Discover 7 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Palestine (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Museum for East Texas Culture, First Presbyterian Church, and Howard House Museum. Also, be sure to include Sacred Heart Catholic Church and School in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Palestine (Texas).
Table of Contents
Museum for East Texas Culture
Museum in Palestine, Texas. The Museum for East Texas Culture is a museum in Reagan Park in Palestine, Texas.
The building was built in 1915 as Palestine High School. It opened in 1916 and graduated its first class in 1917. In 1939 it became a junior high school, and was named the Reagan School, after John H. Reagan, in 1955. It became an elementary school in 1966 and closed in 1976. It opened as the current museum in 1982. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as "Palestine High School" in 1986.[1]
Address: 400 S Micheaux St, 75801-3628 Palestine
First Presbyterian Church
Church in Palestine, Texas. First Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church at 410 Avenue A in Palestine, Texas.
Its congregation was organized in 1849, a year after Palestine was founded.
The Gothic Revival church building was built in 1887–88, and is the oldest church in Palestine continuously serving a congregation.
The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.[2]
Howard House Museum
Museum in Palestine, Texas. Howard House in Palestine, Texas was built in 1848 by Reuben A. Reeves, Texas State Supreme Court Justice, and justice of the Supreme Court of the New Mexico Territory. When Reeves moved away from Palestine in 1850, the house was purchased by local merchant George R. Howard. Attaining the rank of colonel from his service with the Tennessee State Militia, Howard also served with the Confederate States Army. As a civilian, Howard served in numerous state and local elected positions, including as mayor of Palestine. Upon the deaths of Howard and his wife, the house was inherited by their son Thomas S. Howard. The city of Palestine purchased the house as a museum in 1964. It was listed on the NRHP in 1993.
The Howard House Museum is owned by the city and furnished for a late 19th-century appearance. It is open for tours and special functions by appointment.[3]
Address: 1011 N Perry St, 75801-7751 Palestine
Sacred Heart Catholic Church and School
Catholic church in Palestine, Texas. Sacred Heart Catholic Church and School is a historic church and school at 503 North Queen Street in Palestine, Texas. It was designed by the prominent Texas architect Nicholas J. Clayton. It was built between 1890 and 1893 and replaced an earlier Catholic church that was destroyed by fire. It served the spiritual needs of the railroad workers stationed there in what was a large depot of the International–Great Northern Railroad. The railway deeded the site to Bishop Dubuis The bricks were locally made from mud from the Trinity River. It is the best example of Victorian Gothic architecture in North East Texas. Additional plots were acquired in the years after the church was built and a school and cemetery were added.
It was built in 1968 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[4]
Address: 503 N Queen St, 75801 Palestine
Anderson County Courthouse
Courthouse. The Anderson County Courthouse is an historic courthouse located at 1 Public Square in Palestine, Anderson County, Texas. The Beaux-Arts style building was built atop the highest hill in Palestine. Austin architects Charles Henry Page and Louis Charles Page designed the structure. It was built in 1913 and 1914 and dedicated on December 20, 1914, at a cost of approximately $250,000.
Anderson County was created by the Texas Legislature on March 24, 1846, and named for former Republic of Texas Vice-President Kenneth L. Anderson. The first Anderson County Courthouse was a one-story wood frame structure built in 1847. It was replaced by a two-story brick courthouse in 1856. The third courthouse, built of brick and completed in 1886, by noted Texas courthouse architect Wesley Clark Dodson (1829-1914) of Waco. It was destroyed by arson in 1913 purportedly to destroy incriminating documents. The current Anderson County Courthouse is the fourth structure to serve as the seat of Anderson County government. The courthouse uses a Beaux-Arts bi-axial arrangement with a rotunda crowned by an inner art glass dome with an outer dome surmounted by Lady Justice. The building is three stories with a raised basement. It is finished in brick, rock and terra cotta. The design includes projecting porticos with pediments on all four elevations each with six ionic columns.
The courthouse underwent major restoration in 1986 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 28, 1992.[5]
Address: 500 N Church St, 75801-2909 Palestine
Mount Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church
Mount Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic church at 913 East Calhoun Street in Palestine, Texas. It is the third oldest AME church in Texas. The church was organized by freedmen in the early 1870s. The congregation originally worshiped at a church that it shared with Missionary Baptist Church. In 1878 the church bought 2.2 acres at its present location and constructed a wood-frame structure in 1885. In 1921 the structure was razed and a new church designed in a Gothic vernacular style was built. The church's two front bell towers are typical of the AME faith-based churches of the 1920s. Mount Vernon was the first church to introduce Palestine to integrated low-income apartment housing. In 1968 a 100-unit apartment housing project was erected at 2020 Sterne Avenue. In 1986 the church was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
In 1988 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The church closed its doors in 2014. In 2015, Mount Vernon was placed on Preservation Texas' Most Endangered places list.
The building is brick with Gothic Revival details.[6]
Dogwood Junction Family Fun Park
Relax in park, Park, Game and entertainment center, Amusement park
Address: 555 E Palestine Ave, 75801-7745 Palestine