Athens, Texas: The Black-Eyed Pea Capital of the World

On our tour of Texas, we found ourselves in Athens, a town that was founded in 1850 and named for the city in Greece. It's the county seat of Henderson County and, during the Civil War, was a training hub for Confederate soldiers. 

Athens is known as the "Black-Eyed Pea Capital of the World" because in the early 1900s, J. B. Henry developed a method to dry the peas in an oven which made them easier to ship and thus, available for human consumption. He also established a plant to can the peas as well. 

Athens is also the birthplace of the Hamburger. Fletcher Davis, known as "Uncle Fletch", used to sell his sandwich at a cafe on the courthouse square. In 1904, he took his invention to the St. Louis World's Fair. His claim as the creator of the burger is supported by none other than McDonald's Hamburger University. Who knew?

Henderson County was established in 1846 and named for James Pinckney Henderson, who was the first governor of Texas. Athens was established as the county seat in 1850. Like most courthouses, the first one was a log cabin that lasted about 11 years. The second courthouse, built about 1860 was destroyed in 1885 by a fire. In 1887, this courthouse was built by CH Hawn and Co. and was used until 1913. Once again, it was destroyed by fire.

In 1913, this courthouse was built. It's cool as there are four "wings" that go out from the center of the structure. So this is what it looks like from all sides. One thing I found interesting is that the town square isn't very "walkable". It's like the sidewalks are too small or something. I read that once the town was established nothing happened. No progress. In 1880, the Cotton Belt Railroad line came through but still nothing as far as paving roads, etc. Then in 1901, the town was reincorporated and then things started to happen. Most of the buildings around the square are from the early to mid 1910s.

One of the monuments on the courthouse lawn is this homage to the fiddlers of old days. I am assuming this was a big deal in Athens as they have the Old Fiddler's Reunion every Memorial Day. How cool is that? 

One of the things I love about small towns such as Athens are all the historical buildings, like this one. It's the Faulk & Gauntt Building. It was built in 1896 by J. R. Gauntt. He was a local businessman who operated a mercantile store with his brother, R. L. Gauntt, called the Caney Tree. The upstairs housed offices for W L and J J Faulk, both attorneys. The downstairs housed several things over the years including a grocery store run by Tom Barber and a dentist office for Drs. Dudley Payne and Thomas Matthews. At one point the building housed the Henderson County Museum but that has since closed.

This is a view of one side of the town square from the steps of the courthouse. The white building on the end used to the be the First National Bank. The bank started in 1890 by Thomas Murchison and this building appears to have been erected in 1927, based on the engraving at the top of the building.

This cool looking building used to be the Athens Hotel. It was built in 1912. The hotel closed in the 1960s. You could probably get a room there back in 1912 for less than a dollar a night. It's not far from the train depot - about a block. It would have been cool to go in there and check it out.

This is the Texan Theater. It was opened in 1948 as a movie theater. It closed in 1984 and was scheduled for demolition. Luckily, someone saved it and in 2018, it opened as an event center and music venue. Great save!

Every county needs a jail and this was one in Henderson County (now at the arboretum). It's a calaboose! (I got this photo off the internet). This calaboose is at the East Texas Arboretum.

There were several jails in Athens. There was one built in 1874 on Common Street that burned in 1897 from a fire started in the Masonic Lodge. The whole thing burned. The new jail was built in 1898 and was used until 1925. By that time it had become unsafe. This Henderson County jail was built on that same space in 1925. It was used as a county jail until 1991 when this place ran out of space. Now the building is used as the Henderson County Historical Commission.

I haven't been able to figure out what this building is. It's right on Larkin and the train tracks run right behind it. I thought maybe an old train depot but no. It must have some kind of history.

Meanwhile, you know how towns have some kind of "thing" that represents them? In Enterprise Alabama, it was the boll weevil and people had boll weevils in front of their businesses decorated. Here that "thing" is fiddle in the state of Texas. You know, because of the annual fiddlers reunion. Cool right?

The cemetery is always a cool place to check out some history. There's a lot of cool statuary in the Athens Cemetery established in 1857. I'm not sure which of the Wofford family this monument is there for but the whole family plot has some beautiful markers.

This is part of the Murchison family plot in that same cemetery. The Murchison family played a significant role in banking here in Athens where several members of the family ran the First National Bank. Another member of the family, Clinton Murchison, Jr., was the founder of the Dallas Cowboys.

There are about 13,000 people that live in Athens. They have a Piggly Wiggly, Brookshire's and a WalMart grocery store. They have an assortment of chain restaurants like McDonald's, Taco Bell (which is on the courthouse square!) and Sonic. They also have restaurants like McAlister's Deli and Chili's. I'm not sure why that surprises me but it does.

I liked Athens but I felt like they are squandering their history by not making more of it. It was disappointing that the Historical Museum was closed. I would have liked to see what they had to show. Meanwhile, if you're in that area, you should stop and check it out!