McConaughey Sails Through Greenlights
Longview native Matthew McConaughey recently released his book, Greenlights, based on a diary he kept for 35 years, including his years at Longview High School. Rather than doing a traditional memoir or advice book, McConaughey said Greenlights is based on adventures...
Mary Kate Hunter Fought For Women
By Lisa Tang Mary Kate Hunter, born November 8, 1866, at Brushy Creek, Texas, pursued many interests, including poetry, history, and music, yet she’s best remembered for leading efforts to found the Palestine Carnegie Library (1914) and helping women gain the right to...
Trailblazing With Cattle Baron John Chisum, Sweet Jensie, and Their Descendants
By P.A. Geddie Pioneer cattle baron John Simpson Chisum was born August 16, 1824, in Tennessee. His family moved to Red River County, Texas, when he was a boy. His father, Claiborne Chisum — a public-spirited and wealthy man — was probably the earliest settler in...
Animals Live Freely at Black Beauty Ranch
By Lisa Tang Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas, is the “Ranch of Dreams” for hundreds of animals rescued from abuse, neglect, and the exotic pet trade. The residents receive proper food, shelter, veterinary care, and love, making their lives safe...
A Woman’s Voice
By Tracy Torma This summer marks the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. The women’s suffrage movement began in earnest in the decades before the Civil War. In 1848, a group of abolitionist activists of mostly women gathered in Seneca Falls, New...
Freedom Fund Honors Lulu White
Just a week before she died on July 6, 1957, Lulu Belle Madison White was honored with the establishment of the Lulu White Freedom Fund by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She made significant contributions to help balance equal...
Remnants of Freedom
By Pamela Edwards Some might find their great grandmothers’ quilts harbor more history than they know. What was once thought of as an innocent pastime for modest women might have actually been part of a paradigm-shifting movement. Through meticulous quilting patterns...
Samuel Countee’s Paintings Continue To Inspire
Samuel Albert Countee was born in Marshall, Texas, on April 1, 1909, and eventually emerged as one of the nation’s most inspiring young artists of the 1930s. While in Booker T. Washington Hi School in Houston, he displayed the heartfelt passion for African-American...
How Long Since You’ve Had Wolf Brand Chili?
In 1895, 16-year-old Lyman T. Davis appeared on the Streets of Corsicana Texas, and began selling his "ranch" chili from the back of a wagon in front of the Blue Front Saloon. Although no one knew it at the time, Davis was beginning an odyssey that would lead to the...
Jefferson Tours Give Visitors A Look Back in Time
By Judy Peacock There are many ways to tour historic Jefferson, Texas, a pre-Civil War town with scenic streets, charming restaurants, quaint bed and breakfasts, historic hotels, and picturesque landscapes. The town was founded in Marion County in the late 1830s to...
Get the Best Crowds to Your Next Event
By P.A. Geddie Planning and implementing events is a passion of mine that started as a child. My little brother and the other kids in my neighborhood were often the "crowd" for my productions of backyard carnivals, theatrical performances, bug clubs, and sing-a-longs....
The Fredonia Hotel
By Judy Peacock and P.A. Geddie When Richard and Barbara DeWitt spent $18 million renovating the old Fredonia Hotel in downtown Nacogdoches a couple of years ago they knew they were bringing it back more hip and haute than ever. Inside and out, the six-story...
Coming Summer 2025
County Line Magazine archives are going to The Portal to Texas History, a gateway to rare, historical, and primary source materials from or about Texas. Look for the County Line issues there soon.