Passin' through Carthage and Henderson

I got up very early today, and with my car as time machine, I headed for Carthage, and Texas' past. As I pulled into old Carthage, this demanded my attention:
Carthage wasn't named for the foreign city, but for Carthage, Mississippi. It became the county seat (Panola County) in l884 when Jonathan Anderson donated 100 acres for the townsite.

There was an old, downtown square, but it wasn't particularly noteworthy or photoworthy. I snapped this cool novelty store window display just to take a picture of something:

Just as I was about to give up on Carthage, I turned to walk down a sidestreet, and (I nearly cried out):

People take their country music very seriously in these here parts. Yessir (spits). Carthage is home to the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. "Gentleman Jim" Reeves was born there in 1924. Tex Ritter (father of John) was also born very near Carthage, in Panola County.

I could have returned home, very happy, after getting those shots of the Esquire Theater, but decided to head west, for Henderson.

The town was named for the first governor of Texas, James Pinckney Henderson, in 1843. A fire in 1860 destroyed most of the commercial buildings, and no doubt slowed down its growth.


an old Fordson tractor
Now boarded up and empty, important things must have happened there at one time. The picture, below and left, is a side view.







If you liked these, perhaps you'd like my photoblog or flickr sets?