Downtown walking tours allow look into city's rich historical background
By: Marie Leonard
Issue date: 10/1/09 Section: News
Throughout the month of October residents and visitors to Nacogdoches will have the opportunity to learn more about a few of the historical landmarks scattered throughout Nacogdoches. The Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau is offering downtown walking tours every Saturday in October, except for the weekend of SFA's Homecoming (Oct.23-25).
Some of the main stops on the tour include the Adolphus Sterne House, the Durst Taylor House and Gardens, the Old University Building and Milam Lodge. Other stops on the tour include: Oak Grove Cemetery, Zion Hill Baptist Church and the Caddo Indian burial mound. The tours begin at 10:30 a.m., and tickets are $2 and children under 12 are free. Tickets can be bought starting at 10 a.m. on the day of the tour at the Nacogdoches Visitor's Center.
According to Sherri Skeeters of the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, the walking tours have been going on for about ten years. "We wanted to offer guided walking tours for visitors, and since we were located downtown it made it easier," Skeeters said. The tour guides are all volunteers who go through a basic training and enjoy doing the walking tours. "Most of our guides are already interested in history and enjoy meeting new people," Skeeters said.
The tour guides will choose two out of the four main stops one Saturday and the other two the next week, in order to keep the tour under two hours. For the first tour on October 3, the tour guides will be stopping at the Durst Taylor House and Gardens and the Old University Building. On Oct. 10 the tour will focus on the Adolphus Sterne House and the Milam Lodge.
According to the brochure given out by the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitor's Bureau, there are 15 possible spots on the walking tour, all located in and around downtown Nacogdoches. Most of the stops include historic houses, churches and cemeteries that have been in Nacogdoches since the nineteenth century or before. An Indian Mound that has been around since approximately the year 1250 still contains Caddo artifacts, according to the brochure. Many of the homes on the tour also have ties to prominent Texas historical figures including Thomas J. Rusk and Sam Houston.
mleonard@thepinelog.com
Some of the main stops on the tour include the Adolphus Sterne House, the Durst Taylor House and Gardens, the Old University Building and Milam Lodge. Other stops on the tour include: Oak Grove Cemetery, Zion Hill Baptist Church and the Caddo Indian burial mound. The tours begin at 10:30 a.m., and tickets are $2 and children under 12 are free. Tickets can be bought starting at 10 a.m. on the day of the tour at the Nacogdoches Visitor's Center.
According to Sherri Skeeters of the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, the walking tours have been going on for about ten years. "We wanted to offer guided walking tours for visitors, and since we were located downtown it made it easier," Skeeters said. The tour guides are all volunteers who go through a basic training and enjoy doing the walking tours. "Most of our guides are already interested in history and enjoy meeting new people," Skeeters said.
The tour guides will choose two out of the four main stops one Saturday and the other two the next week, in order to keep the tour under two hours. For the first tour on October 3, the tour guides will be stopping at the Durst Taylor House and Gardens and the Old University Building. On Oct. 10 the tour will focus on the Adolphus Sterne House and the Milam Lodge.
According to the brochure given out by the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitor's Bureau, there are 15 possible spots on the walking tour, all located in and around downtown Nacogdoches. Most of the stops include historic houses, churches and cemeteries that have been in Nacogdoches since the nineteenth century or before. An Indian Mound that has been around since approximately the year 1250 still contains Caddo artifacts, according to the brochure. Many of the homes on the tour also have ties to prominent Texas historical figures including Thomas J. Rusk and Sam Houston.
mleonard@thepinelog.com
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