Jefferson
N 32° 43.628 W 094° 21.007
15S E 373486 N 3621843
A roadside TX historical marker telling about the town that is about two miles north from the marker.
Waymark Code: WMHRWF
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/10/2013
Views: 7
Jefferson, Texas is a colorful East Texas town. Lots of history behind the growth of the city and its influences on the growth of the great state of Texas. Starting with the local native Caddo Indian tribe, then the expansion of the US into Texas by Anglo-Americans, the town drew heavily from the river commerce provided via shipping up and down the Red River. Jefferson became the county seat of Cass County and later, after Cass was divided out from Marion County, Jefferson was the Marion County seat. The town survived the Civil War and a wide spread fire that destroyed much of the business district. Due to a shift in the water course of the Red River in 1873, Jefferson had a dramatic setback, but rebounded in the 1900's. It is still a vibrant town today.
The marker is found on the east side of the north-bound lanes of US Highway 59, where the divided highway lanes end and the lanes all come together. It is just south of the stop light at the intersection of CR 2209. The shoulder of the highway is wide enough to pull a car over and stop close to the sign.
Marker Number: 8053
Marker Text:
Home to the Caddo Indians for centuries, this area of Texas attracted Anglo-American colonists to settle here in the early 1800s. Founded in 1839, Jefferson developed along a double-grid pattern. Daniel Nelson Alley platted the townsite in a true north-south and east-west pattern, while Allen Urquhart drew a plan with streets leading diagonally to and from Big Cypress Bayou.
Jefferson was a center of commerce and an important shipping point on the Red River system. Riverboats arrived at the wharves daily, making it a major inland port of entry for Texas pioneers. It was the seat of Cass County from 1846 to 1852, and was named seat of the new county of Marion in 1860.
During the Civil War Jefferson served as a major supply center for the Confederacy. The late 1860s saw the imposition of martial law by Federal reconstruction troops, and a devastating fire in 1868 destroyed much of the central business district.
Destruction of a massive logjam on the Red River in November 1873 diverted the river's flow and lowered the water in Big Cypress Bayou. The decline of Jefferson's economy due to the loss of its port continued until 20th-century tourism began to revive the town. (1990)
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Visit Instructions:
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