DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Tyler County, Texas — straight from the record, with a little road-trip air under it. Now, before Tyler County had a name, before it had a courthouse or a sheriff or even a decent fence post, this stretch of deep East Texas was home ground. Home ground to civilized tribes of Indians, living in the thick of what folks would later call the Big Thicket — that dense, cathedral tangle of pine and hardwood that doesn't apologize for itself to anybody.
The outside world came knockin' in 1756, when Spanish explorers pushed through. They weren't exactly on a sightseeing tour. They were trying to keep French trading expeditions out of Texas, and this land sat right in the middle of that argument.
Crossroads country, even then. Then comes 1831, and right here on this ground they planted Fort Teran. Commanded by a man named Colonel Ellis Peter Bean — and the marker doesn't just call him a colonel, it calls him a famous and colorful adventurer.
Now, you don't get called famous and colorful on an official historical marker by livin' a quiet life. That's all the marker tells us about Bean, and frankly, that's enough to make you wonder. Fast-forward to 1846.
The county is created and organized, and it needed a name. They went straight to the top — President John Tyler, the man who signed the resolution to annex Texas to the United States. That's how you get your name on a county.
Now, a county needs a seat, and a leading early settler named Josiah Wheat donated a two-hundred-acre plot to serve as one. Two hundred acres, just given over. The new town needed a name too, and they called it Woodville — named for George T.
Wood, who had sponsored the bill in the First Legislature of Texas that created the county in the first place. The marker notes, almost as an aside, that Wood later served as Governor of Texas, from 1847 to 1849. So the man who helped birth the county went on to lead the whole state.
Not a bad career arc. And then somebody had to actually run things. The first county officials are there in the record, every one of them: William P.
Sansour as chief justice; Ezekiel Green, George Kirkwood, Angelina Parker, and Ivy Taylor as commissioners; James Sapp as sheriff; James Barclay as tax assessor and collector; J. Dobb and William Gray as justices of the peace; Harmon Frazier, surveyor; and John C. Arnett, treasurer.
Those are the names that held the county together when it was brand new. By 1966, when this marker was set down, the roster had grown and changed, as rosters do. County judge Jeff R.
Mooney. Commissioners Joe I. Best, F.
C. Hicks, Leon Fowler, and H. H.
Powell. J. F.
Boyd as treasurer. Tom Sawyer — yes, Tom Sawyer — as county clerk. A.
L. Thornton handling taxes. Clyde E.
Smith, Jr., county attorney. Grady Ray, sheriff. B.
M. Minter overseeing the county schools. Hilda Coats as district clerk.
And justices of the peace Joe H. Loggins, E. E.
Sheffield, Clarence Woodrome, and L. L. Parrish.
Different names, same county. Still deep in the Big Thicket. Economy running on timber, oil, and livestock.
And every spring, the Dogwood Festival comes around, because in Tyler County, even the trees know how to put on a show. From Spanish explorers to Fort Teran to Josiah Wheat's donated acres — this county didn't just happen. It accumulated, layer by layer, right here in the crossroads of East Texas.
What the marker says
(Crossroads to East Texas) Home ground of civilized tribes of Indians. Visited 1756 by Spanish explorers, who were trying to keep French trading expeditions out of Texas. Site in 1831 of Fort Teran, commanded by Colonel ellis Peter Bean, famous and colorful adventurer. The county was created an organized in 1846. It was named for President John Tyler, who signed the resolution to annex Texas to the United States. A 200-acre plot for a county seat was donated by a leading early settler, Josiah Wheat. It was named "Woodville" for George T. Wood, sponsor of the bill in the First Legislature of Texas which created the county. (Wood later served as Governor of Texas, from 1847 to 1849.) In the "Big Thicket." Home of the annual Dogwood Festival. Economy is based on timber, oil, livestock. First county officials: William P. Sansour, chief justice; Ezekiel Green, George Kirkwood, Angelina Parker, Ivy Taylor, commissioners; James Sapp, sheriff; James Barclay, tax assessor and collector; J. Dobb and William Gray, justices of the peace; Harmon Frazier, surveyor; John C. Arnett, treasurer. 1966 county officials: Jeff R. Mooney, county judge; Joe I. Best, F. C. Hicks, Leon Fowler, H. H. Powell, commissioners; J. F. Boyd, treasurer; Tom Sawyer, county clerk; A. L. Thornton, tax assessor & collector; Clyde E. Smith, Jr., county attorney; Grady Ray, sheriff; B. M. Minter, county school superintendent; Hilda Coats, district clerk; Joe H. Loggins, E. E. Sheffield, Clarence Woodrome, L. L. Parrish, justices of the peace.