Topics (click on a topic to jump to that section).
Confederate Refugees in Texas, C.S.A. | Cumby
| Early Sulphur Bluff | King, General W.H. | Stout, James Selen | Tarrant, Townsite of | Union Stockade
Confederate Refugees in Texas, C.S.A.
Marker Title: Confederate Refugees in Texas, C.S.A.
City: Sulphur Springs
County: Hopkins
Year Marker Erected: 1965
Marker Location: roadside park on SH 19 / 154, 5 mi. north of Sulphur Springs
Marker Text: In the vicinity of Old Tarrant, south of here, the Civil War refugee family of Mrs. Amanda Stone, of Louisiana, was shown great kindness when rescued by Hopkins countians after a road accident. The Stones saw the Texans share the little they had, even cooking the last tough old farm hen, to feed them. The Stones were but one of many families to flee from war lines to the comparative safety of Texas. Here, though Federal invasion repeatedly threatened, only a few coastal towns were under fire from the enemy. The family of Gen. Stand Watie, from Indian Territory, visited relatives in Wood County. Gen. Kirby Smith, with headquarters in Shreveport, rented homes in Marshall or Hempstead for his wife and babies. Like most refugees, the Stones when they visited in Hopkins County were heartbroken over loss of their old home to the enemy. In Texas they endured poverty, loneliness, and sorrow at deaths of two sons in the war. They had to lease farm land, to support the family and 90 slaves dependent upon them. Their young boys at one time carried pistols for safety when schoolmates resented their strange manners. Yet eventually they and most other refugees were grateful to Texas for its many generosities.
Cumby
Marker Title: Cumby
City: Cumby
County: Hopkins
Year Marker Erected: 1979
Marker Location: on FM 499, between N 2nd and S. FM 275, Cumby
Marker Text: The grove of black jack trees which gave this town its original name was near an Indian camping ground. The trees stood atop the highest point in present Hopkins County. An Indian trail that crossed the grove later became a major wagon freighting route. Black Jack Grove Post Office opened in 1848 in the home of John W. Matthews, the first postmaster. In 1851 D.W. Cole purchased a tract of land that included the grove from Elizabeth Wren and began selling town lots. Cole operated a store and gave land for the first Masonic Lodge building. Henry Bingham ran a tavern which also served as a hotel. By 1860, Black Jack Grove was a thriving settlement with several stores, two physicians, two blacksmiths, and other tradesmen. A log structure housed the school. Later a vacant store served as a school and church facility. To avoid confusion with another Black Jack Post Office, the town was renamed in 1896 for legislator and Confederate veteran Robert H. Cumby. After 1900, two banks opened and the town incorporated. Later the population began to decline as improved highways lessened Cumby's importance as a trading center. One of Cumby's best-known citizens was the noted author Ben K. Green (1912-1974).
Early Sulphur Bluff
Marker Title: Early Sulphur Bluff
City: Sulphur Bluff
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: FM 71 at CR 3608, 15 mi. NE of Sulphur Springs
Marker Text: First known settlers in area were family of John Gregg. Their cemetery (2 mi. N) has marker dated 1837, from Republic of Texas era. Other early settlers were the brothers Hezekiah and Robert Hargrave, from Indiana. They built brush-roofed log homes (3 mi. N), on high bluff above Sulphur River, offering protection from Indians and providing abundant game. Robert Hargrave, a mechanical genius, built a wood and iron shop, a blacksmith shop, and a grist mill that drew customers from Caddo Mills, 50 miles away. A post office was built 1849; early school was founded 1852.
King, General W.H.
Marker Title: General W.H. King
City: Sulphur Springs
County: Hopkins
Year Marker Erected: 1963
Marker Location: Courthouse lawn, Connally St. at Gilmer St.
Marker Text: (Star and Wreath) Home county of Texas Confederate. (1839-1910) Georgian. Moved to Texas 1861. Rose to rank of colonel, 18th Texas Infantry. Led regiment in Red River Campaign of 1863 to prevent split of South along Mississippi. Commanded the 18th in Red River Campaign 1864 to stop invasion of Texas. Wounded Mansfield, La. and made brigadier general. Recovered to lead Walker's Division for a time and brigades in Louisiana and East Texas. Texas adjutant general 1881-91. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. Erected by the state of Texas 1963. Texas in the Civil War: Texas made an all-out effort for the Confederacy after a 3 to 1 vote for secession. 90,000 troops, famous for daring and mobility, fought on every battlefront. A 2,000 mile frontier and coastline was successfully defended from Union troops and savage Indians. State and private industry produced war goods. Cotton - life blood of South - traded thru Mexico for medicine and military supplies. Texas was storehouse of Western Confederacy. Citizens made sacrifices to produce food and clothing for Texas fighting men.
Stout, James Selen
Marker Title: James Selen Stout
City: Sulphur Springs
County: Hopkins
Year Marker Erected: 2000
Marker Location: 12 miles east of Sulphur Springs on IH-30, then 4 miles south on FM 269 (Weaver Rd.), then east on CR 3310 to Pine Forest Cemetery
Marker Text: (August 30, 1818 - July 19, 1897) Born in Arkansas, James Selen Stout was reared in what became northeast Texas. He served three months in the Republic of Texas cavalry in 1836, and in 1838 received a grant of 320 acres of land for his service. His parents, Henry and Sarah Stout, also received a land grant, and their property included the area that became Clarksville, the Red River County seat. A frontier scout and explorer, James S. Stout settled in this vicinity and helped encourage settlement in this area. He served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He and his wife Elvira (Richey) were the parents of eleven children. (2000)
Tarrant, Townsite of
Marker Title: Townsite of Tarrant
City: Sulphur Springs
County: Hopkins
Year Marker Erected: 1975
Marker Location: SH 19/154 ROW, about 4.5 mi. north of Sulphur Springs
Marker Text: Eldridge Hopkins, for whose family Hopkins County was named in 1846, donated this site for the county seat. Named for Gen. Edward H. Tarrant (1796-1858), Texas Ranger and Mexican war veteran, Tarrant Post Office was established in March 1847. A two-story frame courthouse was begun in 1851, but lack of funds delayed completion for two years. Tarrant quickly grew into a thriving frontier town with a tannery, steam mill, blacksmith shop, brick kiln, and hotel. After 1851, it had a Masonic Lodge and school. During the 1850s, a newspaper, the "Texas Star," began publication, and a Methodist college opened. Encircled by creeks, the town was difficult to reach in bad weather. The inconvenience of travel to Tarrant led Capt. Thomas M. Tolman in 1868 to transfer county records to Sulphur Springs, where Federal troops under his command were stationed after the Civil War to enforce Reconstruction laws. Despite local protests, county government remained there until civilian rule was restored in 1870. The return to Tarrant was brief, because the State Legislature in 1870 named Sulphur Springs as permanent county seat. Soon Tarrant began to decline. A rural community and old cemetery now mark the site of the first Hopkins County Seat.
Union Stockade
Marker Title: Site of the Union Stockade
Address: 303 Connally St.
City: Sulphur Springs
County: Hopkins
Year Marker Erected: 1979
Marker Text: The Reconstruction era which followed the Civil War (1861-65) was a time of unrest in texas. In this area a gang of outlaws whipped and killed blacks and harassed other citizens. On August 10, 1868, Capt. T.M. Tolman brought Federal troops here to restore order. Despite protests the army moved the county seat from Tarrant (4 mi. N) to Sulphur Springs. After the hotel where officers were staying was set afire, a stockade was built. Surrounded by a split log fence, it served as post quarters, hospital, jail, stable, and kitchen. It was abandoned in 1870 when Federal troops withdrew.