ALBERT NEYLAND (1854-1890), SON OF ORANGE PIONEERS, MARRIED LISA JETT (1855-1914) IN 1875 AND BUILT A SMALL HOUSE AT THIS SITE. IN 1877 ALEXANDER GILMER (1829-1906) BOUGHT THE PROPERTY. GILMER OWNED SAWMILLS THROUGHOUT TEXAS AND REAL ESTATE IN ORANGE. THIS VICTORIAN RESIDENCE WAS BUILT AROUND THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE. GILMER DEEDED IT TO HIS DAUGHTER MARTHA WHEN SHE MARRIED H.S. FILSON. AFTER THE FILSON OCCUPANCY ENDED, IT BECAME RESIDENTIAL AND RENTAL PROPERTY. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORICAL LANDMARK- 1979.
LOCATION: 312 WEST PINE, ORANGE
ORANGE COUNTY AND THE CIVIL WAR
SHORTLY AFTER THE VOTERS OF ORANGE COUNTY AND TEXAS APPROVED SECESSION IN 1861, THREE MILITARY COMPANIES WERE RAISED IN THE COUNTY FOR CONFEDERATE SERVICE; THE ORANGE LIGHT GUARD, THE ORANGE GREYS AND HANNAH'S COMPANY. ADDITIONAL FORCES, INCLUDING THE ORANGE COUNTY COAST GUARD AND SEVERAL COMPANIES OF STATE TROOPS, WERE LATER RAISED FOR LOCAL DEFENSE. ORANGE COUNTY, TEN MILES SOUTH OF THE NIBLETT'S BLUFF LOCATION OF C.S.A. CAMP PLEASANT IN LOUISIANA, WAS PART OF AN IMPORTANT ROUTE FOR CONFEDERATE FORCES AND SUPPLIES. A C.S.A. POST OFFICE WAS LOCATED AT ORANGE IN 1861. THE TEXAS AND NEW ORLEANS RAILROAD WAS OPENED THROUGH THE COUNTY, THOUGH VARIOUS PROBLEMS RENDERED IT UNSERVICEABLE THROUGH MUCH OF THE WAR. RUMORS OF A FEDERAL ATTACK ON THE COAST IN 1863 PROMPTED STEPPED-UP DEFENSE PREPARATIONS. A PRIMARY SUPPLY DEPOT WAS ESTABLISHED IN JULY TO SERVE NEARBY CAMP PLEASANT, AND A CONFEDERATE HOSPITAL OPENED IN ORANGE. LOCAL PREPAREDNESS PROVIDED AN ADDITIONAL DETERRENT TO US TROOPS AT THE BATTLE OF SABINE PASS IN SEPTEMBER. AFTER THE CONFEDERATE SURRENDER IN 1865, OCCUPATION FORCES LED BY THE 37TH ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS ARRIVED IN ORANGE COUNTY, AND RECONSTRUCTION SOON FOLLOWED.
TEXAS SESQUICENTENNIAL 1836-1986
LOCATION: RIVER WALK PARK ALONG THE SABINE RIVER, ORANGE
BLACK EDUCATION IN ORANGE COUNTY
SCHOOLS FOR ORANGE COUNTY'S BLACK CHILDREN WERE HELD IN CHURCHES AND PRIVATE HOMES AS EARLY AS THE 1870'S. IN 1887 A BLACK SCHOOL WAS OPENED IN THE DUNCAN WOODS COMMUNITY, AND ANOTHER WAS SOON ESTABLISHED IN ORANGE. KNOWN AS ORANGE COLORED SCHOOL, IT WAS RENAMED IN 1930 IN HONOR OF EDUCATOR ROBERT RUSSA MOTON AND AGAIN IN 1946 FOR LONGTIME PRINCIPAL EMMA H. WALLACE. ANOTHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAS LOCATED NEAR REBECK CROSSING IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE CITY, AND BY 1960 FRANKLIN ELEMENTARY AND NORTH JUNIOR HIGH WERE IN OPERATION.
LOCATION:
THE RAPID GROWTH OF THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY IN ORANGE AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY LED TO INCREASED POPULATION IN THIS AREA. IN ORDER TO SERVE THE TRANSPORTATION NEEDS OF WORKERS AND OTHERS IN THIS VICINITY, THE DRYDEN FERRY WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1926. IT SOON PROVED INADEQUATE FOR THE VOLUME OF TRAFFIC, HOWEVER, AND PLANS BEGAN FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BRIDGE TO SPAN THE NECHES RIVER. JEFFERSON COUNTY, THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION) ALL PROVIDED FUNDING FOR THE BRIDGE'S CONSTRUCTION. WHILE THE CITIZENS OF ORANGE COUNTY ALSO SUPPORTED THE PROJECT, THE COUNTY'S ECONOMIC SITUATION DID NOT PERMIT MONETARY ASSISTANCE. CONSTRUCTION OF THE BRIDGE BEGAN IN 1936, AND WAS NOT COMPLETED UNTIL OVER TWO YEARS LATER. MEASURING 176 FEET IN HEIGHT AND 7760 FEET IN LENGTH, IT WAS THE LARGEST BRIDGE EVER BUILT BY THE STATE OF TEXAS UP TO THAT TIME. DEDICATION CEREMONIES WERE HELD ON SEPT. 8, 1938, ATTRACTING A CROWD OF APPROXIMATELY 20,000. AMONG THE ACTIVITIES WERE A BOAT REGATTA ON THE RIVER AND A STUNT DIVER'S PLUNGE FROM THE TOP OF THE BRIDGE INTO THE WATER BELOW. THE STRUCTURE WAS OFFICIALLY NAMED "RAINBOW BRIDGE" IN A 1957 CONTEST.
LOCATION: SH 87 AT NECHES RIVER, 3 MILES SOUTH OF BRIDGE CITY
THE EARLIEST RECORDED CATHOLIC MASS IN THE AREA WAS CONDUCTED BY THE REV. P.F. PARISOT IN 1853, FIVE YEARS BEFORE THE CITY OR ORANGE WAS INCORPORATED. IN 1879 THE REV. VITAL QUINON (d.1894), A NATIVE OF FRANCE, CAME TO ORANGE AT THE REQUEST OF THE LOCAL RAILROAD SUPERINTENDENT, CHARLES A. BARTON, WHO WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE CITY'S REPUTATION AS A ROWDY AND LAWLESS INDUSTRIAL TOWN. KNOWN AS THE "FIGHTING PRIEST", FATHER QUINON PROVIDED THE LEADERSHIP NECESSARY FOR THE FORMATION OF THIS CHURCH. ESTABLISHED AS ST.VITAL'S, IT ORIGINALLY SERVED A PARISH COMPRISED PRIMARILY OF GERMAN, AUSTRIAN, IRISH AND POLISH IMMIGRANTS. SIGNIFICANT GROWTH BEGAN IN 1896 WHEN THE REV. J.M. MORAN (1859-1922) OF IRELAND WAS ASSIGNED AS THE FIRST RESIDENT PRIEST OF THE PARISH. THE CONGREGATIONAL NAME WAS CHANGED TO ST. MARY'S IN 1912 AND A SCHOOL AND CEMETERY WERE ESTABLISHED IN THE 1920S. PROMINENT CHURCH LEADERS HAVE INCLUDED THE REV. GEORGE BERBERICH (d.1947) OF GERMANY, WHO CAME HERE IN 1929, AND HIS BROTHER THE REV. MSGR. JOSEPH BERBERICH (d.1980), WHO JOINED HIM IN 1937. THROUGH THEIR GUIDANCE, ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH DEVELOPED AS A LEADER IN COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, IN QUALITY EDUCATION AND IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AREA MISSIONS.
LOCATION: 905 W.CHERRY, ORANGE
LUTCHER & MOORE LUMBER COMPANY
H.J. LUTCHER AND G.B. MOORE MOVED THEIR LUMBER OPERATION FROM PENNSYLVANIA AND ESTABLISHED A HEADQUARTERS HERE IN 1877. OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DECADES, THEY BUILT A TIMBER EMPIRE WITH VAST HOLDINGS IN TEXAS AND LOUISIANA AND AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF SAWMILLS, RAILROADS, WAREHOUSES, CANALS, DOCK FACILITIES, AND TRANSPORT SHIPS. THE COMPANY ERECTED A MISSION STYLE HEADQUARTERS HERE IN 1913. LUTCHER AND MOORE AND THEIR SUCCESSORS DR. E.W. BROWN AND WILLIAM H. STARK AMASSED A GREAT WEALTH AND FOUNDED MANY OF ORANGE COUNTY'S CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS. THE COMPANY CEASED OPERATIONS IN THE EARLY 1930s. SESQUICENTENNIAL OF TEXAS STATEHOOD 1845-1995
LOCATION: 1201 CHILDERS RD. , ORANGE
A NATIVE OF SAN AUGUSTINE COUNTY, WILLIAM HENRY STARK (1851-1936) LIVED IN BURKEVILLE AND NEWTON BEFORE MOVING TO ORANGE IN 1870. HERE HE WORKED IN THE EARLY AREA SAWMILLS AND BECAME ACQUAINTED WITH EVERY PHASE OF THE LUMBER INDUSTRY. IN 1881 STARK MARRIED MIRIAM MELLISA LUTCHER (1859-1936), THE DAUGHTER OF HENRY JACOB LUTCHER, A PARTNER IN THE PROMINENT LUTCHER AND MOORE LUMBER COMPANY. STARK JOINED HIS FATHER-IN-LAW'S FIRM AND, BECAUSE OF HIS KNOWLEDGE OF MILLING OPERATIONS, WAS SOON PLACED IN CHARGE OF TWO MILLS IN LOUISIANA. STARK'S SUCCESS IN THE LUMBER INDUSTRY LED HIM TO INVEST IN OTHER BUSINESSES, INCLUDING IRON AND COAL PRODUCTION, REAL ESTATE, AND RANCHING. HIS PROGRESSIVE IDEAS, INCLUDING DEEP WATER PORTS ON THE SABINE RIVER AND A DRAINAGE SYSTEM THAT PROVIDED STIMULUS FOR THE REGION'S RICE INDUSTRY, LED TO INCREASED GROWTH FOR THE CITY OF ORANGE. STARK ALSO SERVED AS A REGENT FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, 1911-15, AN OFFICE LATER HELD BY HIS SON LUTCHER STARK, WHO BECAME CHAIRMAN OF THE UNIVERSITY BOARD. THE MANY CONTRIBUTIONS W.H. STARK MADE TO ORANGE ARE REFLECTED IN THE CITY'S STEADY GROWTH, INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH AND COMMUNITY PRIDE.
LOCATION: CIVIC PLAZA, ORANGE
THE SAWMILL INDUSTRY IN ORANGE COUNTY
ORANGE COUNTY'S SAWMILL AND TIMBER INDUSTRY BEGAN WITH HAND-OPERATED LOGGING OPERATIONS RUN BY PIONEER SETTLERS IN THE 1820s. IN 1835 ROBERT BOOTHE ESTABLISHED THE AREA'S FIRST MECHANIZED SAWMILL, AND IN 1841 PAINE & BENDY ESTABLISHED THE FIRST STEAM-DRIVEN SAWMILL. CYPRESS WAS THE PRIMARY TIMBER HARVESTED UNTIL THE LATE 1850s WHEN THE PROCESSING OF NATIVE PINE BEGAN. SAWMILL COMPANY TOWNS AND LOGGING CAMPS WERE ESTABLISHED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY AS THE NUMBER OF MILLS BEGAN TO RISE IN THE LATE 1870s. INCREASING QUANTITIES OF LOGS WERE TRANSPORTED BY RAFT ON THE SABINE AND NECHES RIVERS TO AREA TIMBER OPERATIONS. MANY MILLS BURNED AND WERE NEVER REBUILT. IN THE EARLY 1900s THE AREA'S SAWMILL AND TIMBER INDUSTRY UNDERWENT A PERIOD OF CONSOLIDATION AND A TRANSITION FROM THE RELIANCE ON WATER TRANSPORTATION TO THE USE OF THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING RAILROAD NETWORK. BY 1909 THE MILLER LINK, A.E. SMITH CYPRESS, AND LUTCHER & MOORE'S UPPER AND LOWER MILLS DOMINATED THE AREA'S TIMBER INDUSTRY. BY 1931, HOWEVER, THE LAST OF THESE FOUR MILLS, THE LUTCHER & MOORE UPPER MILL, HAD CLOSED. FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS THE SAWMILL AND TIMBER INDUSTRY'S COMPANY TOWNS, LOGGING CAMPS, AND TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM HELPED DEFINE ORANGE COUNTY'S LIFE.
LOCATION: CORNER OF 3rd AND FRONT STREETS, IN OCHILTREE PARK, ORANGE
PATRIARCH OF THE ORANGE COUNTY STARK FAMILY, JOHN T. STARK, WAS BORN IN PEBBLE COUNTY, OHIO, IN 1821 AND MOVED TO EAST TEXAS IN 1840. HE SETTLED IN NEWTON COUNTY IN THE 1850s WHERE HE READ LAW AND RAN A MERCANTILE STORE. IN 1861 STARK JOINED THE CONFEDERATE FORCES AS A PRIVATE IN THE TEXAS INFANTRY AND WAS LATER ELECTED CAPTAIN. IN 1874 HE MOVED TO ORANGE WHERE HE PRACTICED LAW, SERVED ONE YEAR AS ORANGE COUNTY JUDGE, AND WAS ACTIVE IN THE OLD ORANGE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. STARK'S THREE MARRIAGES PRODUCED EIGHTEEN CHILDREN. HE DID IN 1893 AND IS BURIED IN THIS CEMETERY.
LOCATION: EVERGREEN CEMETERY, JACKSON AND BORDER ST., ORANGE
THE SON OF GERMAN IMMIGRANTS, HENRY JACOB LUTCHER (1836-1912) BECAME A SUCCESSFUL LUMBER MAN IN HIS HOME STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. ATTRACTED BY THE VAST TIMBERLANDS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS, HE AND HIS PARTNER G. BEDELL MOORE MOVED PART OF THEIR OPERATION TO THIS AREA IN THE 1870s. FOLLOWING A SHORT SURVEY TRIP THROUGH EAST TEXAS IN 1876, LUTCHER SETTLED IN ORANGE. HERE HE OVERSAW THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A LARGE SAWMILL AND BEGAN INVESTING IN THE AREA TIMBERLANDS. THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF LUTCHER AND MOORE LUMBER COMPANY LED TO THE ACQUISITION OF SEVERAL MILLS, INCLUDING ONE AT LUTCHER, LOUISIANA, AND PROPERTY THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. A PROGRESSIVE BUSINESSMAN, LUTCHER INTRODUCED SEVERAL IMPROVED MILLING TECHNIQUES, WHICH WERE ADOPTED BY OTHER MILL OWNERS AND LED TO THE EARLY GROWTH OF THE AREA'S LUMBER INDUSTRY. HE ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION'S COMMERCE THROUGH HIS ACTIVE SUPPORT OF DEEP WATER PORTS AT SABINE PASS, ORANGE, AND BEAUMONT, AND HIS INTEREST IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AREA RAIL LINES. AFTER HIS DEATH, HIS WIDOW FRANCES ANN (ROBINSON) (1841-1924) CONTINUED HIS TRADITION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE THROUGH SIGNIFICANT BENEVOLENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CITY.
LOCATION: CIVIC PLAZA, ORANGE
JOSEPH LINSCOMB (1798-1873) MOVED FROM LOUISIANA TO TEXAS ABOUT 1835 AND SERVED IN A VOLUNTEER MILITIA UNIT DURING THE TEXAS REVOLUTION. HE AND HIS FAMILY SETTLED IN JEFFERSON COUNTY BY 1841. THE AREA BECAME ORANGE COUNTY IN 1852. LINSCOMB DEEDED ONE ACRE OF LAND FOR USE AS A FAMILY CEMETERY AND BECAME THE FIRST PERSON BURIED HERE. FAMILY MEMBERS, DESCENDANTS AND CLOSE FRIENDS ARE INTERRED HERE. STILL ACTIVE, THE CEMETERY CONTAINS MORE THAN 100 MARKED GRAVES AND SOME UNMARKED GRAVES. THE SITE IS MAINTAINED BY FAMILY MEMBERS.
LOCATION: 1 MI N. OF IH 10 ON FM 1442
PROMINENT LOCAL JEWELER JOSEPH LUCAS (1865-1944) BUILT THIS HOME IN 1907 AS A MODEST 2-STORY VERNACULAR STRUCTURE. AS A RESULT OF BUSINESS SUCCESS THE LUCAS'S IMPROVED THEIR HOME BY ADDING A QUEEN ANNE STYLE WRAPAROUND GALLERY AND GAZEBO-LIKE CORNER IN 1918. PROMINENT FEATURES INCLUDE PAIRED CORINTHIAN COLUMNS, ARCHED WINDOWS, AND A 2-BAY PORCH ON THE SECOND LEVEL. IT REMAINED IN THE LUCAS FAMILY UNTIL 1965. RECORDED TEXAS LANDMARK - 1992
LOCATION: 812 W. PINE STREET, ORANGE
THIS HOUSE STANDS ON LAND PURCHASED IN 1900 BY J.K. JORGENSEN, A HARDWARE STORE CLERK. CONSTRUCTION BEGAN IN 1907 WHEN JORGENSEN REMOVED THE FRONT PORCH AND TWO FRONT ROOMS FROM A RELATIVE'S HOUSE AND MOVED THEM TO THIS LOCATION ON WOODEN ROLLERS PULLED BY MULES. THE BACK OF TWO ROOMS WERE ADDED SOON AFTER. ASSEMBLED FROM LATE 19th CENTURY COMPONENTS, THIS MODEST VERNACULAR RESIDENCE FEATURES VICTORIAN INFLUENCES IN ITS PORCH DETAILS AND LARGE WINDOWS. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORICAL LANDMARK - 1995
LOCATION: 1209 PINE STREET, ORANGE
HOME SITE OF DR. EDGAR WILLIAM BROWN
FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF HIS FATHER DR. SAMUEL M. BROWN, GEORGIA NATIVE EDGAR WILLIAM BROWN (1859-1917) BECAME A PRACTICING PHYSICIAN IN ORANGE. IN 1888 HE MARRIED CARRIE LAUNA LUTCHER ( 1861-1941), DAUGHTER OF THE SUCCESSFUL ORANGE LUMBER MAN HENRY JACOB LUTCHER. WITH HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW WILLIAM H. STARK, BROWN SOON BECAME ASSOCIATED WITH THE VAST LUTCHER TIMBER ENTERPRISE IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY'S PROPERTIES. HE LATER TOOK OVER AS MANAGER OF THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED DIBERT, STARK AND BROWN CYPRESS COMPANY OPERATIONS IN LOUISIANA. HIS SUCCESS IN THE TIMBER INDUSTRY SOON MADE HIM ONE OF THE LEADING LUMBER MEN IN THE UNITED STATES. IN HIS LATER YEARS BROWN TOOK AN ACTIVE INTEREST IN AGRICULTURE AND WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CLEARING AND CULTIVATION OF MUCH AREA FARMLAND. HE ALSO INVESTED IN THE REGION'S EARLY OIL PRODUCTION INDUSTRY AND DIRECTED VARIOUS LAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. BROWN SERVED FOR MANY YEARS AS MAYOR OF ORANGE. AN ADVOCATE OF THE CITY'S COMMERCIAL GROWTH, HE ACTIVELY SUPPORTED CONSTRUCTION OF A DEEP WATER PORT AND THE INTER COASTAL CANAL. HIS EARLY EFFORTS WERE VITAL TO ORANGE'S DEVELOPMENT AS A MAJOR CENTER OF SHIPPING AND TRADE.
LOCATION: 803 W. GREEN AVE. AND 8th ST. PARKWAY, ORANGE
HENRY B. JACKSON, A PROMINENT LOCAL BANKER AND BUSINESSMAN, BUILT THIS HOME SOON AFTER HE PURCHASED THE PROPERTY IN 1902. IN 1909 HE SOLD IT TO FRANK M. HUSTMYRE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE ORANGE NATIONAL BANK AND MANAGER AND SECRETARY / TREASURER OF THE ORANGE GROCERY CO. CONSTRUCTED OF YELLOW PINE LUMBER, THE RESIDENCE FEATURES A VARIETY OF SHINGLING, A GAZEBO-LIKE BALCONY WITH A CONICAL ROOF AND DETAILING OF THE QUEEN ANNE STYLE. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORICAL LANDMARK - 1982
LOCATION: 611 N. 7th ST., ORANGE
MISS LAURA CHANDLER'S PRIVATE SCHOOL
JAMES M. CHANDLER WAS A CONFEDERATE VETERAN WHO BROUGHT HIS FAMILY TO TEXAS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.
ABOUT 1890 HE BUILT A RESIDENCE AND SEVERAL OUTBUILDINGS, INCLUDING A STABLE, ON THIS PROPERTY. IN 1896, CHANDLER'S DAUGHTER LAURA BEGAN HOLDING SCHOOL CLASSES IN THE ROOM ABOVE THE STABLE. IN 1904, WHEN SHE MARRIED KNOX HEBERT, THIS STABLE-SCHOOLHOUSE WAS REMODELED AS A RESIDENCE FOR THE COUPLE. ALTHOUGH THE HEBERTS EVENTUALLY MOVED FROM ORANGE, THE STRUCTURE STANDS AS A REMINDER OF LIFE IN THE VICTORIAN ERA.
TEXAS SESQUICENTENNIAL 1836-1986
LOCATION: 606 7th ST., ORANGE
THE FIRST KNOWN SETTLERS IN WHAT IS NOW THE CITY OF ORANGE WERE JOHN AND ELIZABETH HARMON, WHO ARRIVED IN 1828 WITH THEIR THREE CHILDREN. KNOWN FIRST AS GREEN'S BLUFF, THE SMALL FARMING COMMUNITY THAT DEVELOPED ALONG A BEND IN THE SABINE RIVER WAS SELECTED AS THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT WHEN ORANGE COUNTY WAS CREATED IN 1852. THE TOWN WAS CALLED MADISON FROM 1852 UNTIL 1858, WHEN THE NAME ORANGE WAS ADOPTED. THE EARLY ORANGE ECONOMY WAS BASED ON THE LUMBER AND SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRIES. LED BY PROMINENT PIONEER AREA LUMBER MEN AND AIDED BY THE ADVENT OF THE TEXAS AND NEW ORLEANS RAILROAD IN 1876, ORANGE WAS RECOGNIZED AS THE LEADER IN EAST TEXAS SAWMILL ACTIVITY BY THE 1880s. THE DEEP WATER PORT AND THE AVAILABILITY OF LUMBER MADE THE CITY AN IDEAL LOCATION FOR THE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY, WHICH REACHED ITS HIGHEST PRODUCTION LEVELS DURING WORLD WARS I AND II. FOR MANY YEARS THE CITY OF ORANGE HAS MAINTAINED A FULL RANGE OF SERVICES FOR ITS CITIZENS. PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE OPERATED SINCE THE 1880s AND ELECTRICITY WAS INSTITUTED IN 1890. ORANGE'S SHIPBUILDING AND PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRIES CONTINUE TO MAKE THE CITY A LEADING COMMERCIAL CENTER IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS.
LOCATION: 803 W. GREEN AVE., ORANGE
ON HIGH POINT SE, ACROSS THE SABINE IN LOUISIANA. BUSIEST EAST TEXAS PORT OF ENTRY IN THE CIVIL WAR. TARGET FOR ENEMY MOVEMENTS WEST ACROSS LOUISIANA REPEATEDLY IN 1862-64. CONFEDERATE DEFENSE POST. SUPPLY DEPOT TO SUPPORT CONSTANT TROOP MOVEMENTS, BOTH FOR FIGHTING AND FOR PATROLS AND RECRUITING. CROSSROADS FOR LAND AND RIVER TRAFFIC. FERRY POINT ON OLD ROAD THROUGH SWAMPS. COTTON CONCENTRATION POINT. A BOOM TOWN WITH SALOONS, GAMBLING, NIGHT LIFE. PATROLLED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE SABINE BY TEXANS TO PROTECT TROOP MOVEMENTS. COMMERCIAL SHIPPING, STAGECOACH TRAVEL ROUTES, FREIGHTERS' TRAINS AND HERDS OF CATTLE AND HOGS GOING EAST ON THE HOOF. PASSED TEXAS TROOPS THROUGH BY THOUSANDS TO GO EASTWARD THROUGH MARSHLANDS AND SLOUGHS TOWARD BRASHEAR CITY AND NEW ORLEANS OR UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER CROSSINGS TO EASTERN BATTLEFIELDS. MANY UNITS WENT BY RAIL FROM HOUSTON TO BEAUMONT, THEN TO SABINE PASS AND UP THE RIVER BY STEAMER. NIBLETT'S BLUFF WELCOMED STEAMERS UNLOADING GUNS, AMMUNITION, CLOTHING, MEDICINES AND OTHER GOODS VITAL TO THE CONFEDERACY -- SWAPPING THESE FOR TEXAS AND LOUISIANA COTTON, CALLED "MONEY OF THE CONFEDERACY" BECAUSE OF ITS PURCHASING VALUE IN WORLD TRADE. A 27" X 37" MARKER WAS PLACED AT THE JUNCTION OF NEW HIGHWAY 87 AND THE ROAD LEADING TO WEST BLUFF, ON THE EAST SIDE OF HIGHWAY 87, WHERE IT CROSSES THE WEST BLUFF ROAD IN 1965. THE MARKER WAS OBTAINED THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL SURVEY COMMITTEE.
(ED. NOTE: THE FOLLOWING RELEASE WAS SUBMITTED MARCH 3, 1965 BY DR. HOWARD WILLIAM'S, THEN CHAIRMAN OF THE TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL SURVEY COMMITTEE. THIS GROUP PRECEDED THE PRESENT ORANGE COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION). THE TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL SURVEY COMMITTEE, IN COOPERATION WITH THE ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT HAVE ERECTED A MEMORIAL COMMEMORATING THE OLD NIBLETT BLUFF. THIS MARKER WAS ERECTED BY THE TEXAS HIGHWAY COMMISSION ON THE EAST SIDE OF HIGHWAY 87 WHERE IT CROSSES THE WEST BLUFF ROAD. MR. M.A. BRAVO, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL COMMITTEE, WAS PRIMARILY INSTRUMENTAL IN HAVING THE MARKER ERECTED. WEST BLUFF AND NIBLETT'S BLUFF DATE BACK TO THE EARLY 1820's. RICHARD BALLEW OBTAINED TITLE TO THE TRACT OF LAND ON WHICH WEST BLUFF IS LOCATED IN JULY 1835 FROM THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT. HE WAS ORIGINALLY GRANTED 4,438 ACRES OF LAND AS A COLONIST ALONG WITH 27 OTHER ORIGINAL SETTLERS IN THE COUNTY. HE OPERATED A FERRY FROM SLIGHTLY BELOW THE PRESENT WEST BLUFF THAT CROSSED THE SABINE RIVER AND LANDED NEAR THE PRESENT NIBLETT'S BLUFF. THIS FERRY WAS ON THE MAIN ROAD BETWEEN OPELOUSES AND HOUSTON. IT WAS APPARENTLY IN OPERATION UNTIL THE EARLY 1900's. NIBLETT'S BLUFF WAS NAMED AFTER DR. ROBERT CALDWELL NEBLETT WHO WAS BORN IN ROANOKE, VA. IN 1795. HE OBTAINED HIS MEDICAL DEGREE IN PENNSYLVANIA AND PRACTICED IN KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE. HE LOCATED ON THE EAST BANK OF THE SABINE RIVER IN THE EARLY 1830'S. IMMIGRANTS ENTERING TEXAS RECEIVED MEDICAL ATTENTION AT HIS PLANTATION. HE PURCHASED TEXAS LAND THROUGH CERTIFICATES FROM VETERANS OF THE TEXAS REVOLUTION AND IN 1841 MOVED TO TEXAS. HE LOCATED HIS PLANTATION IN GROMES COUNTY NEAR ANDERSON. FROM 1855 TO 1856 HE SERVED IN THE HOUSE OF THE SIXTH TEXAS LEGISLATURE. HE DIED IN 1871 AND WAS BURIED AT ANDERSON. NIBLETT'S BLUFF WAS VERY PROMINENT IN THE EARLY TEXAS HISTORY AS DESCRIBED BY THE MARKER THAT HAS BEEN ERECTED. AFTER THE CIVIL WAR ITS IMPORTANCE SLOWLY DWINDLED. AFTER THE OPELOUSES HIGHWAY WAS MOVED FURTHER SOUTH, NIBLETT'S BLUFF COMMUNITY SLOWLY FADED INTO THE PAST. THE TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL SURVEY COMMITTEE ELECTED OFFICERS IN FEBRUARY 1965. DR. HOWARD C. WILLIAMS IS CHAIRMAN; MR. LOUIS DUGAS IS VICE CHAIRMAN; MRS. WINNIE C. GRID IS SECRETARY. THE COMMITTEE IS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN SURVEYING, RECORDING AND MARKING THE GRAVES OF CIVIL WAR VETERANS. THE GROUP WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF ANYONE KNOWING THE LOCATION OF ANY UNMARKED CIVIL WAR VETERAN IN THE COUNTY WOULD CONTACT SOME MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE. THE COMMITTEE HOPES IN THE FUTURE TO BE ABLE TO MARK OTHER HISTORICAL LAND MARKS IN ORANGE COUNTY. THEY ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN ERECTING MEMORIALS TO CLAYBORNE WEST WHO WAS ORANGE COUNTY'S REPRESENTATIVE AND SIGNER OF THE TEXAS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. HIS HOMESTEAD WAS ON THE PRESENT IH 10 NEAR THE MCLEWIS SCHOOL. THE COMMITTEE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO COMMEMORATE THE ORIGINAL SETTLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY, APPROXIMATELY 27 IN NUMBER; THE LOCATION OF GREENS BLUFF, THE ORIGINAL TOWN SITE OF ORANGE; THE LOCATION OF JEFFERSON OR THE COW BAYOU SETTLEMENT WHICH WAS THE ORIGINAL COUNTY SEAT OF THE COMBINED COUNTIES OF ORANGE AND JEFFERSON. THEY FEEL SOME TYPE OF MARKER SHOULD BE PLACED NEAR THE RIVER COMMEMORATING THE "COTTON CLAD CONFEDERATE STEAMERS" THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE BATTLE OF SABINE PASS. THESE TWO, "THE UNCLE BEN" AND THE "JOSHUA BELL" APPARENTLY DOCKED IN THE ORANGE AREA DURING THE WAR. THERE ARE MANY OTHER HISTORICAL EVENTS CONNECTED WITH ORANGE COUNTY THAT THE COMMITTEE WOULD EVENTUALLY LIKE TO COMMEMORATE.
ATAKAPAN INDIANS OF ORANGE COUNTY
THE ATAKAPAN INDIANS, A TRIBE ASSOCIATED WITH SOUTHEASTERN US BANDS, LIVED IN THIS AREA FOR CENTURIES. STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED THEIR PRESENCE COVERED A LARGE REGION OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THEIR NAME COMES FROM THE CHOCTAW INDIANS, AND MEANS "MAN-EATERS". IT IS BELIEVED THAT INDIANS ENCOUNTERED BY SPANISH EXPLORER CABEZA DE VACA IN 1528 ALONG THE GULF COAST MAY HAVE BEEN ATAKAPANS, THE FIRST DOCUMENTED CONTACT WITH THE TRIBE WAS BY FRENCH SAILOR SIMARS DE BELLISLE IN 1719. PUT ASHORE WITH FOUR OTHERS TO COLLECT FRESH WATER, THE MEN WERE ABANDONED AND DE BELLISLE, AFTER THE DEATHS OF HIS COMPANIONS, WAS MADE A CAPTIVE OF THE INDIAN TRIBE FOR A TIME. LATER CONTACT WITH THE ATAKAPANS INCLUDED TRADE WITH FRENCH AND SPANISH EXPLORERS. THE TRIBE WAS EVIDENTLY A FAIRLY LOOSE CONFEDERACY OF SMALL, SCATTERED BANDS. ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THEY SUBSISTED MAINLY ON MAINLY ON SMALL GAME, FISH, AND WILD PLANTS, AND EVIDENTLY WERE NOT FARMERS. SHELL MIDDENS FOUND INDICATE THE EXISTENCE OF ATAKAPAN CAMPSITES IN THIS VICINITY. THE TRIBE DISAPPEARED FROM TEXAS IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY, EITHER BECOMING EXTINCT OR INTEGRATING INTO OTHER TRIBES. TEXAS SESQUICENTENNIAL 1836-1986
LOCATION: RIVER WALK PARK, ORANGE
JOHN HORACE BLAND AND HIS WIFE EDNA BUILT THIS HOME IN 1902. IN 1910 JOHN MICHAEL DULLAHAN BOUGHT IT AND LIVED HERE WITH HIS PARENTS UNTIL 1917. TWO YEARS LATER IT WAS SOLD TO LOUIS PHILLIP BAZZANO, A LOCAL COBBLER, AND HIS WIFE ANNIE DRUCILLA (WILSON), LEADERS OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. THEY CONVEYED THE HOUSE TO THEIR DAUGHTER OPAL IN 1937. TYPICAL OF OTHER LOCAL TURN OF THE CENTURY HOMES, IT FEATURES VICTORIAN STYLING WITH QUEEN ANNE INFLUENCES. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORICAL LANDMARK 1981
LOCATION: 601 N. 12th ST., ORANGE
LOCAL LORE PLACES THE FIRST BURIAL IN THIS CEMETERY AS EARLY AS 1840. WHEN ROBERT JACKSON PURCHASED 35 ACRES OF LAND INCLUDING THIS SITE IN 1853, AT LEAST ONE GRAVE WAS ALREADY PRESENT. JACKSON ALLOWED THAT PORTION OF HIS LAND TO BE USED FOR FURTHER BURIALS. THE EARLIEST MARKED GRAVE IS DATED 1860. A LADIES' CEMETERY ASSOCIATION WAS FORMED IN 1891, AND THE GRAVEYARD WAS REFERRED TO AS "THE CITY CEMETERY" OR "THE CEMETERY THAT MR. JACKSON GAVE TO THE CITY" FOR MANY YEARS. THE NAME EVERGREEN CAME INTO USE IN 1898 OR 1899. FEWER THAN 100 MARKED GRAVES DATE FROM BEFORE 1900. MOST ARE THOSE OF PIONEER SETTLERS WHO DIED IN THEIR 40's AND 50's. IN 1911, ROBERT RUSSELL WHOTE THAT "MORE GRAVES ARE LOST IN THERE THAT ARE IN SIGHT". THE NUMBER OF MARKED BURIALS INCREASED IN 1917, 1918 AND 1919 DUE TO A SERIES OF INFLUENZA EPIDEMICS. THE MAJORITY OF THOSE WHO DIED IN THE CITY OF ORANGE BETWEEN 1850 AND 1974, WHEN PRIVATE CEMETERIES BEGAN OPERATIONS IN THIS AREA, ARE BURIED ON THIS SITE. NEARLY FOUR TIMES ITS ORIGINAL SIZE, THE CEMETERY CONTAINS A VARIETY OF GRAVE MARKERS, INCLUDING FAMILY MAUSOLEUMS, THE MARKERS OF FRATERNAL ORDERS, AND MILITARY MARKERS HONORING VETERANS OF SEVERAL US AND INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS INCLUDING THE CIVIL WAR, THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR, WORLD WARS I AND II, AND THE CONFLICTS IN KOREA AND VIETNAM. WITH AN ESTIMATED 7500 GRAVES IN 1998, EVERGREEN CEMETERY IS A RECORD OF THE PIONEERS OF ORANGE. THE CEMETERY CONTINUES TO SERVE THE CITY AND SURROUNDING AREA.
LOCATION: JACKSON & BORDER STREETS
THOUGH RUMORS OF SLAVE CEMETERIES IN ORANGE COUNTY ABOUND, THE BURIAL GROUND ON THIS SITE IS THE OLDEST KNOWN AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERY IN THE AREA. WHEN MARY E. (MERRIMAN) BONEVILLE TRANSFERRED 2.5 ACRES OF LAND TO WILLIAM KING, TRUSTEE OF MT. ZION BAPTIST CHURCH, IN 1875, THE DEED INDICATED THAT THE PROPERTY WAS ALREADY IN USE AS A BURIAL SITE. THE OLDEST MARKED GRAVE IS THAT OF TRUSSER T. THOMAS (1866-1886). HE WAS FOLLOWED BY J. JORDAN (1870-1891). MANY OF THE 19th CENTURY BURIALS WERE THOSE OF YOUNG PEOPLE. CHURCH TRUSTEE WILLIAMS KING (1870-1896), A CRAFTSMAN AND FARMER WHO CAME FROM MISSISSIPPI WITH HIS WIFE, MARY, AS EARLY AS 1855, IS ALSO INTERRED HERE. CALLED AT VARIOUS TIMES "THE COLORED CEMETERY", "WOODLAWN CEMETERY", AND "MERRION CEMETERY", THE SITE WAS LISTED IN THE CITY DIRECTORY AS THE HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY AS EARLY AS 1922; DURING THE 1950's THE DIRECTOR OF THE SPARROW FUNERAL HOME OFFICIALLY NAMED THE CEMETERY "HOLLYWOOD" AND DEATH CERTIFICATES BEGAN TO REFLECT THAT NAME. MANY INTERRED HERE WERE VETERANS OF THE US ARMED FORCES; OTHERS, SUCH AS EMMA H. WALLACE (d.1968), WERE EDUCATORS. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MT. ZION CHURCH, HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY CONTINUES TO SERVE THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF ORANGE COUNTY AND ALL OTHERS WHO WISH TO BE BURIED HERE.
LOCATION: TURRETT AVENUE AND SIMMONS
JAPANESE NATIVE KICHIMATSU KISHI (d. 1956), A VETERAN OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR, 1904-05, ESTABLISHED AN AGRICULTURAL COLONY AT THIS SITE IN 1908. THE FIRST SETTLERS WERE JAPANESE TENANT FARMERS. DESPITE THEIR EVENTUAL AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP AND THE ADOPTION OF SEVERAL WESTERN CUSTOMS, THEY MANAGED TO MAINTAIN THE TRADITIONS OF THEIR HOMELAND. SEVERAL CROPS WERE RAISED HERE, BUT THE FERTILE SOIL AND ABUNDANT WATER WERE BEST SUITED FOR RICE PRODUCTION. LATER, WORKERS OF MEXICAN AND FRENCH LOUISIANA DESCENT JOINED THE SETTLEMENT. IN ORDER TO SERVE THE GROWING COLONY, KISHI DEEDED LAND FOR A CHURCH AND A SCHOOL. A NEARBY CEMETERY WAS STARTED IN 1910 FOR THE BURIAL OF A YOUNG COLONIST, T. TOBA. UNSTABLE MARKET PRICES, DAMAGED CROPS, AND FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS LED TO THE DECLINE OF THE COLONY. THE END CAME AS A RESULT OF THE ECONOMIC DEPRESSION OF THE 1930's. SOME SETTLERS MOVED TO OTHER STATES, BUT MANY REMAINED. SEVERAL OF THE MEN SERVED WITH AMERICAN FORCES DURING WORLD WAR II. THE KISHI COLONY WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF ORANGE COUNTY. ONLY THE CEMETERY AND A FEW STRUCTURES MARK THE SITE, BUT DESCENDANTS OF ORIGINAL SETTLERS STILL LIVE IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS.
LOCATION: FM 1135 RIGHT-OF-WAY, 7 MI. SE OF VIDOR
BORN IN ORANGE, J.O. SIMS (1874-1961) ROSE FROM CLERK TO BOARD CHAIRMAN DURING HIS LONG CAREER WITH THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK. HE MARRIED MARY ALBERTA SPOONER (1879-1948) IN 1899 AND BUILT THIS RESIDENCE IN 1902. ORIGINALLY LOCATED ONE BLOCK FROM THIS SITE, THE HOUSE WAS ENLARGED IN 1919. ITS SIMPLE STYLE CONTRASTS WITH THE ORNATE MANSIONS BUILT BY WEALTHY LUMBERMEN. THE SIMS FAMILY OWNED THE HOUSE UNTIL 1977, WHEN IT WAS MOVED HERE.
LOCATION: 905 DIVISION ST., ORANGE
CAPTAIN GEORGE M. LEVINGSTON
(FEB. 25, 1874 - OCT. 27, 1971)
A LICENSED RIVER CAPTAIN AND THE SON OF A PIONEER SHIPBUILDER, GEORGE M. LEVINGSTON WAS A LEADER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORANGE'S SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY. IN 1933, AFTER YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE LOCAL SHIPYARDS, HE FORMED THE LEVINGSTON SHIPBUILDING COMPANY, WHICH WAS TO BECOME A MAJOR GULF COAST OPERATION UNDER HIS DIRECTION. IN ADDITION TO HIS INFLUENCE ON THE AREA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH, CAPTAIN LEVINGSTON ALSO SERVED ON THE ORANGE CITY COUNCIL IN THE 1920's.
LOCATION: EVERGREEN CEMETERY, BORDER & JACKSON ST., ORANGE
CITY OF SABINE AND SABINE PASS
THE FIRST KNOWN SETTLERS IN THIS AREA WERE JOHN McGAFFEY AND THOMAS COURTS, WHO ARRIVED IN 1832. SAM HOUSTON ASSISTED MANUEL DE LOS SANTOS COY IN ACQUIRING A LAND GRANT HERE IN 1833. TWO YEARS LATER HOUSTON AND TWO PARTNERS PURCHASED COY'S PROPERTY HOLDINGS. ON JANUARY 19, 1839, GEN. SAM HOUSTON SIGNED THE CHARTER THAT ESTABLISHED THE CITY OF SABINE. HOUSTON WAS ACTIVE IN PROMOTING THE SALE OF 2,060 TOWN LOTS. THE CITY SOON FLOURISHED. HOUSTON AND HIS PARTNERS LOST TITLE TO THE TOWN WHEN THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE DETERMINED THAT JOHN McGAFFEY HELD ORIGINAL CLAIM TO THE LANDS. THE CITY OF SABINE DEVELOPED INTO A MAJOR PORT. IN 1860 THE STATE LEGISLATURE, IN APPROVING A NEW CHARTER FOR THE CITY, CHANGED THE NAME TO SABINE PASS. IT WAS THE SCENE OF A MAJOR CIVIL WAR ENGAGEMENT IN 1863, WITH CONFEDERATE FORCES PREVENTING A UNION ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE THE PORT AND GAIN MAJOR INROADS INTO TEXAS. THE FEDERAL HARBOR ACT OF 1882 LED TO CONSTRUCTION OF JETTIES HERE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INLAND PORTS ALONG THE NECHES AND SABINE RIVERS. BY THE EARLY 20th CENTURY SABINE PASS BEGAN TO DECLINE DUE TO HURRICANE DAMAGE WHICH PREVENTED RAILWAY MAINTENANCE.
LOCATION: SABINE PASS LIONS PARK, INT