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This local history museum offers a variety of exhibits that present the early history of Paris. Special exhibits focus on the life of early pioneers, military history, and the fire of 1916 that devastated but did not destroy to city. Several of the exhibits recreate the early cabins and homes of settlers in the 19th century, complete with authentic furnishings and signs that interpret the exhibits. There is also a special room dedicated to African American history, with many original photographs and documents of leading families and institutions.  

Lamar County Historical Museum

This short walk or drive begins at the Valley of the Caddo Museum and Cultural Center before moving east to the nearby Lamar County Historical Museum. Following these two museums, the tour stops at a pair of historic churches and then several landmark homes.

By the time the depot was built, Paris had long been an important railroad hub. The first railroad arrived in 1875. The St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (the Frisco) and the Gulf, Colorado &amp; Santa Fe (the Santa Fe) later built lines to the city in 1887. The Texas &amp; Pacific Railroad arrived by 1912. Each built small depots but a large, wood-frame one was built in the early 1900 at this location. As noted above, the present depot was built by in 1912. It was owned by the Frisco and the Santa Fe owned most of the grounds, but every five years the workers at the depot switched between the two companies. The depot began to decline after World War II, during which was its busiest period. The increased use of personal automobiles gradually lowered the number of passengers using the station. As a result, the Santa Fe and the Frisco ended passenger service in 1954 and 1956, respectively. Freight service continued, however, for several decades. The city acquired the depot in 1997. It is unclear when the museum opened.

Housed in the historic Santa Fe-Frisco Depot, the Valley of the Caddo Museum & Cultural Center explores the history and culture of Lamar, Fannin, Delta, and Red River counties. Its exhibits highlight Native American culture, astronomy, art, archaeology, and natural history. It also offers a variety of educational programming for visitors of all ages. The depot itself was built in 1912 and served three railroads: St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (known as the Frisco), the Gulf, Colorado &  Santa Fe Railway, and the Texas Midland Railroad. The depot is a fine example of Italianate and Prairie School architecture, featuring red brick exterior, a 77-foot-tall watchtower that mimics an Italian bell tower, and a tiled, hipped roof with overhanging eaves and brackets. 

Valley of the Caddo Museum & Cultural Center

Rev. John Anderson established the congregation in 1861 and it was originally called Old Presbyterian Church. Members first worshipped in the Odd Fellows seminary and a store building before building their first church in 1874. The architecture firm L.B. Volk and Son designed it and it was built with stone and red brick. The stained glass windows were crafted in Belgium and the church layout is in a cruciform shape. Inside, the ceiling is vaulted and the pews, pulpit, organ, and communion table are original. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1968 primarily for its architecture.

First Presbyterian Church was built in 1892 and is historically significant as the oldest extant church in Paris and for its architecture. Designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the most prominent feature of the church is its tall, four-story tower with round-head vents and bracketed cornice. Other interesting features include arched stained glass windows, a gabled entry porch, and a small cupola on the roof. 

First Presbyterian Church

John James Culbertson was born on March 16, 1853 in New England. Information about his childhood is not readily available, but as a young man he married his wife, Emily Lou, in 1882. Around this time he found a job working as a cotton product salesman for an Alabama company. Two years later, he settled in Paris and helped build the city's first cotton mill called Paris Oil Works. In 1887, he sold it to American Oil Trust and relocated to Arkansas where he became manager of an oil company.Culbertson came back to Paris in 1891 and founded a cottonseed oil company that he would later name Southland Cotton Oil Company. Over time, his stature grew in the community and around the country. In Paris, he helped develop the master plan for the city in 1913 and the next year became a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas. He also played a key role in rebuilding the city after much of it was destroyed in the 1916 fire.Apparently, after seeing fountains on a family trip to Italy, Culbertson decided to build the fountain, which was designed by architect J.L. Wees, who designed the Scott-Roden Mansion. The fountain consists of a small bowl above one that is nine feet in diameter. This one was made in Italy from a single block of Carrara marble. Water flows from it to a sixteen-foot basin below, which itself rests on a large stone platform featuring globe lights in bronze fixtures, benches, and urns. Standing atop the fountain is a statue of the mythological figure, Triton.Nationally, Culbertson was known as an expert in the cotton industry. As a result, in 1917 President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to a board that established an agency tasked with managing cottonseed products for the U.S. Food Administration. Culbertson died on September 27, 1932.

The Culbertson Fountain is located in a public square in the heart of Paris, Texas, and named after wealthy businessman and philanthropist, John James Culbertson (1853-1932). Culbertson arrived in Paris in the 1880s and helped build a mill and eventually built a very profitable cottonseed oil company. The fountain was built between 1924-1927 and was constructed with imported Italian Cararra marble. Near the fountain is a historical marker describing Culbertson's life and legacy. 

Culbertson Fountain

The congregation was established by Rev. James Graham, who served as a minister and teacher. The congregation first worshipped in a school building before building their first church in 1853. The second one was built in 1888 and was called Centenary Methodist Church to accommodate the growing congregation. A fire in 1916 destroyed significant portions of the 1888 church (as well as much of the city) but it prompted the congregation and another Methodist church to make the decision to merge in 1918 and become First Methodist Church. The new congregation held services in a high school building while the current church building was being constructed. When the basement was built in 1922 the congregation worshipped there until the construction of the rest of the church was completed two years later. First Methodist was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Erected in 1924, First United Methodist Church is one of the most striking landmarks in Paris, Texas. Architecture firm Vanslyke and Woodruff designed the stately building in the Mediterranean and Classical Revival styles. The building features an Indiana granite exterior, large pedimented porticos with Corinthian columns, palladian windows, arched openings, four small domes, and a large octagonal dome supported by a two-story structure with windows and decorative stonework. In addition, all the domes and other parts of the roof are covered in red tiles which helps to give the building its distinctive appearance. Inside, the church features stenciled detailing and decorative painting. The congregation was established in 1843 and continues to occupy the building. 

First United Methodist Church

Rufus Fenner Scott rose from humble beginnings to become a self-made millionaire. He was born on a farm in Red River County, Texas on January 19, 1848. When he was 16, during the midst of the Civil War, he was a member of the Confederate Home Guard. He started his business career once the war was over, transporting freight to and from Jefferson, Texas, which was an important shipping port at the time. He earned a good reputation from stores along the route and eventually he partnered with a wholesale grocery store in Paris. He named his business R.F. Scott Grocer Co., which later became the Paris Grocer Company. He married his wife, Margaret, in 1889 and they had one son, Rufus F. Scott Jr.Scott's expanded his business interests in other areas. He played a role in the establishment of two banks, the Paris and Mount Pleasant Railroad, and the Paris Board of Trade (which became the Chamber of Commerce), for which he served as president. He also built one of the buildings that housed one of the banks; unfortunately it burned down in the disastrous 1916 Paris fire but Scott replaced it with another building.Six years earlier, Scott built the mansion. He selected German-born architect J.L. Wees to design it. Wees probably trained in Germany or Austria before immigrating to the United States and settling in St. Louis. He co-founded the firm Beinke &amp; Wees and helped design a number of prominent buildings there. Scott later hired him to design the building that replaced the bank destroyed by the fire. The mansion has operated as a funeral home since 1938.

One of the grandest historic homes in Paris, the Scott-Roden Mansion was built in 1910 by Rufus F. Scott, one of the wealthiest and most influential figures in the city during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The mansion currently operates as the Roden-Pryor Funeral Home. In terms of architecture, it features elements of the German Art Nouveau style as well as Dutch-style gables. Notable features include a porch that surrounds three sides, decorative terra cotta detailing on the porches and dormers, and a red tile roof. There is also a large carriage house on the property. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Scott-Roden Mansion

Samuel Bell Maxey originally hailed from Kentucky and was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Graduating in the famed Class of 1846 alongside future Civil War notables such as George Meade, A.P. Hill, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, George McClellan and others. A fresh second lieutenant, Maxey was almost immediately deployed to Mexico upon graduation. He saw extensive service in the Mexican-American War, participating in the invasion of central Mexico and the battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey. He earned a brevet promotion to first lieutenant by war’s end. Following the Civil War, Maxey resigned his commission and entered into law practice with his father, Rice, in Kentucky. In 1853, he married Marilda Cass Denton; though they never had children, they adopted a daughter Dora in 1863. In 1857, he and his father moved their firm to Paris, Texas.  At the outset of the Civil War, Maxey raised a company (the Lamar Rifles) for Confederate service. With his West Point education and combat experience, he quickly gained approval to raise a regiment of his own. He was appointed colonel of the 9th Texas Infantry and was sent to serve in the Western Theater. He was quickly promoted to brigadier general in early 1862, and he commanded troops during the Shiloh, East Tennessee, Port Hudson, Vicksburg, and Big Black Campaigns. In December 1863, General Maxey was appointed command of Confederate forces in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). Although a promotion and independent command, Indian Territory presented serious challenges. The Native American and Texan troops under Maxey’s command were poorly armed, clothed, and equipped, owed pay, and had been defeated several times the year prior. As Maxey confided to his wife Marilda, “Truly this is a Herculean task.”[4] During his time in command of Indian Territory, Maxey fostered positive relations with the local Native tribes. His subordinates also carried out a number of successful raids against the enemy. Maxey’s most significant contribution to the war came in April 1864, when he led two brigades into neighboring Arkansas to help repulse a Federal invasion. At the Battle of Poison Spring, his troops successfully attacked enemy positions and captured a wagon train. Unfortunately, as the battle wound down, Maxey’s soldiers (both Indian and Texan) massacred Black Union soldiers of the First Kansas Colored Infantry, a racial atrocity which Maxey failed to stop. His role at Poison Spring earned him a promotion to major general, but internal politics forced him to resign his command in Indian Territory in early 1865. He took command of a cavalry division for the war’s final months before the Confederacy’s surrender. Maxey decided to return to his law practice after the war, but because he had fought for the Confederacy, he required a presidential pardon to regain his rights as a citizen. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was eventually able to persuade President Andrew Johnson to grant Maxey that pardon, allowing him to become a prominent Paris attorney.  With money from his legal cases, Maxey built his Victorian-style home on Church Street in 1868. The fashionable house was designed to resemble an Italian villa with elongated, hooded windows, a portico and open porches. The elaborate carvings on the front columns and other rich architectural details are reflections of the Victorian love for embellishment. The house was a progressive addition to the city’s architecture and considered a proper home for Maxey’s prominent status. He took office as a Texas state senator in 1874, serving two terms working to improve national transportation hubs. He died in 1895, but the house remained in his family. Maxey's great-nephew Sam Bell Maxey Long inherited the house in 1908 and began extensively remodeling it in 1911, adding a breakfast room, laundry room, sewing room, and a larger parlor. He combined two of the sitting rooms to create a larger, more formal parlor. Outside, brick walkways were relaid and the original fence was replaced by a boxwood hedge along Church Street.  The house was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1962. Maxey's descendants donated it to the city of Paris in 1967 to continue its recognition and ensure its preservation. The city undertook to restore the house. The restoration process was completed September 1, 1980, and the house was opened to the public on a tour basis. On January 1, 2008, the house was transferred from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the Texas Historical Commission (as a public history site) and is now operated at the Sam Bell Maxey House State Historic Site.

This High Victorian Italianate-style home was built in Paris, Texas, in 1868 by the West Point graduate, U.S.-Mexican War veteran, Confederate general, and two-term Texas state senator Samuel Bell Maxey. Descendants of Maxey remained in the house until 1967, when the family donated it to the city of Paris, ensuring its preservation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, opened to the public for tours in 1980, and is now owned and maintained by the Texas Historical Commission. The site explores the real stories of a prominent Texas family and how they cherished and modified their Victorian residence and grounds to reflect changing styles and trends in architecture, interior design and technology. Visitors experience the family's daily life through original furnishings, clothing, and photographs.

Historical Highlights of Paris Texas

Lamar County Historical Museum

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