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Texas Theatre was one of over 150 theaters and drive-ins spread out in&nbsp;Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas&nbsp;owned by businessmen&nbsp;Harold B. Robb and E. H. Rowley.&nbsp;Texas Theatre has experienced many highs and lows in its history, including two devastating fires and other problems including flooding. It eventually became a movie theater that closed in the 1970s, after which point it remained vacant until the 1980s, when efforts to revitalize it began. Theatrical productions were performed here from 1983-1997, when the building was deemed unsafe. After eight years of renovation, it opened once more&nbsp;in 2005.

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Texas Theatre opened in 1930 and remains an important cultural and architectural landmark in downtown Palestine. It was designed in the Spanish Colonial style, with an interior meant to give patrons an atmospheric feeling, which was typical of theater designs during this period. The theater currently hosts the Palestine Community Theatre.

Texas Theatre

This short drive begins at the Museum for East Texas Culture and moves north through Palestine, stopping at landmark downtown buildings such as the post office which is no home to the Anderson County Historical Commission, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Redlands Inn, the Texas Theatre, the Anderson County Courthouse, and several other landmarks before concluding at the site of Frederick Douglass School. 

Construction of the school was completed in 1916. It's Tudor Revival architecture and size was reflective of the city's commitment to public education in the early 20th century. It remains one of the larger buildings in Palestine and an important reminder to the past. In 1939 it was converted into a junior high school, and then in 1966 it became an elementary school. It closed in 1976 and soon became an eyesore due to vandalism and neglect. However, a&nbsp;group was formed in the early&nbsp;1980s to save the building. The museum opened in 1982.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Located in the historic former Palestine High School, the Museum For East Texas Culture offers permanent exhibits that tell the early history of Anderson County. The museum also offers special exhibits dedicated of the history of the local fire department and railroads, as well as exhibits dedicated to African American history. The museum opened in 1982 shortly after local citizens saved the historic school from destruction and raised funds for its renovation and conversion to a museum. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Museum For East Texas Culture

In 1907, the federal government bought the property on which the old post office now stands from St. Phillip's Episcopal Church. The building was designed by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Supervising Architect, which was led by noted architect James Knox Taylor at the time. By the time it was built in 1907, the city had established itself as a stable and thriving community, which justified the building's construction. The post office had been housed in several other buildings before moving into this permanent location. The building's Beau-Arts architecture made it stand out from the rest of the downtown buildings, most of which had been designed in the Italianate, Romanesque Revival, and Queen Anne styles. The new post office also represented the federal government's presence in the city.A new, modern building was erected in 1964 and post office operations relocated there. As stated above, the post office was then converted into an office building. Federal agencies occupied it until 1987 when the General Services Administration designated it as surplus property. The county bought it to provide more county office space. The building is now home to the Anderson County Historical Commission and three other organizations including the Texas A&amp;M AgriLife Extension Service.

This attractive building is historically significant for its architecture and association with the federal government, which built it in 1907. Originally known as the Post Office building, it operated as a federal post office for nearly fifty years before becoming an office building. In terms of architecture, it is an excellent example of the Beaux-Arts style, featuring arched windows and doorways, a low-pitched roof with extended eaves and brackets, and decorative concrete and metalwork elements. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Historic Downtown Post Office, Palestine Texas (Anderson County Historical Commission)

Sacred Heart is the second church to occupy this site, which was originally owned by the International and Great Northern Railway. The first church, St. Joseph's, was erected in 1874. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed it in 1890 but the event paved the way for the construction of Sacred Heart in 1893. Texas' first professional architect Nicholas Clayton designed it. The bricks—675,000 in all—were made from mud collected from the Trinity River and handmade and baked on site. Inside, the walls are plastered and feature decorative woodwork. The stained glass windows were manufactured in Italy and France. The size of the church accommodates between 500-1,000 worshipers. The church also features a pipe organ installed in 1926.

Located across the street from the historic Redlands Hotel, Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a striking example of High Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. The church was built in 1893 with bricks handmade on site and painted completely white, as it is now, in 1948. Notable features include buttresses, a gabled front entrance, Gothic arches, stained glass windows, octagonal turrets, and a prominent bell tower on the southeast corner. Sacred Heart Church is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for its architecture. 

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

The hotel was built not only to be a place to rest for&nbsp;train passengers, but to also&nbsp;attract businesses and strengthen Palestine's claim as a key regional economic center. World War I stymied this vision and in 1918, the U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;ordered the l&amp;GN Railroad to relocated back to Palestine from Houston and the hotel building was the only one large enough to accommodate the company. l&amp;GN Railroad remained here until 1956, and after that the building remained vacant until 1972 when the present owners purchased and proceeded to restore it. &nbsp;

Built in 1914, The Redlands Hotel has entertained guests for over a century, although the building has served a number of purposes such as when it was the headquarters for the International & Great Northern Railroad between 1919 and 1956. For two decades, the building was mostly vacant and might have been destroyed had it not been for the efforts of preservationists. The building once again serves as the leading hotel of Palestine and includes a restaurant and a other businesses. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.   

Redlands Historic Inn

The jail replaced the previous one erected in 1880, which operated for fifty years before being designated unsafe. The county hired Maffit, who by then had designed several buildings in the city. He earned a degree in architecture in 1916 and then joined the Navy the next year, serving as a draftsman. He then opened a practice in Palestine in a building owned by his father, who was a local contractor. The jail operated continuously until the 1980s when a new one was built. The old jail became a juvenile detention facility from 1992-1996. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 for its Art Deco architecture. It is unclear whether the Texas Jail House is currently operating as of 2020.

The former Anderson County Jail is historically significant for its Art Deco architecture, which is uncommon in the city. Designed by architect Theo S. Maffit, it was built in 1931 and operated until the mid-1980s and then from 1992 to 1996. The three-story building features entrances with Art Deco detailing surrounding the doorways and, at the main entrance, a portico with brick piers extending up to the roof. In recent years the jail has been used as an event space called the Texas Jail House that offers haunted and historic tours and a Grinch themed Christmas event. 

Anderson County Jail

Selling to third-parties or placing the salt was discouraged although workers and managers regularly sold the salt for up to $20 per sack.&nbsp;Salt was then sacked, purchased and hauled away on horseback, in wagons and in oxcarts.&nbsp;Other Civil War salt works were operated along the coast and in other East, Central and West Texas counties. During the Civil War the demand for salt, the only known way to preserve meat, increased while supplies for the&nbsp;Southern army became limited. Salt was essential because meat needed to be&nbsp;salted and&nbsp;smoked for preservation. Horses and mules used by the cavalry, artillery, and quartermaster units also required the vital mineral. Salt also preserved hides for making shoes, harness, and saddles. When the Confederate government levied a "meat tithe" on Southern families,&nbsp;the demand for salt increased even more. Often cattle and cotton were exchanged for salt. In fact, salt itself became a currency in places where it was&nbsp;scarce. Southern women spent many hours digging&nbsp;up smokehouse floors to extract salt from the soil.&nbsp; Despite the memory of the Confederacy as advocating local control and small government, Texas&nbsp;Governor&nbsp;Pendleton Murrah&nbsp;and many local officials&nbsp;complained that the government in Richmond violated the concept of state's rights when it came to conscription and matters related to the disposition of&nbsp;property. While Murrah did not mention the practice of producing salt specifically, he and others made several attempts to bypass Confederate regulations regarding the sale of cotton. Meanwhile, some&nbsp;planters were so outraged by&nbsp;Confederate regulations that they engaged in contraband&nbsp;trade with Northern smugglers and&nbsp;merchants in&nbsp;Mexico.

During the Civil War, a salt works located near this historical marker worked to process salt that was needed for the Confederacy. Most of the salt was produced by forcing slaves to enter nearby underground wells that were filled with salt water. The slaves operated hand-pumps that sent the water above the ground where it could be spread out on the hard earth. After the Texas sun did its work, the water evaporated or returned to the ground while the salty deposits were harvested, bagged, and sold to Confederate officials at a fixed price of eight dollars for a hundred-pound sack. Salt was so essential to the war effort, that Union General William Tecumseh Sherman declared that it was "eminently contraband." Sherman and other Union war leaders worked to prevent the South from obtaining salt because it was needed to cure meat and preserve food for man and beast. Without salt, Sherman declared, "armies cannot be subsisted.” As a result, many local residents hoped to sell the salt not to the army, who paid in promissory notes or Confederate currency, but private citizens who could pay in trade or the more stable currency of the United States. 

Palestine Salt Works - Salt in the Civil War

The courthouse is the fifth to serve the county, which was established on March 24, 1846. The first was a log house located at Fort Houston. The second was a one-story wood-framed building erected in 1847 at the northeast corner of the courthouse square. The third one, a two-story brick structure, was built in 1856. The fourth replaced that one in 1886 and was used until 1913 when a fire destroyed it. The present courthouse was built the next year and was dedicated in December that year.The Page brothers had designed a number of courthouses and other public buildings before taking on the project for Anderson County. These included Smith Country Courthouse and the Littlefield Building in Austin. When it was completed, the Anderson County Courthouse symbolized the county's prominence as an important regional transportation, economic and political center. As such, it was the most important building in the county and continues to be a vital part of the community today.

Completed in 1914, Anderson County Courthouse is considered one of the finest examples of Classical Revival and Beaux-Arts architecture in Texas. It was designed by brothers Charles and Louis Page, who owned the firm Page Bros., Architects and were located in Austin. Notable features of the courthouse include limestone and terra cotta detailing, large porticos on all four sides with Ionic columns and pediments, and a large dome topped by a statue of Themis (the Greek goddess of law and justice). The courthouse is also significant for having served as the seat of county government since its construction. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. 

Anderson County Courthouse 

Reuben A. Reeves built the house just two years after Anderson County was established. He would go on to serving as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for the New Mexico Territory. It seems George R. Howard was born in Tennessee or at least spent a large part of his life there before moving to Palestine. He served in the Tennessee State Militia, earning the rank of colonel, and then as county clerk for Perry County.He decided to settle in Palestine in 1850 after visiting two years earlier. He opened a mercantile business and married his wife, Cornelia (they had children but how many is unknown). During the Civil War he served as an officer for the Confederacy. He opened another store, this time with partners, after the war but eventually opened his own once again a few years later. His eldest son joined him in the business as well. In addition to his business interests, Howard served in the state legislature and as county clerk, county treasurer, and mayor. He passed away in 1900. The house remained in the Howard family until 1963. They made the majority of the major alterations to the house. It opened as a museum in 1964.

Howard House was built in 1848, making it one of the oldest buildings in the city of Palestine. The home is also a rare example in East Texas of a "cottage" designed in the Greek Revival style. The house is further historically significant in that much of it is still original, which makes it unique in the community as well as in the rest of Texas. Its most notable feature is the pedimented portico with Doric columns and double-entry doors. The house was built by prominent Texas Supreme Court justice Reuben A. Reeves but is named after its second owner, Colonel George R. Howard, an army officer and local and state politician. For many years, the Howard House served as a museum, and the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The home is also a Texas Historic Landmark.

Howard House

William Freeman was born
on&nbsp;August 1, 1863 to Charlotte Freeman, a house slave at&nbsp;Jacob Hunter's plantation. After the Civil War,&nbsp;Charlotte and her two-year-old son made the long journey to Palestine, Texas where William was able to attend the First Ward Colored School. William later attended&nbsp;Prairie View,&nbsp;the first public&nbsp;college&nbsp;for African Americans&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;area. William&nbsp;studied masonry&nbsp;and also secured a&nbsp;teaching certificate.1885, Freeman&nbsp;married Mary
Frances Carter. They had three sons Wesley, Samuel, and Bryon. In 1899, his wife&nbsp;Mary
died and he later&nbsp;married Bobbie McMeans and&nbsp;had an additional&nbsp;four children: Elizabeth, Polly, Eugene, and Lionel. In 1898, he and several
other leading members of the&nbsp;African American community convinced the local school board
to change the name of school from the "First Ward Colored School" to&nbsp;Frederick
Douglas Elementary School, in honor of the&nbsp;famous African American leader. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;In&nbsp;1901, Freeman was appointed as the&nbsp;principal of Douglas Elementary, a position he held&nbsp;until
he retired in 1909. In 1912, that school was destroyed by fire but Freeman's knowledge of&nbsp;masonry helped him&nbsp;rebuild
the school. In fact, the new school was built of brick in a&nbsp;time when wooden structures were common. The Freeman family also owned their own brick home near this location.&nbsp;

Skilled brick mason and educator William Freeman was born into slavery on  August 1, 1863 near Palestine, Texas. He was able to attend one of the very first schools that were open to African Americans in this section of Texas, and would later attend college and secure a teaching certificate. Freeman worked to promote industrial education as well as literacy and liberal arts. He would eventually become the principal of his former public school and helped reconstruct that school after it was destroyed by fire. Over the course of the school’s history, three generations of the Freeman family served as principals at Douglass School, including William Freeman; William’s son, Byron Freeman; and Byron’s son, Jack Freeman. 

Historic Highlights of Palestine Texas Driving Tour

Texas Theatre

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information