Texas, Smith County, Lindale
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The family of Thomas and Frances Maria Drake Flewellen came to Texas from Georgia an Arkansas in the 1850s. In 1859, Thomas Flewellen purchased 1,426 acres of rich farmland on which he established his home and a large farm. When Frances Maria died in 1861 she was buried near the family home, the first burial in what became the Flewellen-Thweatt cemetery.
Three of the Flewellens nine surviving children married members of the Thweatt family. The Flewellens and the Thweatts engaged in farming activities, using slaves and their descendants are buried in the nearby Fluellen- Flewellen cemetery.
The Flewellen-Thweatt Cemetery is a reminder of the hardships faced in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as 20 of the burials are for children and women under 40 years of age. Others buried here include Thomas Flewellen (D. 1889) and other members of his extended family. In 1919 Thomas and Frances Maria’s daughter, Mary Margaret Flewellen Hill, deeded this property as a cemetery for the lineal descendants of Thomas Flewellen, and it continues in use for that purpose.
As the resting place for members of two prominent pioneer families, who were joined through marriage and are representative if Smith County’s plantation culture, the Flewellen-Thweatt Cemetery is a physical reminder of this part of Smith County‘s history.
(Settlements & Settlers • Cemeteries & Burial Sites) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The family of Thomas and Frances Maria Drake Flewellen came to Texas from Georgia an Arkansas in the 1850s. In 1859, Thomas Flewellen purchased 1,426 acres of rich farmland on which he established his home and a large farm. When Frances Maria died in 1861 she was buried near the family home, the first burial in what became the Flewellen-Thweatt cemetery.Three of the Flewellens nine surviving children married members of the Thweatt family. The Flewellens and the Thweatts engaged in farming activities, using slaves and their descendants are buried in the nearby Fluellen- Flewellen cemetery.
The Flewellen-Thweatt Cemetery is a reminder of the hardships faced in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as 20 of the burials are for children and women under 40 years of age. Others buried here include Thomas Flewellen (D. 1889) and other members of his extended family. In 1919 Thomas and Frances Maria’s daughter, Mary Margaret Flewellen Hill, deeded this property as a cemetery for the lineal descendants of Thomas Flewellen, and it continues in use for that purpose.
As the resting place for members of two prominent pioneer families, who were joined through marriage and are representative if Smith County’s plantation culture, the Flewellen-Thweatt Cemetery is a physical reminder of this part of Smith County‘s history.
(Settlements & Settlers • Cemeteries & Burial Sites) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
In this vicinity extended the Vial-Fragosa Trail blazed in 1788 by Pierre Vial and Francisco Xavier Fragosa on their way from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Natchitoches, Louisiana
A quarter mile north of this site is "Headache Springs," noted for its healing mineral waters.
The first passenger train arrived in this area on June 15, 1888 as part of Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad System at the site of an “old town” that would later become Casper, Wyoming. A depot was built after the tracks were extended from the “old town” at present “A” & McKinley streets, to the area of Center and Collins streets. By 1891, extra cars were added in order to handle the traffic involved with mining ventures on Casper Mountain. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley, or locally called Wyoming central Railroad, extended passenger service on to Shoshoni, Riverton, and Lander by 1906. The line eventually became part of the Chicago & North Western Railroad system. 
On April 9, 1889, application was made to have the town of Casper incorporated. John Merritt made the application in Rawlins, Wyoming since Casper was in Carbon County at that time. On July 8, 1889, Casper was incorporated and George Mitchell was elected as the town’s first Mayor. 
On this site in the year of 1904 the first hotel was opened in Lafayette as the Gordon Hotel. It was housed in this building and operated as a hotel through the 1950's.
Born here, Oct. 2, 1821: graduate USMA, 1842; resigned 1845,and a professor Cumberland U., and U. of Nashville until 1861. Appointed major, CSA, quickly advanced to brigadier general; Successively to corps command, Army of Tenn., and twice wounded. Chancellor, U. of Mississippi, 1874-1886, and a commissioner for creation of Chickamauga Military Park. He died in Biloxi, Miss., Aug. 30, 1908, and is buried in St. Louis.
Eadsville, a mining ghost town, is situated 12 miles due south of Casper on top of Casper Mountain. It was founded by Charles W. Eads in 1891 after he had staked a 600’ x 1,500’ mining claim around a large spring. Word had spread that large deposits of precious minerals were found — gold, silver, lead, and copper. Lots were sold in the town in 1891 - 1892, and about a dozen cabins were built. Foundations of three cabins still remain today. Some 40 to 50 people lived there hoping to find a bonanza of gold and silver. Some copper was mined, and traces of gold and silver were found. Asbestos and feldspar were economically mined. The “spar” is still being mined today after nearly 100 years. 
This beautiful stone home was built in 1800 by James Little (1769-1834), a local merchant, and remained in this family until 1853. It was purchased in 1860 by Robert Holiday (1809-1893), a leader in the Lutheran Church. His sister, Helen Holliday (1844-1887), conducted a primary school for children here for many years and was fondly regarded by her students. Later owners included a number of prominent Winchester citizens and leaders, such as William C. Graichen, City Councilman, Banker, and Mayor of Winchester (1902).
The Casper division of the Civilian Conservation Corps was arranged by the efforts of the Casper Chamber of Commerce in 1937. Work done by the C.C.C, on Casper Mountain and at Alcova consisted of building bridges, improving roads, and reducing fire hazards. Their work included ground clearance, fencing, establishing picnic sites, and setting up waste disposal area. The WPA finished the Fort Caspar buildings in 1936 but C.C.C. improved the parking area, created access roads and a needed dike on the river bank. The C.C.C. work proved a value to the community. Many corps workers stayed in the Casper area, marrying into the community and providing leadership in all aspects of the growth of the city. The Corps was established to help young men secure training and provide jobs for unemployment caused by the depression. The corps ceased to exist with the advent of World War II. Most of the men in the C.C.C. went on to serve their country with honor.
The summer of 1942 work was begun on an air base in the Casper area. In four months, four thousand workers constructed two hundred buildings, laid utility lines, built streets and laid out runways heavy enough for the largest military planes. On August 15, 1942, the first plane landed at the base. The official opening was on September 1, 1942. Major James A. Moore, a World War I veteran, was commanding officer. The base was built to handle four thousand military personnel. It became a training area for B-24 Liberators. A massive range was created to the west of the base for bombing practice. The air base was officially designated as the Casper Army Air Base. The base served as a training center until it was closed on March 7, 1945. The field became the Natrona County International Airport. This replaced the first airport, Wardwell Field. Many former base personnel stayed in the Casper area helping the city to prosper in the post-war years.
In 1889, with Ellen Gates Starr, Jane Addams founded Hull House in Chicago, one of the nation’s first settlement houses. It served as a community center for the poor and its success helped lead to the creation of hundreds of similar organizations in communities across the country. An active reformer throughout her career, Jane Addams was a leader in the women’s suffrage and pacifist movements and a recipient of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize.
Inspired by her social conscience, Dorothea Dix launched a self-financed career aimed at improving the lives of the mentally ill. Her mission to document squalid institutional living conditions and inhumane treatment built public awareness and redefined political thought, leading to better treatment practices.
In 1909, W.E.B. DuBois, a leading spokesman in the Campaign for racial equality, joined Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, William English Walling, John Milholland, Oswald Garrison Villard, Frances Blascoer and 54 other prominent Americans as founding officers of the NAACP. Both Ovington and DuBois served in crucial roles at the NAACP for decades, helping guide its policies and programs.
Luther and Charlotte Gulick founded Camp Fire in 1910 as America’s first nonsectarian, interracial organization for girls. Boys joining in 1975. The organization provided opportunities and real-life lessons seven areas key to successful childhood and adulthood: seeking beauty, giving service, pursuing knowledge, being trustworthy, holding onto health, glorifying work, and being happy.
Harriet Tubman escaped a life of slavery only to return south, at her own peril, time and again, to lead more than 300 fugitive slaves through the Underground Railroad to safety and freedom. After the Civil War, Tubman raised money to clothe and educate newly freed African-American children and established a home for and indigent African-Americans.
Ida Wells-Barnett crusaded aggressively for civil rights her entire life and was unafraid to exercise those rights when custom ran contrary to the law. Involved in many civil rights causes, she played leadership roles in the women’s suffrage movement and in the founding of the NAACP. Wells-Barnett became the era’s most outspoken crusader for ending the practice of lynching African-Americans.
The Ridgeley School was opened in 1927 as Colored School No.1 in Election District 13 in the African American community known as Ridgeley*. Named for a prominent local African American family, the Ridgeley School along with a church and society hall, were the focal points of the community. The school was a recipient of a Rosenwald Fund grant, one of nearly 5,000 schools built for African American children in the South.
7.9 miles north was the homestead of this pioneer, veteran of Lord Dunmore's War, and of the Revolution, originally from Botetourt County, Va. Among his descendants were Joseph Emerson Brown, governor of Georgia during the Civil War, and his son, Joseph Mackay Brown, also a governor. Looney is buried in the family cemetery.
Born in Surry (now Sussex) Co., Virginia, in 1734, he settled here in 1778, having been forcibly ejected from a homestead about 12 miles east by one Robert Young. The courts of Spencer County, State of Franklin, met in his house 1785-87. On June 4, 1787, the first county court of Hawkins County, North Carolina, met here. Gibbons died in 1811.
