Historical Tyler

The earliest Native Americans inhabiting what is now Smith County, Texas, were Caddo (or Tejas) Indians. The Spanish explorers knew these Indians as Tejas, for whom they named the present Texas. Although Texas was a province of Spain until Mexico 1821, few European settlers inhabited the area to become Smith County until after the Texas Revolution.

Surprisingly, the first immigrants into the Smith County region from across the Mississippi River were Cherokee and Kickapoo Indians moving in front of the westward movement of European settlement from the East. Their leader, Chief Bowles, cooperated with the Mexican government and secured a land grant like the other settlers arriving from the United States. Sam Houston negotiated a treaty with Chief Bowles for the infant Republic of Texas during the Texas War for Independence. This treaty was never ratified by the Republic, and the second president of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar, sent troops into East Texas to expel those Indians who refused to leave voluntarily in 1839. The campaign concluded with two battles, the death of Bowles, and the retreat of the Indians in East Texas to north of the Red River into what is now Oklahoma.

County Established

The forced removal of the Indians from East Texas in 1839 opened the area for Anglo settlement. At first, a few entrepreneurs moved in to take over the numerous salines, or salt works, formerly operated by the Indians. Later, settlers began clearing farms during the last years of the Republic of Texas, when the entire area comprised part of Nacogdoches County. Smith County was one of several new counties formed by the new Texas State Legislature in April of 1846. The new county was named for General James Smith, who came to Texas in 1816, fought for Texas’ independence and served during the Indian Wars. Five commissioners- John Dewberry, William B. Duncan, James C. Hill, John Loller and Elisha Lott- were appointed by the Texas Legislature to select the boundaries of Smith County. The 939 square miles enclosed within the boundaries they selected have not changed to this day.

The Texas State Legislature required county seats be located within three miles of the geographical center of the new counties. The commissioners selected three hundred acres on a hilltop near the center of Smith County as the new county seat, to be named after President John Tyler. President Tyler was honored for his support for the annexation of Texas into the Union in 1845.

Tyler Established

The town site of Tyler was divided into twenty-eight blocks, five streets running north and south and four streets running east and west. A dense brush and wild plum thicket covered the square, where the first public auction for town lots was held on December 21, 1846. Three different log buildings were used as court houses until a brick building was constructed in 1852. Smith County’s first election on August 8, 1846, selected the following: County Judge, County Clerk, District Clerk, Sheriff, Assessor and Collector, Treasurer, and a three-member County Commission. Three months later, the Commissioners Court held their first session, with their first case a suit for divorce.

The city of Tyler was officially incorporated in 1848. In the first election, a mayor and four aldermen were named to administer a town of 506 acres measuring three-fourths of a mile from the center of the courthouse square.

The county grew rapidly in population and wealth throughout the decade that preceded the Civil War, with a large portion of the population immigrating from Alabama. Smith County began the 1850’s with a population of 4,292, of whom 717 were Negro slaves.

In 1850, one of three branches of the Texas Supreme Court was located in Tyler. The following year, Congress established a Federal Court in Tyler, one of three in the District of Texas.

Tyler Schools

By 1850, seven private schools were established in Smith County and by 1860, 982 students attended thirty-one schools. The first newspaper published in Smith County, the Tyler Telegraph, was established in 1851 by David O. Clopton. The name of the paper was soon changed to the Tyler Reporter, still published today as the largest daily circulation paper in East Texas. The Methodists and Masons together built the first church in 1852 on Bois d’Arc Street, later moving across the street to become the present Marvin Methodist Church. By 1859, Baptist and Christian churches were erected near the square.

Agriculture remained dominant in Smith County throughout the nineteenth century, with cotton and other products reaching markets by flatboat down the Sabine River from Belzora or by ox-wagon to Jefferson and Shreveport. The first brick stores in Tyler were five two story buildings on the North side of the square built by Major A. Ferguson. Light frontier industries were established, including several flour and grist mills, and shops for making wagons, spinning wheels, cabinets, and guns.

The United States Census of 1860 recorded Smith County’ s population as 13,392, of whom 4,982 were Negro slaves. The largest city, Tyler, had by then grown to 1,024 persons. The raid on Harpers Ferry by John Brown and his band, together with a rash of mysterious barn and house fires in Northern Texas, excited the local population as the Secession Crisis and the Civil War loomed on the horizon. A large number of Smith County notables, including the assembly president, Oran M. Roberts, attended the Secession Convention in Austin in early 1861. After the Convention approved the Ordinance of Secession, Smith County voters approved the measure 1,149 for, to 50 against, on February 25, 1861. Smith County was solidly behind the Confederacy.

The Civil War

The Civil War brought a flurry of activity to Smith County as the entire population was caught up in the excitement. Over 1,500 Smith County men served in the armed forces of the Confederacy or the State of Texas on battlefields from Arizona to Pennsylvania. Nearly 15,000 Confederate troops were stationed in camps around Tyler in the spring and summer of 1862 preparing to march to the front in Arkansas. The Confederate Medical Department established the largest pharmaceutical factory west of the Mississippi River at the Headache Springs Medical Laboratory, three miles southeast of Tyler. The Quartermaster Depot at “Kirbyville” four miles northeast of Tyler, commanded by a Captain Kirby, manufactured wagons and shoes for the horse and mules gathered there for the Transportation Department. A private gun factory, begun by J. C. Short, William S. N. Biscoe, and George Yarbrough to make rifles for the State of Texas was purchased by the Confederate Government in 1863. The gun factory expanded into the Confederate States Ordnance Works at Tyler, made around 2,233 rifles, repaired thousands of other weapons, produced millions of small arms and cannon cartridges, and employed around 200 men and boys.

The most famous Civil War activity in Smith County was not the export of Confederate soldiers and manufactured goods, but the influx of thousands of Federal prisoners of war. A Confederate camp northeast of Tyler, variously known as Camp Hubbard, the Eastern Camp of Instruction for Conscripts at Tyler, and Camp Ford, slowly evolved from an important troop training facility to the largest Civil War prisoner of war camp west of the Mississippi River. With a peak of around 5,200 prisoners and over 1,000 guards, Camp Ford has the record of having the lowest mortality rate for a prisoner of war camp during the Civil War, North or South.

In May 1865, word of the end of the Civil War reached Smith County. Confederate facilities opened their doors to a destitute populace, but not until after riots, looting, and the destruction of the Ordnance Works through an explosion. Smith County survivors of the Confederate Army struggled home as Union occupation forces arrived to reestablish Federal control. A regional Reconstruction headquarters in Tyler replaced Confederate and duly-elected Texas authority for several years with the few new local Republicans and “carpetbaggers” from the North. Thousands of former slaves received assistance from a Freedman’s Bureau office in Tyler.

Following the Civil War, Smith County began another period of rapid agricultural growth that continued through the turn of the century. Though hundreds of Smith County soldiers lost their lives of bullets or disease during the war, the conflict brought economic development without the wholesale destruction common throughout much of the South. Railroads arrived in Smith County in the 1870’s, including the “Tyler Tap Railroad” which granted access to the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1877. This rapid, economical transportation link marked the beginning of a new industrial age for Smith County and coincided with the official end of Reconstruction.

As Smith County’s population continued to grow through the 1870’s, the citizens decided that the 1852 Court House was too small. Rather than starting from scratch, however, the existing courthouse was expanded and updated by adding a third story and a bell tower. In 1886, a new Federal Building was constructed just off the Tyler Square and has been successively remodeled and expanded in 1908 and 1933 as a post office and federal district court.

The Tyler Gang

From around 1860 to 1890, a collection of Smith County leaders, known as the “Tyler Gang”, strongly influenced Texas politics. This group included three who became Texas governors: Oran M. Roberts, Richard B. Hubbard, and James S. Hogg. Oran Roberts, as previously mentioned, served as president of the Texas Secession Convention, Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, and became a noted historian. Richard Hubbard became an important railroad promoter, a two-term Texas governor, and the United States Ambassador to Japan. James Hogg served as the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives before being elected Governor. All three served in the Confederate Army and had schools named after them in Tyler.

The last quarter of the Nineteenth Century witnessed enormous growth in agriculture in Smith County. Cotton remained an important cash crop as rail transportation replaced ox carts and flatboats. Local cotton gins, mills and other factories produced finished goods for outside markets. Fruit and vegetable canning factories were constructed along the railroad lines spreading throughout the county to take advantage of the expanding produce industry.

The agricultural boom in Smith County included the introduction of the rose-growing industry. Through much of the Twentieth Century, approximately half of all the rose bushes purchased in the country had been planted within fifty miles of Tyler. The rose grower’s carriages and floats in local parades developed into the Texas Rose Festival in 1933, a tradition carried annually, excepting the World War II years. A civic rose garden and museum are open to the public year-round.

Transportation

Improved transportation brought a greater cultural diversity to Smith County by the turn of the century. New churches were built by a variety of denominations as families arrived from a number of foreign lands. Several large banks opened their doors making Tyler the financial center of northeast Texas. High culture arrived in the form of Albertson’s Opera House in 1879 and the Grand Opera House in 1887. The Carnegie Public Library opened its doors in 1904 as the first free library in Tyler and serves today as the quarters for the City of Tyler’s Parks and Recreation Department and the Smith County Historical Society’s Museum and Archives. A sixth Smith County Courthouse erected in 1909 served the county until 1955, when it was torn down to route Broadway (Business Highway 69) through the Square. Extensive construction began on brick streets in Tyler, of which over fourteen miles remain for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.

Higher Learning

Smith County has long enjoyed quality institutions of higher learning. Several private academies and finishing schools thrived before and after the Civil War, many sponsored by churches or fraternal organizations. In 1894, the Methodist Church helped found the present Texas College, the oldest predominantly African-American college in Texas. In the late 1890’s, Whitesboro Teachers Normal College moved to Tyler and consolidated with Tyler College to create the Tyler Commercial College. Known as the “largest commercial and shorthand school in the South”, the school boasted a petroleum geology department, a world-renowned cotton grading department, and a school for radio station operation. The Tyler Junior College opened its doors in 1926 as a part of the public school district and an extension of Tyler High School. It moved to its present location in 1948 and has an enrollment of around 9,000. In 1972, what is now known as the University of Texas at Tyler opened its doors at it present location to provide upper level university instruction for the graduates of regional community and junior colleges.

Smith County provided several military units to serve in the Spanish American War and World War I. Both conflicts ended relatively quickly before many new industries were established locally to support the war effort. The Tyler area, like much of East Texas, continued to prosper throughout the 1920’s.

The Depression and World War II

There was literally no Great Depression in Smith County in the 1930’s as a result of the discovery of the great East Texas Oil Field in 1930. Thousands of workers and developers set up drilling rigs and work camps in the area. The population of Tyler and Smith County swelled as jobs became available in oil and other service industries. The construction of the “Big Inch” pipeline from East Texas to the East Coast in World War II constituted a major contribution to the Allied war effort.

World War II had an enormous impact on Smith County, very similar to that of the Civil War. Thousands of Smith County men and women served in the armed services or did war work in local factories or facilities. A local Congressman, Lindley Beckworth, was influential in bringing several major military facilities to the county. First, the Tyler Commercial College became home to a U. S. Army Radio School where almost 2,000 soldiers were trained in telephone and radio signal procedures from 1942 to 1943. A large Army Air Corps base was planned for construction northeast of Tyler, but instead transformed an expanded Tyler Municipal Airport into Pounds Army Airfield. The land northeast of Tyler became the Camp Fannin Infantry Replacement training Center from 1943 to 1946. Around 200,000 G.I.’s were processed at Camp Fannin and a large German Prisoner of War Camp was erected. These American troops came from all over the country and their presence among the local population resulted in hundreds of marriages. Many of these Camp Fannin veterans from across the nation deciding to start their businesses and their families in Smith County.

Modern Tyler

The postwar years brought renewed prosperity to Smith County. In addition to the expanding oil industry, many other businesses opened plants in Smith County. Major employers include: Levi Strauss, Continental Can Company, United Technologies/Carrier, Kelly-Springfield, National Homes, Trane Corporation, General Electric, Dearborn Brass, Brookshire’s, etc. The health services industry is important, with Tyler serving as the medical center for East Texas. Mother Francis Hospital opened two weeks early in 1937 to treat victims of the New London School Explosion, and is still expanding with new clinics in Tyler and throughout East Texas. The University of Texas Health Center at Tyler started as the East Texas Chest Hospital in leftover United States Government buildings and 614 acres of former Camp Fannin after World War II and today boasts over 1200 employees. East Texas Medical Center rounds out the big three hospitals in Tyler with several branch operations throughout the region. Several smaller specialty clinics and rehabilitation hospitals also operate in Tyler.

Smith County and Tyler continue to develop after more than 150 years in East Texas. Additional businesses and retirees relocate into the area each year because of the quality of life found there. With rapid growth and expansion has come an increased awareness among residents and visitors of the historic significance and charm to be found in the area. Dwellings, businesses, and even the brick streets are being restored to their former appearance as parts of Tyler’s downtown and older residential districts return to the beauty of the past.

Camp Ford was the largest Confederate Prisoner of War Camp west of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. The site of the camp is now a public park, managed by the Smith County Historical Society. The park features a kiosk with extensive graphics detailing the history of the camp, a walking trail with interpretive signage, a reconstruction of a POW cabin, and picnic facilities. It is open daily from dawn to dusk with free admission. It is located on Highway 271, 0.8 miles north of Loop 323.

Notable events

• On May 11, 2003, East Texas housewife Deanna Laney murders two of her children and maimed another, claiming God told her to do it. She was eventually acquitted by reason of insanity.
• On February 24, 2005, David Hernandez Arroyo Sr. murdered his ex-wife and wounded his son in front of the Smith County Courthouse in Tyler, Texas. A shootout and escape attempt followed, and Arroyo was killed.
• The 2007 reality show Anchorwoman was filmed in Tyler, at CBS affiliate KYTX. The show ran for two episodes aired on one night before being canceled by Fox.
• On the evening of February 2, 2009 a fire engulfed a number of historic buildings located in downtown Tyler. Eight different fire departments responded to the fire.
• On September 23, 2009, a teacher at John Tyler High School was stabbed and killed by a student.
• Beginning January 2010 11 Tyler and East Texas church fires were started by an arsonist that is still being investigated by the ATF. The fires have spread to the Houston and Fort Worth area. Some of the fires could be copy cat crimes although 7 have been connected with a serial arsonist. The arsonist is purportedly driving an old white truck.

Actors and Actresses

Information sources gathered from the wikepedia and Jere L. Jackson, Stephen F. Austin State University, P.O. Box 6134, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962 USA