Built in 1916, this Tudor-Gothic style building houses items telling the history of the city of Palestine and Anderson county. The Black History Room displays the achievements of Palestine’s African-American citizens, and the Fire Department Room honors firefighters of days gone by. The Railroad Room is filled with memorabilia recalling the days when the railroad was the center of Palestine’s economy. In March, the museum hosts the Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival.
Website: www.museumpalestine.org
Festival information: www.geocities.com/palestinefestival/index.htm
Phone: (903) 723-1914
The town of Edom--in Van Zandt County just a few miles west of the city Tyler--is miniscule. Though Edom was founded in 1849, its population has never topped 300. But size isn’t everything. Beginning in the 1960s, artisans attracted to the hamlet’s comfortably rustic ways and laid-back atmosphere began settling here. Now, Edom’s main drag--a stretch of FM 279--is loaded with shops purveying one-of-a-kind wares by local potters, jewelry makers, glassmakers, and more. Why, there’s even a gourmet food shop. And every October, Edom welcomes scores of artists and craftspeople from all over Texas and beyond to the Edom Festival of the Arts.
As someone once observed, “The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.” That’s certainly true of the Texas State Railroad--a shortline service that, established in 1881 and fully restored in 1976, is still shuttling passengers between Palestine, in Anderson County, and Rusk, in Cherokee County. Even before boarding the vintage steam-engine trains that ply the route, visitors are transported back to the 19th century by the Victorian-style depots at either end of the line. The stations are surrounded by beautifully landscaped parks that provide camping facilities, among other amenities. The 50-mile round trip takes four and a half hours.
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