Gilmer

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. This is the story of Gilmer, Texas. Founded in 1846, and named for a man worth remembering: Thomas W.

Gilmer, United States Secretary of the Navy, and, by all accounts, an ardent champion of annexation for Texas. Now that's a name with some weight behind it. A secretary of the Navy who fought to bring Texas into the fold.

The town carries that legacy right there in its name, every single day. Then came the Civil War, and Gilmer did not sit idle. This was a supply center, a training ground, a production hub, an educational center, all at once.

A lot was asked of this corner of East Texas, and a lot was delivered. After the war, Gilmer kept building. Farming took root.

Lumbering shaped the land. Oil made its mark. Three industries that between them tell the story of so much of Texas, and Gilmer sat right in the middle of all three.

But here is where the story takes a turn that nobody could have predicted back in 1846. Of all the things that would put Gilmer on the map, of all the legacies a town named for a Navy secretary and forged in wartime might leave behind, it is the sweet potato that gets the last word. Gilmer is home to the Annual Yamboree, the Sweet Potato Festival.

And honestly, in Texas, that is not a small thing. That is a destination. So here you have it: a town with a statesman's name, a soldier's history, a worker's backbone, and a festival that draws folks in for the humble, glorious sweet potato.

Gilmer, Texas. Founded 1846. Still going strong.

What the marker says

Founded 1846. Named for Thomas W. Gilmer, U. S. Secretary of the Navy and ardent champion of annexation for Texas. Supply, training, production and educational center during the Civil War. Farming, lumbering and oil hub. Home of famous Annual Yamboree, Sweet Potato Festival.