Posted 2:47 am Friday, September 25, 2009
Half Mile Of History Adds Five More Stones
By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer
Three people, a library and college were honored Thursday with Half Mile of History stones in downtown Tyler.
Staff Writer
Three people, a library and college were honored Thursday with Half Mile of History stones in downtown Tyler.
More than 30 people attended the ceremony in Gallery Main Street, where family members and representatives of the honorees stood by during the "giant unveiling" of the stones for Sidney Earl Palmer, Charles Evans Coleman, Samuel Asbury Lindsey, Tyler Public Library and Texas College.
"It's great to see such a tremendous turnout for our newest Half Mile of History presentation," Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass said. She said it was the largest number of stones they've unveiled at one time.
The Half Mile of History is comprised of permanent markers in a half-mile loop surrounding the downtown square. The stones pay tribute to people, places and events that have contributed to the history of Tyler and Smith County.
Mayor Bass said the program was wonderful. "Only by knowing where we came from do we know where we're going," she said.
PALMER
City Councilman Donald Sanders made a presentation about Sidney Earl Palmer, whom Sanders knew.
Palmer was the first person to build his home on the newly developed Frankston Highway, also known as Texas Highway 155. The area, located a few blocks from South Vine Avenue, only had electricity and Palmer worked to get water and sewage services to the area.
Palmer also worked to achieve integrated schools in the Tyler Independent School District.
Palmer played an instrumental role in the creation of single-member Districts 2 and 3, which gave minorities the opportunity to be elected to the Tyler City Council.
Palmer completed his high school education at Prairie View Normal Academy and graduated in 1931 with a bachelor's degree in vocational agriculture. In 1947, he graduated Colorado Agricultural & Mechanical College with a master's degree in vocational education.
Recently, a portion of Highway 155 was renamed the S.E. Palmer Memorial Highway.
COLEMAN
City Preservation Officer Heather Nick made a presentation about Charles Evans Coleman, who was the first licensed black man to practice law in Tyler and Smith County. He served as a lawyer, mentor, teacher and activist.
Coleman encouraged non-voting blacks to vote and helped organize North Tyler Voter's League. He served as president until the organization dissolved.
Coleman and other businessmen owned property on the east side of the downtown square. The current jail sits on some of the property.
Coleman was born Nov. 8, 1916, in Ennis and attended Ennis Colored High School, Texas College and Lincoln University Law School in St. Louis. He received a 50-year pin from the Texas Bar Association.
LINDSEY
Planning and Zoning Director Barbara Holly talked about Judge Samuel Asbury Lindsey, who she said was known as a man of vision and was driven by his thirst for knowledge.
Lindsey was born in 1863 in Louisiana. He settled in Tyler as a tenant farmer in 1869. Lindsey completed his degree in one year at the Sam Houston Normal Institute in Huntsville. At 20, he started teaching school in Lindale and began his law career.
He was elected to one term in the Texas House of Representatives in 1890. Ten years later he was elected county judge of Smith County.
Through Lindsey's work with Southwestern Telephone and Telegraph Co. came the Gulf States Telephone Co. He served as president of the company for 50 years.
He was chairman of the Peoples Bank from 1913 to 1955 and was instrumental in erecting a 15-story bank building, which was the largest building in East Texas at that time.
Lindsey earned the honorary title of "Father of the Federal Land Banks," largely due to his appointment to a commission by President Woodrow Wilson which led to the establishment of 12 federal land banks.
PUBLIC LIBRARY
Tyler Librarian Chris Albertson talked about the Tyler Public Library, which has served citizens for 110 years at four locations along College Avenue.
Opening on April 1, 1898, with 235 books, the library has grown to nearly 200,000 items. Albertson said the library has more than 20,000 registered borrowers and sees more than 1,000 people per week.
Albertson said they are honored to have the library commemorated with the stone.
The library was first located at the northwest corner of the square on space donated by A.E. Judge, owner of the Tyler Electric Co. The first paid librarian was attorney Charles V. Johnson. At the time, the collection was supported by a $1-per-card fee and fundraisers.
The library eventually moved a short distance to a room at City Hall, where it became a city department. A Carnegie Library building, opened in 1904, three blocks south at the northwest corner of College and Elm.
In 1980, the current 50,000-square-foot building across the street opened. The library has nearly 20,000 cardholders.
TEXAS COLLEGE
Main Street Department Director Beverly Abell Texas said College was established in January 1894 by the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church as a college in liberal arts.
"I think we all thank Texas College for the heritage it has led" in Tyler, she said.
It is the oldest institution of higher learning in Tyler. The school was founded less than 30 years after the abolition of slavery and one of its beginning goals was to educate the children of former slaves.
The school began with six students and one teacher in a four-room residence. Texas College received its official charter in 1907.
Texas College is under auspices of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1944, Texas College became a charter member of United Negro College Fund.
In 2006, four buildings on the campus were designated Tyler Historic Landmarks: J.C. Martin Hall, the President's House, Gus F. Taylor Gymnasium and the D.R. Glass Library.
