BUMPUS HOUSE - 201 E. Upshur at Center St.

This house is believed to have been built about the turn of the century. Area sawmil owner and road builder William E. Bumpus and his wife Catherine (Harris) purchased he property in 1927.  The Bumpus House is a well-preserved example of a large dwelling with colonial revival details (dormers, gable ends) and craftsman influences (tapered box supports on brick piers).  A local landmark, the house remained in the Bumpus family until 1987.  Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1994.  **NOTE - The Bumpus House was destroyed by fire in August 2013.  The Gladewater Museum received permission to recover and hold the Texas Historical Marker and is in the museum's possession at this time.

FIRST FRANCHISED MOTOR BUS LINE IN TEXAS - Pacific St. at Dean St.

The W. E. Nunnelee Bus Lines began passenger service from Tyler to Gladewater and Mt. Pleasant in March 1925; later added buses from Tyler to Henderson and Nacogdoches. Twenty-six vehicles were operated over the 205 miles. These included 7-passenger automobiles and 12-, 15-, 16-, and 19-passenger buses. Fare from Tyler to Gladewater was $1. with stops in Winona, Starrville, Friendship, the 30-mile run took an hour, over roads paved in 1919 and 1923. On Aug. 1, 1927, buses were placed under regulation of the Railroad Commission. This line had franchise No. 1; it was one of 247 companies running 865 public passenger vehicles on 20,348 miles of Texas roads. Many of these "buses" were autos built for private use. Others had "stretched" auto chassis seating 10 or more passengers. Several models had doors that opened along the side. Uncomfortable and hard to drive, they constantly needed new tires and repairs to brakes and valves. Breakdowns were frequent. Overhauls (often made, or necessity, by the roadside) were handled by mechanics lacking suitable tools. Although far different from the airconditioned, safety-engineered bus of today, early buses showed the way to a new era in convenient transportation. Incise in base: Early travel, communication and transportation series erected by Moody Foundation.

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - 208 W. Quitman

Developed as a railroad town in the 1870s, Gladewater grew slowly but steadily in the first decades of its existence. In 1922, twelve adults and two children led by the Rev. H.T. Perritte of Longview met in Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Godfrey's home to organize a congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. They soon built a simple one-room sanctuary. The church and the town experienced dramatic growth beginning in the 1930s, when a local oil boom brought more residents. Since that time, members have formed women's and men's groups to support the church and its many services and programs.

FOSHEE FAMILY HOME - 409 N. Main Street, Gladewater

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Built 1890 on site purchased 1884 by William Emmett and Mary R. Foshee. He was a native of Alabama and she was a member of the pioneer Shepperd family of Upshur County. Eight children were born to this couple. Lumber for house was sawed at famous mill of John O'Byrne. Unusual and unique chimney was built of hand-hewn rock which came from banks of stream running through west edge of property. (Family enterprise, Ironrock Oil Company, was named for this special type rock.) Original hallway led from front porch through house to water well, which served family needs. In early 1930's one of first oil wells in the famous East Texas field was brought in here. Ironrock Oil Company is still operating. For many years, William Emmett Foshee served as postmaster. He was also a lumber teaming contractor, farmer and justice of the peace. His wife, Mary, was mother and homemaker to six surviving children. These pioneer parents left rich heritage to succeeding generations who still contribute traditional service to their community.
 

GLADEWATER - 1 mi. west of Gladewater on US 80

Founded 1827 as St. Clair, 3 mi. east. Moved to present site on Glade Creek and T & P Railway in 1872. Population increased from 500 to 7000 after discovery of oil in 1931, when it became production and refining hub. Manufacturing, clothing, medical, farming and dairy center. Home of annual East Texas Quarter Horse Show and the richest self-supporting cemetery in the world. Round-up association sponsors June rodeo, nationally known, in unique arena in abandoned salt water disposal pit. Historic sites marked.
 

POINT PLEASANT - US 80 (in front of Clarksville City Municipal Building)

From about 1850 until 1871, a post office, which served the Point Pleasant community, operated near this site. The area was known as Gilead under the first postmaster, L. B. Camp, who earlier had established a ferry crossing the Sabine River (2 mi. W). when the name Point Pleasant was adopted in 1852, J. K.Armstrong (d. 1860) was named postmaster. Other postmasters who served Point Pleasant were William W. Walters (d. 1885), who operated the stage stop where the post office was located, Claiborn Halbert, and Joshua W. Monk. Elisha A. Mackey was Point Pleasant's last official postmaster. During its 21 years of existence the Point Pleasant Post Office served approximately 48 families including those of Jarret Dean, James Hendrick, Mason Moseley, Augustus Moseley, A. H. Abney, A. C. Williams, Jacob M. Lacy, A. G. Rogers, and A. T. Wright. The Point Pleasant School (called Possom Trot and still operating in 1908 with Trustees R. A. Hendrix, E. W. Clements, and Mr. Phillips) and Moseley Cemetery also served these pioneers. When the railroad came through in 1873, the new towns of Gladewater and Longview drew residents away from the Point Pleasant area. Clarksville City, created by the 1931 East Texas oil boom, later developed at the site of the Point Pleasant community. Incise on back: In memory of our mother Minnie Clements Phillips (1892-1973)
 

ROCK SPRINGS SCHOOLHOUSE - 4.5 mi. south of Gladewater on Old Kilgore Rd. (Old 135) by Rock Springs Cemetery

Built 1849, with donated labor and lumber. One-teacher school was taught here until 1930's. First teacher was J. C. Vernon. First trustees: Thomas G. Chisum, James "Squire" Dillingham, Joel Smith. (Smith donated the site.) Building was also used for church, Grange, socials, fraternal meetings, and political rallies. Community named for nearby springs. Settled by pioneers from Tennessee. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966

 ROSEDALE CEMETERY - On US Hwy. 80 at Loop 485, Gladewater.

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When John Kettle Armstrong and his wife Sarah bought 160 acres here in 1844, they were among the first settlers. Sarah died in 1856 and Armstrong set aside this tract for a cemetery. Tradition says the Armstrong slaves were interred outside the grounds. After Armstrong's death in 1860, his second wife Margaret Fisher married a Mr. Stewart. For years the Armstrongs and Stewarts allowed everyone to use the graveyard which was called "Stewart Cemetery." After the railroad started the town of Gladewater, a cemetery association organized in 1911 and changed the name of the graveyard to "Rosedale." An additional five acres were purchased from J. K. Armstrong and his wife. "Permits" for burial were sold instead of lots. When the East Texas oil boom began, this policy allowed all surface and mineral rights to remain with the association. In 1932 two oil wells were drilled on the burial ground. The association used the profits to build a caretaker's cottage, roads, a rock fence and to landscape the grounds. In 1973, after 41 years, the wells were plugged. Still in use, the burial ground has about 265 unmarked and 750 marked graves. Many of the older plots are covered with large red rocks.
 

JOHN BEN SHEPPERD - Pacific St. at Dean St.

(October 19, 1915 - March 8, 1990) A native of Gladewater, John Ben Shepperd began a law practice in Longview soon after his graduation from the University of Texas Law School in 1941. After service in World War II, he gained prominence as national president of the Jaycees. His public service career began in 1946, when he was appointed to fill his father's unexpired term as county commissioner. Governor Allan shivers appointed Shepperd secretary of state in 1950. He was elected attorney general in 1952 and was reelected in 1954. As attorney general, he attacked political corruption in Duval county and the misuse of state veterans land funds. After retiring from public office in 1957, Shepperd moved to Odessa where he practiced law and supported numerous civic and charitable endeavors. He was appointed to a number of state and national boards and commissions, including the Texas State Historical Survey Committee (now Texas Historical Commission). He was the driving force in the growth and development of the Historical Marker Program, which became nationally recognized during his term as chairman. He renovated his Gladewater boyhood home and farm after his retirement. He is buried in the family cemetery south of town.

WALKER , DR. E. L. AND NANNIE LEWIS HOUSE - 214 East Commerce

Edgar Lathgro Walker of Tennessee wed Nannie E. Lewis, a native of Kentucky, in 1891. The couple later brought their two young daughters, Lena and Alma, to Gladewater to visit E. L.’s brother, William, and they decided to stay. Their third daughter, Bessie, was born in Gladewater in 1898. E. L., a graduate of the Cincinnati School of Medicine, opened a medical practice and drugstore. He purchased this site from W.S. and Sara Austin on October 23, 1895, and he and Nannie completed their new home sometime before 1910. Their property eventually extended all the way to the Sabine River and included several barns, a cookhouse, oil wells and derricks, and oil storage tanks. The Walker House, with its main body constructed of concrete blocks, is Neoclassical in design, with a symmetrical façade, pronounced two-story portico, Ionic columns, five-bay front and pedimented dormer window. The three-story structure also has two concrete basements. Initially intended for use as an infirmary, the third floor space served as an attic with access to a rooftop widow’s walk. Original features included ten fireplaces, a two-floor elevator and fifteen rooms. A concrete balustrade, too heavy for use on the second-floor porch, became a unique fence. Changes over the years included additional rooms and the removal of the elevator, donated to a World War II scrap metal drive. Following the deaths of her parents, Bessie (Walker) and husband Otto Staerker lived in the house, which stayed in the family until 1969. Subsequent owners have ensured the house remains a landmark, a link to the Walker family and early Gladewater. Recorded Texas Historic landmark.