My great-great-great grandfather moved from Tennessee to Anderson County Texas in 1854. He purchased a "league and a labor" (about 5000 plus acres)of land in the western part of the county on the Trinity River and established his plantation. The labor was provided by over a hundred slaves brought with him from Tennessee. By 1860, Frederick Stith Jackson was one of the wealthiest men in Texas. He died, perhaps of consumption, in 1863 and his fortune was decimated by the War Between the States. Our family likes to believe that he was a benevolent slave owner because much of the land was given, sold, or share-cropped by former slaves and the descendants of slaves. Well into the 20th century, the old plantation lands were known locally as "the nigger land" due to large number of black farmers in the area. (Sorry for the racial slang word, but's that's what it was called and I can't change history). Many of the old-time black families left during the Great Depression and World War II, but a few are still there and can trace their lineages back to "Slavery Times".
Fred Stith mainly lived in the town of Palestine, 18 miles from the plantation. The road on which he lived is now Jackson Street. He also had a plantation house near the Trinity River. The family still owns this tract consisting of about 400 acres. The plantation house burned in the 19th century. In the early years of the 20th century a cabin was constructed near the original site and it serves as the center of the universe for the Jackson descendants. Nearly a hundred people own the land in "undivided interest"....which is a real nightmare when it comes to keeping the property taxes straight!!
My wife Pam and grandson Boone at the
"Jackson Oak", as we refer to it in our family. This oak is in the middle of a county road----I'm glad it was too big to cut down!
This tree was probably living when my ancestors came to Texas in 1854. We have a disease here called "Sudden Oak Decline" or "SAD" which kills oaks in a season. So far this one has been spared and hopefully will live to see the 22nd century or longer
Walking around the land the "Grandpa" way. This is Boone's favorite way to travel. At 40 pounds now and growing every day, I'll have to give it up soon.
The old fields have gone fallow and overgrown with brush.
This old cabin was built in the first decade of the 20th century and it is a miracle it is still standing. We call it "The Den". It is an almost-sacred place to many of the family members, but its importance diminishes with each passing generation.
Near The Den are the remnants of a sharecopper's cabin. This is the only one of several that used to be on the place. This was actually inhabited until the Depression and was later used as a wagon shed.
This is what's left of the fire pit and cooking pan.
There is Chattanooga Plow Works Syrup Mill #13 still on the very site where it was used to make ribbon cane and sorghum syup. These mills were made from 1883 until 1919. Near a spring (now under a beaver-created swamp), the syrup mill was a gathering place for people (mostly black farmers) to make syrup. I was told by an elderly black man that it was active up til WW II. After that, it was used only a few times, and according to a cousin's memories was last used in the early 1950's. I have been informed that it could be rebuilt into operating condition. I think it should be in a museum....after all, a 2-mule syrup mill is not something you see everyday!
