Showing posts with label East Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label East Texas. Show all posts

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Take a Trip to Scottsville Cemetery in Harrison County Texas

Victorian fencing and magnolias: Scottsville cemetery
With an urge to get out of town for a few hours, Steve and I piled into the Jeep this morning and headed for East Texas.

Steve has had an urge to visit an old general store in Jonesville, TX (that's another post to come) and so we headed west on Highway 80 (we don't like interstate) and overshooting Jonesville by several miles, we ended up first in Scottsville, Texas, which  is about five miles east of Marshall in Harrison County, Texas. There's not much to Scottsville and at its best only boasted about 300 people. What's notable these days about the place is the stunning cemetery there on Farm Road 1998.

The town of Scottsville was founded by William Thomas Scott who was born in Mississippi in 1811; his father, Thomas Scott, was a planter who fought heroically in the Battle of New Orleans. He sustained wounds from which he would never recover and died in 1823. His son, William Thomas Scott, went to work in a store in Mississippi which enabled him to prove himself, enter into a partnership with the owner of that store, and to save enough money to buy land. He married and brought his bride to Texas in 1840 where he founded Scottsville.

William Thomas Scott established five cotton plantations and he built a home that reportedly was modeled after Beauvoir, the home of Jefferson Davis in Mississippi. He was a proponent of the railroad and had an active legislative career, serving in the House of Representatives for the Republic of Texas, the state Senate, and in 1861 he was a member of the Secession Convention.

During the Civil War, it is reported that his plantation provided provisions for the Confederate troops.

Scott and his wife had perhaps ten children and the eighth was a daughter,  Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Scott who would eventually marry a fellow named Peter (Pete) Youree who was born and educated in Missouri. When the War Between the States broke out, Pete Youree was 17 years old; he volunteered to serve with Company A of Shelby's Missouri cavalry in 1861. He was wounded two times, once at Shiloh and once at Helena; by the end of the war he was captain of Company I, Slayback's regiment, Missouri Rifles.

Youree was honorably discharged from the war in Shreveport where he stayed and in 1870 he married Betty Scott. The Yourees began to establish themselves in Shreveport and Pete worked as a clerk, saved his money, invested wisely, and eventually established the electric streetcar system in Shreveport and he worked as Vice-President and later President, of Commercial National Bank. He was also instrumental in building the McNeil Pumping Station: Shreveport's waterworks, which is a fascinating museum to visit today.

Pete and Betty had two children, one son and one daughter, William Scott Youree (1872-1904) and  Susan Rose Youree (1881-1974). The son, William Scott Youree, died mysteriously in Monterrey Mexico which naturally devastated the family.

Betty was elected President of the Shreveport Chapter #237 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1898, a position which she held for two years, and then was re-elected as President of the organization in 1904 and served until 1926.

Pete Youree was obviously a supporter of the Confederacy and he donated a monument to the UDC which stands in Greenwood Cemetery in Shreveport. That monument is similar to this monument that stands at the entrance of the Scottsville cemetery although the engraving is different, of course.

Confederate Monument: Scottsville Cemetery

The Greenwood cemetery monument names Youree as the benefactor while the Scottsville monument lists the names of the family's Confederate dead on one side...

Confederate monument: Scottsville

...and the other:

Confederate monument: Scottsville
And this inscription:

Confederate monument: Scottsville

Both were by Frank Teich and both have the lone soldier with arms at rest at the top.

Youree had an apparent love for statuary and classic art. The cemetery at Scottsville is a testament to that. The cemetery is filled with beautiful monuments and sculpture as well as a stunning chapel built in the memory of his son.

Youree Chapel: Scottsville

As beautiful as the chapel is, what most people seem drawn to is the weeping angel statue, entitled Grief, or sometimes called Weeping Angel.

Weeping Angel: Scottsville

Her arm is broken and she needs cleaning, but my goodness she is something to see.

She was sculpted by artist Frank Teich from Llano, Texas who also created many, many of the Confederate monuments in this area, including the stunning monument in front of the Caddo Parish Courthouse.

The angel is ten-feet tall and carved from Carrara marble from Italy. She reportedly cost $40,000 in 1904.

Weeping Angel: Scottsville cemetery


The cemetery is filled with beautiful sculpture:

Scottsville cemetery
A closer look:

Scottsville cemetery

...and monuments:

Scottsville cemetery

But that angel!


There are some tragic mysteries too - I was struck by these three tiny graves. Infant children - two died at age two and one at age 3.

Scottsville cemetery

There are many Confederate graves there, most marked with the First National Flags, likely from a recent Confederate Memorial Day event.


The cemetery has many other beautiful pieces of statuary and is quite old. The landscape is beautiful, atop a hill and filled with hardwoods, walnut trees, and magnolias.



It's worth the short drive from Shreveport to visit the Scottsville Cemetery.


Bibliography:
Eric Brock: Shreveport Chronicles
Texas Escapes: Scottsville, Texas
Texas State Historical Association: William Thomas Scott Biography


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The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
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Monday, May 13, 2013

Take a Spontaneous Mother's Day Trip To Jefferson, Texas

Yesterday was just too gorgeous to stay inside.  I've been fighting off a cold and sinus infection for a few days and haven't felt up to par but I just couldn't stay on the couch with such a great top-down day in progress.

So, we pulled the top down on the Jeep and hit the road with no particular destination in mind.  We ended up in Jefferson, Texas.  It's only about 45 minutes or so from here yet it feels like you're far, far away.

I've posted a million times about Jefferson trips so I won't bore you with the same old pictures.  I really wanted a chance to try out my new camera though.  (I cracked the old Kodak Easy Share on the recent trip to Frisco.)   I upgraded to a Canon Rebel T3i; it's probably more camera than I really need for what I do, but I'm going give it a shot.  I really wanted an SLR so that's why I went that direction.  I have a lot to learn about it, though.  First think I want to figure out is why the pictures are not in order on my removable data card.  They're all mixed up.  And not all the pictures I took are on their; I probably didn't operate the shutter correctly.  It's a steep learning curve for this auto-everything kid.

Anyway, we stopped on the way over at the Texas welcome center to pick up some literature that might inspire us to new day trip destinations.


We picked up a bag full of brochures and guides, bought a coke, and got back on the road.


Once in Jefferson we wandered into a couple of shops and meandered around town for a while.  I covet all this Jadeite.


That ball pitcher in the back?  Only $600.00.  Yea, so, it's still there.

This same store sells heavenly fudge and they even make some flavors in a sugar free version:



It's also the store where I get my dark chocolate covered espresso beans!



We headed over to The Excelsior House, our favorite hotel in Jefferson, because we wanted to make reservations for a date in June when Soulfish Blues Band will be playing at Auntie Skinner's. We walked right up to the desk and reserved our favorite room without a hitch.  That just doesn't happen, okay.  I mean, that room is always booked far in advance, especially during June.  We felt very lucky!

Here's a shot of the lobby:


At The Excelsior, when you check in, they give you a room key (which is a real key, not a plastic card!) and a key to the front door of the hotel; they lock the door at nine or so.

This is the courtyard at The Excelsior; our favorite room is that one on the left with all the windows; it has a sun room with a wooden screen door that opens onto the courtyard.


To celebrate our good luck we went a couple of doors down to Auntie Skinner's for a cool beverage.


We met some nice folks while sitting at the bar.  Auntie Skinner's is loaded with atmosphere and good people come there.


After commiserating about the lack of IPAs at Skinners, our new friends encouraged us to stop by The Cork Yard which has been open for about a year.  It was very good advice!


It was just about the perfect place to be on a spring Sunday afternoon.  If you were hungry you could have boiled crawfish or order off the menu.  Two pages of the menu was just beer!

I tried two different IPAs; I preferred the second one:


The proprietor of the place was very friendly and welcoming.  He ran up and greeted everyone that came in.  There was live music and he got up and sang a couple of songs with them and recited a poem!


It was a grand, spur of the moment trip and we will definitely re-visit The Cork Yard!  Can't wait for June to get here!

And yes, I still have that cold I've been fighting but at least being sick was a little more fun in Jefferson, Texas.



The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
Take a Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Oktoberfest at BAFB
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Monday, May 6, 2013

Take a Trip Along East Texas Back Roads

East Texas has the most spectacular wildflowers this time of year!

Steve and I headed over to Frisco, Texas this weekend where my daughter and her husband have just moved into their new house.  

Confession time:  If there is really a phobia about being in heavy traffic then I've got it.  I was in a car accident years ago (probably 15 years ago!) where a lady ran a stop sign onto a busy highway and I just T-boned her.  It was totally unavoidable on my part, and ever since then I've been totally phobic about riding as a passenger in heavy traffic.  It doesn't seem as bad if I'm doing the driving but I still avoid heavy traffic.

Anyway, before my daughter and her husband moved to Frisco, Steve and I had our route to their house in Garland figured out so that I didn't come too unglued.  When they moved to Frisco, we studied the maps and figured out I'd have to ride on the back floor board if we were to get there without me coming unglued! 

But lo and behold, we figured out a back-roads way to get there and I was happy as a clam.  (Are clams really happy?  Where did that expression come from?)  

We love the back roads anyway and seldom take major highways when we go on all these little day trips.  We prefer the scenery on the back roads.  



At any rate, we took I-20 to Tyler (which isn't bad and doesn't scare me once we get out of town) and then turned off on Highway 69 through Lindale, Mineola and a host of other tiny towns.  Then we took 380 west to Frisco - easy as could be!

Back to the wildflowers.  Texas is known for the bluebonnets and they are already blooming along the roadsides but I fell in love with the Huisache daisy!  They were stunning!  


Steve loved the orange Indian Paintbrushes.  


Now contrary to public opinion, it is not illegal to pick the wildflowers, but most people, out of consideration and common sense, do not.  There is a law against trespassing, of course, and against digging up clumps of flowers.

After stopping to admire the flowers alongside I-20 we made our way to Lindale.  The town's current claim to fame seems to be that it's the hometown of country star Miranda Lambert.    Miss Lambert has a store there and her wine label, Red 55, is sold in a store on the main drag through town.  We stopped in and looked around, but not being Miranda fans per se, or wine fans exactly, we were out of our element.  It is, apparently, a very popular stop though.

We were hungry so we looked for a local place with lots of cars.  We stopped at Petty's Steak and Catfish on Main Street.  


I like the kind of place that when you walk in people stop and look up from their plates to see who is coming in.  That means they're regulars, they eat there often, and they all know each other.  Locals.  That's a good sign.  

I ordered the chicken fried steak (what in the world else would you order in Texas for crying out loud!?) and it was wonderful.



Steve went for the chopped sirloin.  We both had okra and tomatoes.  Without sounding too much like Robert Irvine, let me just say that everything on the plate was fresh, not canned, and perfectly seasoned.  We met the owner's mom in the parking lot outside as she was coming in.  We visited for a few minutes and she shared some of her recipe secrets with us, especially dessert recipes!  

Petty's is a great place to eat and even if you don't go the back roads like we do, it's not far off the interstate and well worth the detour.  It's much better than the greasy hamburger chains along the way.

Not far at all from Lindale was Mineola.  Call me sheltered, but I never knew about this little east Texas treasure.  I'll definitely be back in Mineola! (Click on the photo to enlarge).



On this particular stop they were having their May Days carnival in the historic downtown area.



There was a fun house for the kids:


Carnival games:


And I almost came home with Daisy:


What a sweet, precious puppy she is!  I hope she found a good, forever home Saturday.  It broke my heart to have to leave her behind.

But the main reason I'll head back to Mineola is that there is an antique shop everywhere you turn.


We had to move quickly because we really needed to get on to Frisco, but we did run into this huge antique barn:


Inside, you could buy a nifty camera:


Or stock your vintage kitchen:


There's a little railroad museum there that I'd like to visit.  Steve had his picture made as Mr. Conductor:


But here is the museum (or part of it):


Mineola has plenty of quaint, historic buildings in the downtown area:


The Beckham Hotel is now a private residence and I'm fascinated with it.  Apparently this fellow bought it, tried to restore it and put it back into service, then abandoned the idea when he realized he was "a poor host" and that nobody wanted to stay in "an old antique hotel."  (I do!).  Read the story here.

I'd love to see the inside.

Another great building is the old Henry Hotel:


It houses a coffee house now but you can still see the advertising on the side of the building:


And the entrance:


We finally got to Frisco, found the new house, and spent the rest of the afternoon with my daughter, her husband, and our grandson who turns one year old on July 4.  I'd show you his picture but his parents are very private and would prefer he not be plastered all over the internet; I totally respect that.  Suffice to say that he's the cutest, most adorable little fella in Texas!

My daughter and I headed into Dallas to see Wicked, which I'd never seen.  I was blown away; I totally loved it!  One of my favorite songs from the production is here (no embed!).  I bought a Wicked t-shirt!  Love it!  We had wicked good seats, too!


It was a grand affair, to be sure!  After breakfast and more visiting Sunday morning, we left a little early because the happy homeowners still had plenty of unpacking and settling in to do.  They'll be working at that for a while!

On our way home on Sunday Steve and I stopped in Mineola and ate at the East Texas Burger Company downtown.  


It was very good.  Next time I'm going to try one of the fried pies!

We also stopped at a roadside plant and vegetable stand right outside of Alba, Texas:  Pickett's Plants and Produce. 


We met a real friendly proprietor and his grandson and bought some flowers and veggies.



The flowers were gorgeous and I bought some pretty yellow perennials:



We finally made our way back to Shreveport, unloaded the car, and put one more road trip in the books.

I'm thrilled with my back roads route to Frisco, and look forward to doing it again soon.  We have yet another route we've yet to try as well, so who knows, maybe next time we will try that one!

East Texas is just lovely and I'm a pure sucker for quaint little towns.  We did not meet one, single unfriendly soul all along the way.  People stopped to talk to you, to visit like you were an old, long lost friend.  

And you know what everyone is talking about?


I'm not kidding.  When they find out you're from Louisiana, they want to know if you know "the Duck Dynasty people."  

Maybe we need to take a road trip to West Monroe next time!

The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
Take a Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Oktoberfest at BAFB
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