 190.
Some
other stops we suggest: |
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Sam
Houston' home in Sam Houston Memorial Park and Museum
Photo courtesy Todd Marshall |
- The
Sam Houston Memorial Park and Museum, just off U.S. 75
(Sam Houston Avenue). Here in a 15-acre setting are Sam Houston's
home, "Woodland," the steamboat house where he died in 1863, his
law office, a pioneer kitchen, a blacksmith shop and other buildings.
The museum itself houses one of the most extensive collection
of Sam Houston memorialbia in Texas.
- The Walls,
the original main unit of the Texas prison when all of its prisoners
were housed here. The massive red brick walls front on U.S. 190.
- Peckerwood
Hill (Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery), the final resting place
for more than 900 prisoners whose bodies were unclaimed at the
time of their death. The 22-acre graveyard is on Bowers Boulevard
just off Sam Houston Avenue. Look for interesting markers.
- The Thorwaldsen
Statute of Christ in Oakwood Cemetery. The copy of
the famous Thorwaldsen original in Copenhagen, Denmark, was placed
here by Judge and Mrs. Ben Powell as a monument to their son.
- Emancipation
Park, a landmark of freedom for Texas slaves, where Juneteeth
is celebrated each year.
- The Ahysen
Mural in downtown Huntville. Depicting Huntsville in the spring,
the 938-square foot mural -- called the largest free-standing
painting in the United States -- was done in ceramics by art professor
Harry Ahysen.
- The Gibbs
Bros. building, a Huntsville landmark dating back to the l840s,
when Thomas and Sandford Gibbs opened the store and later entered
the banking business. Today, Gibbs heirs constitute the oldest
business in Texas unde original ownership at the same location
on the Huntsville courthouse square.
If you're hungry
before you leave town, we recommend a couple of eating places, the
Cafe Texan on the courthouse square, which has been serving an excellent
pepper steak for some 50 years, and the Junction, an old plantation
home (it was built as a wedding gift to a bride in l849) that has
been turned into an excellent restaurant.
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The
statue of Sam Houston in Huntsville
Photo courtesy Todd Marshall |
From
Huntsville, start east on U.S. 190. You'll pass through the town of
Oakhurst, which was once a thriving sawmill town in San Jacinto
County. A sawmill at Palmetto was moved to Oakhurst in 1911 and operated
for a number of years. The town was named for Oakhurst, Oklahoma,
home of several lumbermen who had moved to Texas.
Continuing on U.S. 190, some three miles north of Oakhurst, about
two miles off FM 946, is Sam Houston's country home, Raven Hill,
a name taken from the Cherokee Indians' name for Houston, "The Raven."
A Texas historical marker is all that remains of the site.
Just east of Oakhurst is the entrance to Waterwood National Country
Club, one of the best golf courses in Texas. The course offers
18 rugged holes built in the old Scottish tradition.
A little farther up U.S. 190 you'll discover the village of Point
Blank, which sounds like something out of an Old West novel. Actually,
Point Blank was was originally named Blanc Point by a Frenchwoman
who moved here from Alabama. The town was also known as Point White
and White Point. Ask for directions to a small cemtery on the banks
of Lake Livingston, where Texas' second governor, George T. Wood,
is buried.
Lake Livingston, covering some 82,600 acres, sprawls over several
East Texas counties and is popular with fishermen, boaters and campers.
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The
Old San Jacinto County Jail
Photo courtesy Todd Marshall |
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Point Blank, take Texas 156 southward along the banks of the lake.
Near Holiday Shores, turn on FM 224, which will carry you into
Coldspring,
the county seat of San Jacinto County since l870. Spend some
in the quaint shops around the courthouse square and be sure to visit
the courthouse,
as well as the old county jail, now an excellent small-town
museum. |
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The
San Jacinto County Jail Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Todd Marshall |
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Coldspring
has had several other names during its lifetime, including Cookskin,
Fireman's Hill and Cold Spring.
From Coldspring,
head south on Texas 150 toward Shepherd, but a few miles out
of Coldspring, take a right turn onto a unpaved road leading to the
Big Creek Scenic Area, a tangled forest area that offers a
good insight to what the Big Thicket looks like. The actual
Thicket is 30 to 40 miles east of the area.
Continue on the unpaved road until it intersections with FM 2666 and
follow this highway until you come to its intersection with FM 2055.
Turn north and head back toward Coldspring,
but a few miles out of town, look for the signs to the Double Lake
Recreational Area, one of the most popular parks in the Sam
Houston National Forest. The areas offers facilities for camping,
hiking, picnicking and fishing.
When you leave Double Lake, turn north until you come to Texas 150.
Turn west toward New
Waverly and you'll pass through the small settlement of Evergreen.
Along the way, look for the entrance to the Lone Star Hiking Trail,
the longest (140 miles) of its kind in the state. The trail traverses
the entire Sam Houston National Forest and crosses two developed
camping areas, Double Lake and Stubblefield Lake.
At the intersection of 150 and FM 2693 in the Pleasant Grove settlement,
turn north on the farm road and follow it until it turns into FM 2778,
which will lead back to an intersection with Texas 150, which will
carry you to New Waverly.
At New Waverly,
turn west on FM 1375, which will take you on a wide loop carrying
you through some of the tallest timberland in the Huntsville area.
Stay on the road, passing through Bethel and Union Hill,
and you'll wind up in Huntsville.
However,
before leaving Huntsville, take the time to drive south on Interstate
45, and look for the turnoff to two other places you'll want to visit
before completing this drive: ... next
page
Huntsville
State Park and Elkins Lake
Trip
Map |
Huntsville
Tourist Information
Huntsville
Chamber of Commerce -
1328 11th Street, Box 538, Huntsville, TX 77340
Telephone 936-295-8113.
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Huntsville
Texas Forum
Subject:
Destination Huntsville
If you are visiting Huntsville, especially if you will be stopping
at the Sam Houston Museum complex, do yourself a favor; walk across
Sam Houston Avenue and visit the campus of Sam Houston State
University. Not only gets my vote as one of the prettiest college
campuses in the state of Texas, if not in the entire country, but
also the site of several interesting things to see. (As a graduate
of SHSU I will readily admit that I am somewhat biased!) Nevertheless,
in very close proximity to the museum, and to each other, on the
north end of the SHSU quadrangle are; Austin Hall (1851) – If I
remember correctly, it is the oldest educational building in continuous
use west of the Mississippi River, Old Main Memorial – preserved
footprint and basement area of this 1890 beauty, which was lost
to fire in 1982, the Peabody Memorial Library – Built in 1902 to
recognize the philanthropic contributions of the Peabody Foundation
to Sam Houston (Normal Institute) and to public education in the
state of Texas, and the bronze statue of General Sam Houston. This
statue, 110% of life size, was dedicated in 1979 to commemorate
the 100th anniversary of the founding of SHSU. It was said to be
the most accurate representation of Sam Houston in existence at
that time. I hope you enjoy your visit to Huntsville and Sam Houston
State University. - Stephen Rogers, Bellville, Texas, November
11, 2004
Subject: Raven
Hill
The location of the site of Raven Hill is south of Oakhurst about
2.5 miles off the main road. Take Raven Hill Rd. S.W. until it ends.
Take a left (dirt road) go another 100 yds. or so. The marker is
in a cow pasture on the right. - Robert Surguy, June 08, 2004
Excerpt by permission of author Mr. Bob Bowman.
August 2000
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