Nacogdoches, Texas - City and Town Halls on Waymarking.com

The city hall of Nacogdoches, Texas is a 3-story brick building located in the city's historic downtown district. According to tax records, it was built in 1891 and constructed on the site of the very first house in Texas owned by General Sam Houston.

The building was formerly used as a hotel with furnished rooms beginning in 1910. Known as the Liberty Hotel, it listed 75 rooms for rent according to its 1925-1951 tax listings, then was used as apartments during the early 60's. In 1967, the city purchased the old hotel / apartment complex and ultimately renamed it the Gladys Hampton Building in 1974, in honor of Gladys Viola Hampton -- a former graduate of the local Stephen F. Austin State University who was affiliated with the Texas Department of Public Welfare for 30 years, ultimately serving as its Regional Director.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Nacogdoches had a population of 32,996. Local promotional literature from the city's Convention & Visitors Bureau describes Nacogdoches as "the oldest town in Texas." Evidence of settlement on the same site dates back to 10,000 years ago: it is the site of Nevantin, the primary village of the Nacogdoche tribe of Caddo Indians.

Nacogdoches remained a Caddo Indian settlement until the early 19th century. In 1716 when Spain established a mission there, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de los Nacogdoches. That was the first European construction in the area. The "town" of Nacogdoches got started after the Spaniards decided that the French were no longer a threat and that maintaining the mission was too costly. So, in 1772 they ordered all settlers in the area to move to San Antonio. Some were eager to escape the wilderness, but others had to be forced from their homes by soldiers. It was one of the original European settlements in the region, populated by Adaeseños from Fort Los Adaes.

Colonel Antonio Gil Y'Barbo, a prominent Spanish trader, emerged as the leader of the settlers, and in the spring of 1779, he led a group back to Nacogdoches. Later that summer, Nacogdoches received designation from Spain as a pueblo, or town, thereby making it the first "town" in Texas. Y'Barbo, as lieutenant governor of the new town, established the rules and laws for local government. He laid out streets with the intersecting El Camino Real (now State Highway 21) and La Calle del Norte/North Street (now Business U.S. Highway 59-F) as the central point. On the main thoroughfare, he built a stone house for use in his trading business. The house, or Old Stone Fort as it is known today, became a gateway from the United States to the Texas frontier.

The city has been under more flags than the state of Texas, claiming nine flags. In addition to the Six Flags of Texas, it also flew under the flags of the Magee-Gutierrez Republic, the Long Republic, and the Fredonian Rebellion. People from the United States began moving to settle in Nacogdoches in 1820 and Texas' first English-language newspaper was published there. However, the first newspaper published (in the 1700s) was in Spanish. An edition of the newspaper (in Spanish) is preserved and shown at the local Museum.

In 1832, the battle of Nacogdoches brought many local settlers together, as they united in their stand to support a federalist form of government. Their successful venture drove the Mexican military from east Texas.

Thomas Jefferson Rusk was one of the most prominent early Nacogdoches Anglo settlers. A veteran of the Texas Revolution, hero of San Jacinto, he signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and was secretary of war during the Republic of Texas. He was president of the Texas Statehood Commission and served as one of the two first Texas Senators along with Sam Houston. He worked to establish Nacogdoches University in 1845. The old university building still stands and is maintained by local volunteers.

Sam Houston lived in Nacogdoches for four years prior to the Texas Revolution in 1836 and opened a law office downtown.

Name: Gladys Hampton Building Address: 202 E Pillar St. Nacogdoches, TX USA 75961 Date of Construction: 1891 Architect: unknown Memorials/Commemorations/Dedications: (1) Site of the first Texas house owned by General Sam Houston (2) Name of building dedicated to Gladys Viola Hampton -- she served the Texas Department of Public Welfare for 30 years, ultimately serving as its Regional Director. Web Site for City/Town/Municipality: [Web Link]

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