Thursday morning we had coffee outside and then we headed northeast to Nacogdoches. This is what I thought I was going to see when we went to Palestine. (Backstory: I took Steve and the grandkids to Palestine to ride the Texas Railroad. We drove over to Nacogdoches the day before the train ride, had lunch and had to head back to the RV because the grandson got sick so didn't get to see all the sights.)
Nacogdoches is the oldest town in Texas and we were going to see some of the oldest buildings. So, the very first place you want to go is the Visitor's Center right downtown. Not only do they have the most helpful people working there that are very knowledgeable, they also have a museum. I did manage to get here on the first visit when a different person was just as helpful.
Many people know about the six flags that flew over Texas but Nacogdoches actually had nine flags flying over it. One was an emerald banner for the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition in 1812 and the other was red and white for the Long Republic in 1819.
The streets in the downtown area are red brick and the Visitor's Center is on a square with the City Hall behind. Be sure to take a walk around the square. See the 9 flags?
This is the Charles Hoya Land Office designed by Houston architect Frank E Rue and build in 1897 by long-time Nacogdoches County surveyor Charles Hoya. It was the first fireproof building in town and served as a model for other local structures.
Dolli's Diner is on the square. It's a cute place.
A quick peek inside before we are on our way.
Our next stop was the Sterne-Hoya House Museum & Library. Nicholas Adolphus Sterne, a prominent leader in the fight for Texas Independence, guild the house in 1830.
The house is the oldest Nacogdoches structure still standing on its original site. It was bought by Joseph Von der Hoya in 1869. The house was used as a library but has been returned to the original appearance and is now a museum.
One of the oldest wine cellars in east Texas.
Girls in one loft bedroom and boys in another one. And the boys moved outside to another building when they were 13.
The dining room. Looks like pegboard on the back wall but it was wall paper.
A party dress from the era. They were shorter.
This is the backyard where the well and the cooking kitchen would have been.
Our next stop was the Railroad Depot.
There were two entrances during the segregation era. This one is no longer used.
Interesting caption. Inspite of the many problems with this railroad, commerce and transportation improved..
The railroad also provided many jobs for area people.
After Southern Pacific took over the railroad in the early 1900s, things improved.
The Clear Water Cafe was next door and we were hungry so we decided to give it a try. We should have gone back to Dolli's Diner.
After lunch, we were off to see the Durst-Taylor house. It was built in the 1830's and is the second oldest structure still on it's original foundation.
This property has several buildings that were on the property.
This is the blacksmith shop which is basically a three sided structure. The bellows on the upper left of the picture was huge.
There was a building at the back that would have been a barn but was fully modernized inside to include pictures and information on the whole history of the property and families that lived there. We also ran into a young man who was very eager to provide us with a fully narrated tour. He had only been working there for a couple of weeks but certainly knew all the information.
This was an interesting explanation for what would be called a boarding house if there were more rooms to rent.
It was indeed small. This is typical of beds of the time. They would have had a mattress thrown on top and, of course, the mattresses were nothing like the ones we use today.
this room would have been used in food preparation, informal dining, and storage. The actual cooking would have been done outside or in a separate building due to the fire danger.
This room would have been used for many purposes in addition to dining.
These museums were so well taken care and presented and they were all free. There is a lot to see in Nacogdoches.
Our final stop was more of a driveby as we needed to head back to Harley. The Old stone Fort is located on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. It's actually a 1936 replica of Antonio Gil Y'Barbo's stone house and was never actually a fort. The house also served as a trading post, church, jail, and saloon. It currently serves as a museum interpreting East Texas and Nacogdoches history.
We definitely have a reason to come back to Nacogdoches as we didn't get to visit Millard's Crossing Historic Village. It is a reconstructed historic village which provides a broad sampling of 19th century East Texas architecture. The collection was assembled by Untied States Congressman Mrs. Albert (Lera Millard) Thomas. It includes log structures, Greek revival houses from the Republican period, Victorian house from the turn of the century, and a primitive Methodist Church. I'm looking forward to it.
