The history of Nacogdoches--the Oldest Town in Texas--comes alive at the Old Stone Fort Museum, a 1936 replica of a 1780s Spanish colonial home located on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. The original house served variously as a public building, grocery store, candy store, saloon--and, most important, as a temporary fortification during three rebellions that sought Texas’s independence from Mexico during the early 1800s. The stones of the original house were used to build the present replica structure.
(Main entrance on Vista Drive)
Tues.-Sat. 9:00-5:00, Sun. 1:00-5:00
Admission: Free
Website: http://www.sfasu.edu/stonefort/
Phone:(936) 468-2408
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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Email: pineywoods@conservationfund.org
