Sulphur Springs, Texas: The Celebration City

About 90 miles northwest of Dallas lies Sulphur Springs, the county seat of Hopkins County. Started in the 1840's, the town was originally named Bright Star. It was renamed Sulphur Springs in the 1870's when the townspeople decided to market the town as a health resort. Initially there were bubbling springs everywhere but as the population of the town grew, they were buried over. There are no active springs today.

Due to it's central location, the town was named the county seat of Hopkins County, which was named for an early settler named David Hopkins.

By the late 1870's the railway line came all the way from Jefferson, which helped stimulate the growth of the town. In 1887, the Cotton Belt came through town on its way to Sherman and then, eventually, to Ft. Worth, connecting Sulphur Springs to a major city.

As we drove into town, I found it to be much busier than the previous towns that we stopped in and that includes Texarkana. The downtown area (town square) was bustling. It appeared that there were fewer empty buildings around the square.

The original county courthouse was built in 1882 on one side of the town square. In 1884, a fire consumed the courthouse as well as other buildings such as the jail. This courthouse was built in 1895 in the center of the town square using fireproof red Texas granite. 

In the town square, they have an amazing veteran's memorial. These walls list all the veterans that have lived in or are buried in Hopkins County. Under the awning to the right is a computer where you can look up an individual to see which wall they are listed on. It's very moving.

Along the wall are benches for you to sit, reflect and remember. I thought this was a cool statue of a mourner. Someone to keep you company as you think.

The town square itself is called Celebration Park, hence the name "Celebration City". Over 300 events are held here annually. Across the square from the war memorial is a statue of a soldier from the Korean War.

Also on the square are these restrooms. They are all glass on the outside and no one can see in but when you're inside, YOU can see out! I didn't go in but that has to be a weird feeling to see people walking by you as you take care of business.

First United Methodist Church. The building was erected in 1917 for a congregation that started in the 1800's. It's right off the town square. Their first church was built in 1852 closer to the springs. They shared the building with the Baptists. Then in 1870, they sold the building to the Baptists and they moved to this location where they worshipped in small structure. In 1895, they built their first brick structure on this site.

First Baptist Church. 

I like this church and the neon sign to the left. The only information I could find was that it was built in 1954. It's right off the town square. I didn't go inside, of course. Most churches lock the doors when services are not in session.

First Presbyterian Church. The congregation formed in 1852. The original church, which they shared with another Presbyterian congregation, burned in 1873. They eventually moved a small building on this site. In 1920, this church was erected. I like the way this one looks. It's very unique.

Sulphur Springs has about 16,000 people and a median income of $42K. That's not bad compared to some of the other towns that we stopped in. The population here is about the same as in Mount Pleasant but the median income there is quite a bit less. The average home price in Sulphur Springs is just under $300K.

In the late 1880's one of the primary industries was dairy. In 1937, Carnation Milk opened a processing plant in Sulphur Springs that really helped this industry along.  At one point there were over 600 dairies in Hopkins County, naming it the Dairy Capital of Texas. Alas, by 1995, there were only about 60 of these dairies left.

This is the Southwest Dairy Museum. Huh? That's right. It's a museum that depicts the typical way of life on a dairy farm. We ran out of time so we didn't go in but it looked pretty cool. The museum is open M - F 9 - 4.

They have another museum here called the Hopkins County Historical Museum which looks really cool and worth a visit. Unfortunately, they are only open Friday and Saturday from 10 - 2. Needless to say, we weren't there during that small window.

Now, the top employers in Sulphur Springs are the Sulphur Springs Independent School District, Grocery Supply Company, Walmart and Hopkins County Hospital.  But there are other major employers there as well. Ocean Spray and Owens Sausage, for example.

As we drive through some of these smaller towns, we wonder if they are "Hampton Inn" worthy, meaning are they big enough to have a representative of one of the major chain hotels. For Hilton, Hampton Inn is the line you'd find in most smaller towns.

Well, Sulphur Springs does have a Hampton Inn. They have a Brookshire's and a Walmart but I didn't see any of the other larger grocery store chains. All of the fast food chains are represented here but as far as the big chain sit-down restaurants, we only saw a Chili's. So I guess if you wanted to celebrate at a bigger restaurant, you'd have to drive into Dallas.

Being so close to Dallas, I wouldn't mind a trip back to check out those museums. Meanwhile, enjoy the scenery!