A History of Jefferson County, Texas

{This is my first book, which was published in 1976.  We are in the process of scanning the book into the computer and placing the entire contents on the web (the original was done the old fashioned way -- on a typewriter).  The completed chapters have links in the Table of Contents.  As new chapters are added, the Table of Contents will be updated with new links.  Similarly, the Table of Illustrations will be updated as new illustrations are added.}

Table of Contents

Chapters

I.          The Geophysical Description

II.         The Aboriginal Inhabitants

III.       Spanish and French Activities

IV.       Filibustering, Piracy, and the African Slave Trade

V.        Mexico and the Anglo-American Pioneers

VI.       Early Town-Building and Government

VII.      Early Transportation and Commerce

VIII.     Personal Glimpses

IX.       Early Industry and Businesses

X.         Early Agriculture

XI.       The Early Livestock Industry

XII.      Early Religion, Education, and Social Interaction

XIII.     Ethnic Groups and the Antebellum Social Complex

XIV.     Jefferson County and the Civil War:
The Road to Gettysburg, 1861-1863

XV.      Jefferson County and the Civil War:
The Road to Appomattox, 1863-1865

Table of Illustrations

First Courthouse, 1854

1892 Courthouse

Present Courthouse

Indian Artifacts

Attakapas Oil Jug

Valentine Wiess

Abel Coffin, Jr.

William McFaddin

George W. Smyth, Sr.

Major Felix McReynolds

Captain Charles Fowler

Colonel Leon Smith

Steamboat Laura

Captain George W. O’Brien

Sarah Courts King

James M. Long

Frank L. Carroll

William A. Fletcher

David R. Wingate

Colonel Julius Kellersberg

Lt. Joseph Chastine

Neal McGaffey, Jr.

John Fletcher Pipkin

Simon Wiess

Otis McGaffey

J.  Biddle Langham

Jef Chaison

John W. Keith

Joseph A. Brickhouse

K. D. and Mary Jane Keith

Kate Dorman

Lt. Richard W. Dowling

Map of Fort Griffin