Crockett, Texas: Paradise in the Pines

The next stop on our journey through southeast Texas was Crockett. Established in 1837, the town was named for Davy Crockett (of Alamo fame). The name was chosen by Andrews Edward Gossett, the man who donated the land for the town. He was a neighbor of Crockett's when they both lived in Tennessee.

It is said that Davy Crockett camped here on the way to the Alamo. Known as the "paradise in the pines" due to the beautiful pine forests that surround the area, it is also the county seat of Houston County.

Houston County established in 1837, the first county created under the Republic of Texas, was named for Sam Houston. It's considered the oldest county in Texas even though it's not one of the original 23 counties that were set up prior to Texas becoming a Republic.

As you drive into town from 287, you pass this crumbling but interesting building. It's the site of the Mary Allen Seminary which was a Black girl's school that was created back in 1886. It was founded by Richard Allen, a Presbyterian minister and named for his wife, Mary. In 1924, it was restructured and became a junior college with an all black faculty. They closed in 1943 and then reopened the following year. It operated until 1972. It was the only school that was open to freed Black women. I read that they were thinking of rehabbing the building and making it a museum but, clearly, that has gone by the wayside. Too bad. It's a cool looking building with a lot of history.

Further into town is the Downes-Aldrich House which was built in 1893 by J.E. Downes who was a local businessman. He lived here until about 1910 when he sold it to Armistead Albert Aldrich. Armistead was a civic leader and historian. The historical marker says that the Aldrich family still lives there but I don't think so. There's another sign out front that says this is the HQ of the House Historical and Cultural Activities Center of Houston County. Too bad they don't make it a museum. It's a nice house.

Crockett has a few historical homes. This one is a house that was built by A. T. Monroe, nephew of President James Monroe. It was built in 1894. In 1911 it was sold to George W Crook, a local prominent attorney, who lived there until his death in 1954. His daughter has preserved the house and, according to Facebook, you can tour the house by making an appointment. 

This is the Houston County Courthouse. This is the fifth courthouse for Houston County. It was built in 1938 when the previous courthouse, which was built in 1883, was razed. I felt like there wasn't a lot of walking room around the courthouse, similar to Athens. It's like the parking was right by the door of the courthouse.   

As part of the downtown area, I came across this place: Polk's. It was a women's department store back in the 1950s. It sold "Ladies fashions, shoes and hats." The business ceased in the 1970s. 

The Ritz Theater began as an opera house back in 1894 and evolved into a movie palace. During the early part of the 20th century, they had vaudeville acts and showed silent movies. It was renamed the Ritz in the 1950s. It closed in 2018. The Ritz has since been restored and is now a live entertainment venue.

The building on the left is the Knights of Pythias Lodge. It's a fraternal organization founded in 1864 that supports charitable causes. This building was erected in the 1890s. The Knights would have met upstairs and the lower level would have been rented out for retail. Now, the whole building is rented out commercially. Next to it is the WV McConnell Building which was erected in 1891. McConnell ran a successful mercantile store here until 1973...well, the store was there until 1973. Mr. McConnell died in 1919.

In the parking lot next to the Moosehead Cafe (the yellow building) stood the Crockett Hotel. Built in 1890, it was originally the Pickwick Hotel. In 1927 it was reopened as the Davy Crockett Hotel. It was destroyed in 1972 by fire. Too bad. That would have been cool to stay there!

The coming of the railroad in 1872 gave the town a way to expand it's lumber industry. This is the train depot in Crockett. It was built in 1909, the third to have been built in town, for the Houston & Great Northern Railroad. Now it's the Houston County Visitor Center and Museum. I couldn't find when it was open. Bummer.

Across Goliad Avenue from the depot is this mural of Davy Crockett along with Strode-Pritchett Log Cabin. The cabin was believed to have been built by B.R. Wallace in the 1850s. He was Jeremiah Strode's son-in-law and a Texas legislator. It was discovered in 1973 as it was used for hay storage. The Houston County Historical Commission moved the cabin here and restored it.

Crockett was a cute little town. There are about 6,500 people that live there. Some of the bigger employers are Steel Fabrications, a manufacturer that employs about 250 people. Alloy Polymers and Elastotech are some others.

They have several grocery stores for a town their size. They have Dollar General, H-E-B and a Walmart Superstore. They have your standard fast food chains: McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut to name a few but I didn't see any chain restaurants.

Crockett was more than I expected. I just wish I'd been able to go into the county museum. Meanwhile, if you're in the area, check it out!

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!

The Alabama Trail to Enterprise

Our road trip to Enterprise, Alabama to see our nephew took us on a serious scenic route. We went through several small towns so I thought I'd look them up and give you the low down. Here we go!

I used to live in Pensacola, Florida and we'd pass through Mobile, Alabama all the time to go to my grandparents house in Louisiana but we never stopped. To this day, I've never "been" to Mobile.  I'd certainly never been to any other part of Alabama so this was all new and exciting to me. 

As soon as we crossed into Alabama from Mississippi, we got off the interstate and onto a little road called AL-28.

Jefferson, Alabama was the first little town that I caught. When you try to Google this place, you only get Jefferson County Alabama, which is a completely different area. The only way I could actually look it up was to click on the name of the town from Google maps. The town was founded in 1810 by veterans of the Civil War.

Named for Thomas Jefferson, this little town had 200 people in 1860. Currently, it's an unincorporated town in Marengo County. There's no population in Wikipedia but I found an article that suggested 300 or so people lived in this area. This is the Jefferson Methodist Church. It was built in 1856 and apparently still has services on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month at 9 am.

This is the Jefferson Country Store and Post Office. It's a place where you could get the local gossip and a great cheeseburger. It opened in 1957 and had been family run over the years. According to Facebook, the store closed in April of 2025. It's a shame because it looks pretty cool.

Linden, Alabama: Screamersville!  The next town we rolled through was Linden. It's the county seat of Marengo County and you know I love a good county seat. It was settled in 1818 and was known as screamersville because of all the wild animals making noise at night. Creepy! Linden became the county seat in 1819.

The first thing we passed was this old building. I pulled this photo from the interwebs as mine came out a little blurry. This is the Old Marengo County Courthouse. I would have loved to stop and check this out in more detail. It was built in 1850! It served as the third county courthouse until 1902. After that it became a school, a Baptist Church and then a VWF American Legion Hall. It's famous because in 1890, a nationally infamous train robber and outlaw was killed right in front of it. Rube Burrow started out as a farmer in Texas but after a string of bad luck, he turned to robbing trains. It's been largely unused since the 1960s.

The current courthouse was built in 1903. It is closer to town. Again, I had to pull the photo from the internet as mine was blurry. About 2,500 people live in Linden. They have a Dollar General, which I figure all towns have and a Papa's Grocery.  There's a Subway there but the closest McDonald's is in Demopolis about 20 miles away and if you want a Starbucks? Forget about it!

The next town we went through was Thomaston, Alabama. It was settled in 1890 and named for Dr. Charles Brooks Thomas. He became the postmaster in 1892. This used to be the Elk Food Center, which I assume was a grocery store. It looks like nature is taking it back.

This is on Main Street through the middle of Thomaston. Not much going on here. The town was incorporated in 1901 when the railroad came through. According to a historical marker, the town got telephone service in 1914 and electricity in 1929. By 1949, there were 1,000 people living here. I'd like to have seen what kind of bustling town this was at that time. Today there are only about 400 people that live here.

We came upon Miller's Ferry which is an unincorporated town along the route we were on. There's not much about this place aside from the fact that it's in Wilcox County.

We did see this amazingly beautiful bridge as we crossed the Alabama River just outside Miller's Ferry.

Greenville, Alabama: Camellia City so called because a journalist came through and noticed all the camellias in town. The townspeople also petitioned the state to make the camellia the state flower of Alabama, which happened in 1959.

This is a cool looking old house along Commerce Street. Greenville was settled in 1819 and was originally called Buttsville. That's terrible. In 1822, it became the county seat of Butler County and was renamed Greenville after the South Carolina town that a lot of the settlers were from. I'd love to know about this house.

This is St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church, which was built around 1900. That's interesting as you don't see a lot of Catholic churches in the south. It's a pretty church but I couldn't find much about the history.

This is the Butler County courthouse. It was built around 1903 and is the fourth courthouse to grace this site. It's cool because the street we were on dead-ended into the courthouse allowing for a great photo!

Greenville is the "big city" in these parts. There's a Walmart Superstore, a Taco Bell and a Cracker Barrel. Before the Civil War, Butler County was a cotton farming area due to the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. As a result, it was also a prominent slave trading town. Now the 8,000 people that live in this town are employed in the manufacturing industry. The major employers in the area include Hwashin American Corporation, Hysco American Corporation and CorStone Industry to name a few. 

Luverne, Alabama: Friendliest City in the South was the next town that we went through. It was developed as a railroad town when in 1880, the Montgomery and Southern Railway was laid linking Montgomery to the Florida Coast. The railroad reached Luverne in 1888. Luverne was also a timbering town as the land wasn't fertile enough to grow cotton. We saw tons of trucks carrying felled trees. It was a little unnerving driving behind them!

Luverne is the county seat of Crenshaw County. This is their county courthouse. It was built in 1955 and is the third courthouse in the county. The first was in the original county seat of Rutledge, Alabama. In 1893, Luverne became the county seat. The courthouse built here burned down in 1897. The next courthouse was completed in 1898 and then was razed in 1955 to be replaced by this one.

I've never seen a Pepsi mural...ever. In this town I saw several. I liked this one quite a bit but I was a little flummoxed as to why Pepsi and not Coca-Cola. Then as we drove through town some more, we figured it out. 

Luverne has a Pepsi bottling plant that has been family owned since it was founded in 1915. The current facility was built in 1960. Did you know that Pepsi-cola was created in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and had originally been named "Brad's drink"? He sold it in his drugstore in New Bern, North Carolina. It was renamed Pepsi-Cola in 1898 and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.

Another Pepsi mural in Luverne. I bet they don't even sell Coke here. There are about 2,800 people that live here. Back in 1940, an African American man named Jesse Thornton was lynched here for failing to address a white man as "Mister". That must have been before it was called the "Friendliest City in the South".  They have a Dollar General here and a couple of other local grocery stores as well as a McDonald's and a Subway. The closest Starbucks is in Troy, Alabama about 22 miles away.

Brantley, Alabama: Front Porch Capital of the South was the next town we went through. It's also in Crenshaw County and was incorporate in 1891. It's only 10 miles from Luverne so I would assume they too are on the Pepsi bandwagon. I like this mural a lot. The whole of Brantley only covers about 3 square miles with a population of less than 1,000 people.

Enterprise, Alabama: City of Progress. Finally! Our destination city. Here's mom in front of the Welcome sign.  Enterprise is party in Coffee County and partly in Dale County. It was founded in 1881.

In 1906, the Alabama Midland Railway came to Enterprise. This is the depot, which is now a museum that closes at NOON! The railway opened up a lot of economic possibilities for the town. Their major crop was cotton until 1915. That's when they had a boll weevil infestation that devasted the crops.

The boll weevil really how the  townspeople scratching their heads as to how to survive. But they did. They thought outside the box and found life after cotton by growing peanuts. Within a couple of years, Enterprise was the top of producer of peanuts in the US. The boll weevil mural in downtown Enterprise.

In the center of Main Street, downtown Enterprise is the Boll Weevil monument. It's a woman holding up a boll weevil, their "herald of prosperity". The monument was dedicated in 1919.

Coffee County has two county seats. The original county seat was in a town called Wellborn. When the courthouse burned in 1851, the county seat was moved to Elba. In 1907, the county was split with Enterprise becoming the second seat. This is the fourth courthouse in Enterprise. The ones built in 1907, 1916 and 1925 all burned. This current courthouse was built in 1998.

There are about 21,000 people that live in Enterprise. They have all your standard grocery stores and fast food places as well as all your standard chain restaurants. A lot of people are employed by nearby Fort Rucker.

Daleville, Alabama: The Gateway to Fort Rucker. Speaking of Fort Rucker, this is the Daleville gate. It's known as the gateway to Fort Rucker, I would assume, because this is one of the main gates to get on post. Fort Rucker was originally named for Confederate Colonel Edmund Rucker. When all the Confederate named bases were renamed, it became Fort Novosel, named for Michael Novosel who was a warrant officer. It was renamed back to Fort Rucker when Trump became president. This time, it was named for Edward W Rucker, a WWI aviator, which makes sense since Fort Rucker is an Army post where the US Army Aviation Center is located. All Army and Air Force aviation training is done here.

When we left Enterprise and headed back to Dallas, we took a different route going through Perdue Hill, Alabama. It is an unincorporated part of Monroe County. Back in 1890, there were 300 people here. Now? Nobody knows. What we do know is that right there off the highway are these amazing old buildings. This is the oldest building in Monroe County. It was originally built in 1824 in Claiborne, Al. The upper floor was used by the Mason's until 1919. The lower floor was used as a court room, a town hall, a school and a church. William B Travis of Alamo fame was a lawyer in Claiborne and practiced law in this building! It was moved here in 1984.

This is the Barbara Locklin Baptist Church which was founded in 1888. It's a historic Black Baptist Church in Perdue Hill. It was renamed for Barbara Locklin in 1897 as a result of a large gift from Capt. Charles Wheeler Locklin. This is an active church with services every Sunday.

Also right off the highway is this small 2-room cottage that was the home of William B. Travis when he lived in Claiborne. It was built in 1820. In 1831, Travis moved to Texas where he practiced law. He became involved (that's an understatement!) in the Texas Revolution and was killed defending the Alamo in 1836. The house was moved here in 1985 from Claiborne.

This cool looking building is the Perdue Hill Union Church. It was constructed some time before 1880 using donated lumber. The pulpit was built using lumber from an old saloon in Claiborne. According to Rural SW Alabama, this church was used by all denominations. 

And finally, this building is the W.S Moore Store. It was built around 1875 as a doctor's office. The last doctor known to have used this (again, according to Rural SW Alabama), is Dr. J.L. Sowell. It was later enlarged around 1927 and used by William Moore as a store. What I would have given to go into these places was...well, admission fee if that was an option.

This is the Coffeeville Bridge that crosses the Tombigbee River. Coffeeville was established in 1817 and named for General John Coffee. Bad things happened here in the late 1890s; Rural farmers vs Coffeeville merchants led to violence. Then an almost-lynching in 1939. When we drove through, it was foggy and peaceful.

Barges on the Tombigbee River.

The drive through this part of Alabama was awesome. I feel like all these little towns, including ones that I didn't even touch on, require further exploration. If we have reason to come through again, I hope to have more time to stop and check things out. I just love taking the scenic route!