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    Carthage
    Carthage
    Carthage
    Ebook209 pages1 hour

    Carthage

    By Bill O'Neal

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    About this ebook

    Founded in a pine forest on the East Texas frontier, Carthage assumed the name of one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. Although Carthage, Texas, did not become a bustling metropolis, the community has enjoyed a long history as the type of stable town that forms the backbone of America. For more than a century and a half, residents have played roles—at times prominently—in the historical and cultural life of Texas and the nation. Carthage has produced decorated war heroes, internationally famous country music stars, a noted American historian, and a groundbreaking political figure. As the home of Tex Ritter, Gentleman Jim Reeves, Linda Davis, and the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, the community has become a country music mainstay. Beyond its celebrities, however, Carthage has most importantly produced generation after generation of patriotic and hard-working men and women.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 31, 2009
    ISBN9781439623350
    Carthage
    Author

    Bill O'Neal

    Bill O�Neal is the state historian of Texas. He taught for four decades at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, and he is the author of more than 40 books, including five Arcadia titles. In 2012, the Wild West Historical Association presented O�Neal its lifetime achievement award, and in 2007, he was selected as True West magazine�s Best Living Nonfiction Writer.

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      Book preview

      Carthage - Bill O'Neal

      hometown.

      INTRODUCTION

      Carthage was founded in 1848, only two years after Texas became a state. Panola County was organized in 1846 from Shelby County to the south and Harrison County to the north. These wilderness counties were created in 1836 and 1839 respectively, and the heavily timbered, sparsely settled area in between was the Panola Judicial District. The seat of government was Pulaski, a hamlet on the east bank of the Sabine River. The log structures of Pulaski overlooked the Sabine, and a river ferry provided the main reason for the community’s existence.

      Pulaski conducted county business from a one-room log courthouse. But Pulaski stood in the eastern portion of Panola County, and the state legislature decreed that county seats should be located within 3 miles of the geographical center, primarily for the convenience of residents who lived in the county’s outer reaches. Jonathan Anderson, an early settler who had received a large land grant from the Republic of Texas for his service at the Battle of San Jacinto, donated 100 acres for a town site at the center of Panola County. Anderson was elected sheriff for two-year terms in 1848, 1850, 1854, and 1856, and after the Civil War he was appointed sheriff by Gov. A. J. Hamilton.

      Only forest trails led to the wilderness town site, but lots were surveyed, staked out, and sold at public auction. Funds from the sale of the lot were used to build a log courthouse in the middle of the public square. A small log jail was erected on the northwest corner of the square. A public well was dug on the square, and a few general stores were built. There was usually at least one saloon somewhere on the square, and for years merchants kept a whiskey barrel for the use of their customers.

      During the 1850s, the county seat village took on a more permanent look. Federal funds, funneled to Texas counties through the state government, provided for construction of a two-story brick courthouse. A two-story lodge hall was erected by the Masons at the corner of East Wellington and South Live Oak Streets. The hall was made available to students and teachers, which ironically delayed construction of a school building in Carthage. Baptists and Methodists formed congregations during the decade and met in the Masonic Hall. Before the Civil War erupted, the Methodists began erecting the town’s first church.

      Men from Carthage and Panola County served as Confederate soldiers, while a Union sergeant who was raised in slavery near Carthage earned the Medal of Honor in combat. Following the war, Carthage continued to be the commercial center of a cotton-farming county. Growth in the county’s towns was slow. Although nearly 13,000 citizens lived in Panola County in 1887, the population of Carthage was only 400, and no other community in the county had more than 75 residents. But also in 1887, the farmers of Panola County produced 12,658 bales of cotton, 419,466 bushels of corn, and large amounts of sweet potatoes, oats, and sugar cane.

      The following year a railroad finally reached Carthage, along with telegraph and telephone connections. The same year a spectacular robbery, murder, and lynching on the courthouse square dominated headlines around the state for several days. The railroad brought growth, reflected in Carthage by brick commercial buildings and residences with Victorian architectural flourishes. There were white frame churches, a three-story frame school, a magnificent masonry courthouse, and a big brick opera house.

      Early in the 20th century the first brick church was erected in Carthage. The town’s population finally exceeded 1,000, then reached 1,300 in 1920. Concrete sidewalks were built around the square, and students filled a three-story brick school. Carthage lads marched off to World War I, and when they returned, they could attend silent movies at the Victory Theatre on the square. When Hollywood added sound, three more movie theaters opened in Carthage.

      Times were hard during the Great Depression, but a gas field was discovered near Carthage. After Carthage men started to don uniforms during World War II, the gas field began to be developed. The Carthage Field proved to be the largest gas field in the United States.

      Carthage boomed and prospered. The population exploded to 5,000. A state-of-the-art high school was built, along with a new courthouse. KGAS became the town’s first radio station. Panola General Hospital and Panola County Junior College were founded and constructed in Carthage. New churches were established, while old congregations built modern structures.

      During this exciting period, Carthage celebrated its centennial. After a century of existence, Carthage had reached the point where almost everything it would become had happened already. That historical trend certainly included the development of Carthage as a country music mecca. Tex Ritter and Jim Reeves, born on Panola County farms in 1905 and 1924 respectively, both attended Carthage schools while developing their musical sensitivity and abilities. Both men became internationally famous artists, and Panola County became the only county in the United States that could claim two native sons as members of Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame. The Tex Ritter Museum in Carthage became the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The hall of fame attracts tourists from across the nation, and the annual induction of new members is a major event in the world of country music. The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, along with other local institutions and the wholesome atmosphere of the community, propelled Carthage into the ranks of the 100 Best Towns in the United States.

      One

      PIONEER CARTHAGE

      The only original international boundary marker in the contiguous United States stands in southeastern Panola County. Surveyors placed this granite marker on the north-south meridian at the boundary line between the United States and the Republic of Texas. One side has the letters R. T., while this side announced, Meridn [sic] Boundary Established AD 1840. A larger marker at the nearby Sabine River was the victim of erosion.

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