Marriage license of David Howell Scott and Mary Fooshee on May 26, 1875 in Paris, Texas.

This is a photograph of the first building constructed on the courthouse square. It was located where number 601 East Lacy is now located, but it extended over approximately halfway into the lot of the current number 603. This was Alexander Joost's store, known after the Civil War as the "Cheap Cash Store". Joost was an immigrant from France who had an earlier store at Fort Houston. As soon as the site was located for the county seat of the new Anderson County, he bought land there and prepared to moved. He rebuilt after the 1874 fire and again after the 1879 fire. Most of the conflagrations that were destroying entire blocks of the city of Palestine in the 1870s and 1880s were set by an incendiary who was eluding the police. Even though numerous merchants in New Town and Old Town suffered from these fires, Joost took them personally, especially when rumors were spread around town that he was having difficulty maintaining a good stock of merchandise. To combat this, he took out an ad in the Trinity Advocate to let his customers know he was still offering the best merchandise at the best prices. However, when his store …

Nellie Ballentine Walker as a toddler. She was born February 27, 1872, the daughter of Albert A. and Margaret J. Walker. Albert Walker was a dentist in Paris.

Illinois-native George Mansfield Dilley, the prominent railroad-building contractor who played an instrumental role in the expansion of railroads throughout Texas and the South, established this foundry in 1873, one year after the railroad arrived in Palestine. The George M. Dilley & Son Foundry, located adjacent to the I&GN tracks, at one time contained more than ten buildings. The enterprise manufactured some farm equipment and machinery, but its primary output was gray iron and brass castings for Texas railroads. The elder Dilley moved to Dallas in the 1880s, but the foundry continued to be run by his son, George Edward Dilley – one of Palestine’s most prominent citizens of the late 19th century. G.E. Dilley continued operations at the foundry until his death in 1932; his son Clarence V. Dilley then took over until his own death five years later. In the mid-1930s, the plant had an average payroll of about twenty thousand dollars, for a workforce of twenty to twenty-five men. The foundry ceased operations in the late 1930s. All that remains today are the frame office building, the nearby brick brass furnace building, and a lengthy iron fence which borders the property and faces May Street (which local historians …

Illinois-native George Mansfield Dilley, the prominent railroad-building contractor who played an instrumental role in the expansion of railroads throughout Texas and the South, established this foundry in 1873, one year after the railroad arrived in Palestine. The George M. Dilley & Son Foundry, located adjacent to the I&GN tracks, at one time contained more than ten buildings. The enterprise manufactured some farm equipment and machinery, but its primary output was gray iron and brass castings for Texas railroads. The elder Dilley moved to Dallas in the 1880s, but the foundry continued to be run by his son, George Edward Dilley – one of Palestine’s most prominent citizens of the late 19th century. G.E. Dilley continued operations at the foundry until his death in 1932; his son Clarence V. Dilley then took over until his own death five years later. In the mid-1930s, the plant had an average payroll of about twenty thousand dollars, for a workforce of twenty to twenty-five men. The foundry ceased operations in the late 1930s. All that remains today are the frame office building, the nearby brick brass furnace building, and a lengthy iron fence which borders the property and faces May Street (which local historians …

Photo of what is commonly called a "Railroad Mansion". One of the large homes built by the magnates of the I&GN Railroad. It is not known where this house was located, but it was most likely south of the railroad tracks along S. Sycamore or S. Magnolia streets in Palestine.

Photo of the second Courthouse that stood in Palestine, Anderson County. It served the county from approximately 1860 until 1885.

Ledger sheet dated Nov. 13th, 1874, showing transactions between L.H. Scrutchfield and De Cordova, Withers & Co., Land Agents.

Letter from De Cordova, Withers & Co. to L.H. Scrutchfield, dated June 30th, 1874 from Austin City.

Photo of Spring Street in Palestine with a view of the railroad tracks and a wooden depot.

Photo of an undentified man taken at the Naschke Studio, Galveston Texas. Back of photo reads: "1870 - came to Palestine 1885"

Photo of Avenue A in Palestine, Texas.

This is a photograph of the first building constructed on the courthouse square. It was located where number 601 East Lacy is now located, but it extended over approximately halfway into the lot of the current number 603. This was Alexander Joost's store, known after the Civil War as the "Cheap Cash Store". Joost was an immigrant from France who had an earlier store at Fort Houston. As soon as the site was located for the county seat of the new Anderson County, he bought land there and prepared to moved. He rebuilt after the 1874 fire and again after the 1879 fire. Most of the conflagrations that were destroying entire blocks of the city of Palestine in the 1870s and 1880s were set by an incendiary who was eluding the police. Even though numerous merchants in New Town and Old Town suffered from these fires, Joost took them personally, especially when rumors were spread around town that he was having difficulty maintaining a good stock of merchandise. To combat this, he took out an ad in the Trinity Advocate to let his customers know he was still offering the best merchandise at the best prices. However, when his store …

Photo of Main Street, Elkhart.

Photo of downtown Elkhart made before the town burned down.

Photo of one of the steamboats that went up and down the Trinity River from Galveston to Magnolia Landing.

Photo of four unidentified men thought to be steamboat captains.

Photo of the second Courthouse that stood in Palestine, Anderson County. It served the county from approximately 1860 until 1885.

This is a map of the state of Texas from 1874. It was prepared for Morphis' History of Texas.

Photograph of the weekly newspaper from Orange, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with poetry and advertising.