1. Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Ceremony held March 31, 2010.

In 1908, the Reverend Ed King and Reverend Perry Ware called a group of dedicated persons to organize a church and the King’s Church was born. The congregation gathered under the trees in the open air and grew steadily from 1908 to 1930 when the first wooden building was erected. The church name was then changed to Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church. The original building was demolished and the present structure was built in 1933. In 1991, the congregation bricked the outside of the church. The original bell that was used to call the congregation together still works.

The Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church has made countless contributions to east Tyler and remains a vibrant, growing congregation.

2. Henry M. Morgan, Ceremony held July 26, 2010.

Henry M. Morgan was born in Smith County, Texas. Mr. Morgan furthered his education at East Texas Academy, later named Butler College. He received a LLB degree from Summerville Law College, Dallas, Texas, and also studied at Wiley College.

Mr. Morgan was actively and politically involved in various organizations including organizing the H. M. Morgan Lodge, serving as Exalted Ruler; President of the Tyler Chapter of the NAACP; Vice President of the 1936 Tyler Negro Chamber of Commerce, and elected chairman of East Texas District at the State Republican Convention, San Antonio, Texas.

Mr. Morgan worked at Star Barber Shop as a barber and an entrepreneur in dry cleaning, construction and radio repair.

He was a member of St. Louis Baptist Church, trustee of Butler College, President of National and Texas Association of Tonsorial Artists, President of Tyler Democratic Progressive Voters League, and Vice-President of Texas Association of Barber Schools.

3. Texas College, Ceremony held October 20, 2010.

Texas College was founded in 1894 by a group of Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) ministers who believed that education is necessary for all mankind. Established as a historically black college, Texas College is a residential, coeducational, four-year liberal arts institution awarding baccalaureate and the Associate of Arts degree. Its mission is to ensure that graduates experience a balanced intellectual, psycho-social, and spiritual development aimed at making them active and productive members of society. The College instills academic excellence; encourages integrity; implants perseverance; promotes social responsibility; emphasizes tolerance; and encourages community service by its students as essential anchors in fulfilling its mission in an ever-changing world.

4. Butler College, Ceremony held April 26, 2011

Reverend Cornelius M. Butler, born in Alabama before the turn of the century, was freed from slavery at the age of 17. He was later taught to read and write by his wife. His strong desire to learn drove him to create educational opportunities for many other blacks.

In 1905, Reverend Butler led the East Baptist Association to establish an institution of learning called the East Texas Baptist Academy, where he served as the first principal. In 1924, the Academy was renamed Butler College in honor of Reverend Butler. It achieved accreditation in 1949. In 1971, Butler College closed its doors after sparking success for many of its students throughout the nation.

In 1992, The East Texas District Baptist Association, under the leadership of Reverend D. C. Brown, serving as Moderator, erected the Heritage Building so that the legacy of Butler College could continue by providing the opportunity for Christian education and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ without regard to race, creed, color or national origin.

5. Doc Young, Ceremony held April 26, 2011

Mr. Noble Earnest “Doc” Young opened the first African American drugstore in Tyler in 1946. He provided job opportunities for African Americans of all ages to work in his store as clerks and delivery personnel for newspapers, magazines and African American publications from 1946 to 1984.

“Doc” Young furnished class rings, caps and gowns and senior memorabilia to Emmett J. Scott High School students whose families could not afford them. He also provided free medicine to families who could not pay, as well as interest-free loans to families who needed help. He did his best to give back to his community, help others in need, and see that African Americans in his community were given a fair and equal opportunity academically, socially and spiritually.

The “Drug Store,” as it was more commonly called, offered a safe and wholesome gathering place for the community and was the center of a three-block thriving business area in North Tyler called “The Cut.”

As a member of the St. Louis Baptist Church, “Doc” served on the trustee board. He was a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

“Doc” Young’s godson, Judge Quincy Beavers, Jr., was elected the first African American Justice of the Peace in Smith County, Texas.

6. Katie Albert Stewart, Ceremony held May 4, 2011

Katie A. Stewart, the only child of the Reverend Dr. Albert Thomas and Garthelia Willeta Harris Stewart, learned from her parents the value of an education, and the everlasting impact of one’s contribution to the community. Her life was an example of true dedication of commitment to the teaching and training of children, youth and young adults, both in the educational systems and in organized church work. All through her life she gave credit to her parents for this example. It is for this strategic modeling that Stewart Middle School in the Tyler Independent School District bears her father’s name.

Katie A. Stewart’s education opened the doors of opportunity for her to teach and train children at T.J. Austin Elementary School and Emmett Scott High School.

Her church and community affiliations also received the benefit of her gifts and talents. These include the East Texas Chapter of the Links, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., the Utopia Civic and Art Club, and her church home, True Vine Baptist Church. Her deepest and closest friend, Helen Brewer and Helen’s family, continues to be her family today.

7. Emmett J. Scott High School, Ceremony held June 30, 2012

The original high school in Tyler for African Americans was established in 1888 in the old West End School building on South Herndon Avenue. It was a four-room structure that housed grades one through ten. The building burned in 1921, which caused school sessions to be held in churches within the city.

A new building was erected in 1923. The location was changed to North Border Avenue since neighbors protested rebuilding the school on South Herndon. The new school building was renamed Emmett Scott Junior High and was used for both elementary and high school grades. When W. A. Peete and T. J. Austin elementary schools were built, the small building formerly used for elementary grades became the Emmett Scott homemaking department.

In 1949, what began as a four-room school with a graduating class of four students became Emmett J. Scott High School on West Lincoln Street (now M. L. King Jr. Boulevard). The school included 26 classrooms, an administrative suite, library, cafeteria, shop, auditorium, gymnasium and band hall.

Emmett J. Scott High School closed in June 1970, through an integration order affecting all Texas public schools.

8. Alfred Gilliam, Ceremony held May 7, 2014

In 1943, as a civilian, Alfred Gilliam was actively involved with the Camp Fannin U. S. Army Infantry Replacement Training Center’s Special Services Department where he performed as a singer, dancer and stage director for several productions. One production, “Texas Yanks,” premiered at Camp Fannin and was later performed in Gladewater, Longview, Greenville, Mount Pleasant, Marshall and Palestine as part of the effort to sell war bonds.

Gilliam enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1945. At the end of the war, he was transferred to the separation center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. After his discharge in 1946, he performed plays at the San Antonio Little Theatre.

In 1949, he returned to Tyler and directed the Circle Theatre at Tyler Junior College; staging productions with audiences seated on all four sides. The shows proved so popular that a group of Tyler citizens rallied to revive its own city theatre. In 1949 Tyler Civic Theatre was born and Gilliam was named its first resident director. Two years later the group opened the nation's first theater built specifically for in-the-round presentations. Currently, the theatre holds the record for being the longest continually operated Theatre-in-the-Round in the nation.

Gilliam’s dedication to the performing arts included being choreographer for the TJC Apache Belles and Texas Rose Festival, as well as serving as the managing director of Tyler Civic Theatre from 1951 until his death in 1988.

9. Smith County Courthouse of 1910, Ceremony held March 26, 2015

Tyler, Texas has had seven courthouses and each of these county seats has been authentic architectural expressions of their generations. The most grandiose and well-built of them was the four-story sixth Smith County Courthouse which incorporated the eclectic styles of Beaux Arts and Neo-Classicism.

Specially selected Elgin brick was used in construction which heightened the textural effect of the façade and was used to form pilasters along the sides of the building. There were projecting facades on all four sides crowned by highly decorated pediments and sustained by colossal Greek decorated columns. The roof, covered with red terra cotta tile, was surrounded with a pronounced cornice providing a unifying classical element to the entire structure.

The center of the roof was crowned with a polygonal dome, which all four sides held a clock six feet in diameter. Atop the dome stood the Goddess of Justice, an eleven-foot copper figure, which is now stored in the Smith County Historical Museum.

The whole square surrounding the courthouse was a very intricately landscaped garden accented with decorative lamps, benches and birdbaths.

Award Recipients 

Henry Marsh Bell
1893 -1951
Dubbed as “Mr. Tyler”, he championed the Tyler Industrial Foundation, East Texas Medical Foundation and was president of Citizens First National Bank, and the Tyler and East Texas Chambers of Commerce. Watch a video about Mr. Bell.

Rudolph Bergfeld
1855 -1930
The young entrepreneur arrived in Tyler in 1878, with interests ranging from saloons, banking, to real estate. He developed the city’s first residential subdivision and was Chamber of Commerce Director for 30 years.

Wood T. Brookshire
1904 -1977
Wood T. Brookshire started Brookshire Grocery Company in 1928, was director of the Tyler Chamber of Commerce in 1945, and served on Tyler School Board from 1941 to 1950.

Thomas Booker Butler
1867-1919
Thomas Booker Butler served as Smith County Judge, and in the 7th Judicial District Court. In 1910, he founded the Tyler-Courier Times Newspaper and the Guaranty State Bank.

Galloway Calhoun
1894 -1962
He served as First Assistant Attorney General of Texas and Chairman of the Board for the Shriners’ Hospitals from 1949-1962. He was instrumental in bringing Tyler its own Shrine Temple, known as the Sharon Temple.

Camp Fannin
1943-1946
“A Grateful Nation Remembers”
U.S. Army Infantry Replacement Center was located 8 miles NE of Tyler on US 271. An estimated 150,000 men received basic combat training during WWII.

Camp Ford
1862-1865
Confederate training camp and largest Confederate prisoner of war camp west of the Mississippi for captured Union troops.

Horace Chilton
1853 – 1932
Mr. Chilton was the first native born Texan to serve in the United States Congress. Born near Tyler, he served as a U.S. Senator and Assistant Attorney General of Texas.

Charles Evan Coleman
1914 - 2003
Mr. Coleman, Tyler’s first licensed African-American lawyer, served the community through mentoring, leadership and providing free legal aid to fellow citizens.

Lady Willie Lee Campbell Glass
1910-1999
“A Grande Dame” was born into segregation, earned her Masters degree and rose above many barriers to help African Americans. "Service is the rent we pay for living in God's world".

Governor James S. Hogg
1851-1906
First native Texas governor, Hogg was a newspaper man and lawyer throughout East Texas before becoming Attorney General and Governor.

Richard Bennett Hubbard, Jr.
1832 – 1901
Richard Bennett Hubbard, Jr. settled in Tyler, Texas in 1853. He was Governor of Texas from 1876 to 1879 and United States Envoy to Japan from 1885 to 1889.

Judge Sam Lindsey
1863 -1961
He was known as a man of vision and earned the honorary title, “Father of the Federal Land Banks”. He was instrumental in the promotion and construction of the Peoples Bank building.

Henry M. Morgan
1895 -1961
Mr. Morgan founded the first Barber College for African Americans on a national scale and is remembered as a civic and political activist, as well as a leader in his profession.

Col. “OC” Osborne Cosby Palmer
1895-1949
The Lindburgh of East Texas and the Father of Aviation in Tyler.

Sidney Earl (S.E.) Palmer
1903-1986
Mr. Palmer, community activist in the St. Louis Community, worked tirelessly for housing improvements. Supported integration for TISD and helped create Single Member Voting Districts.

Senator Tomas Glover Pollard
1895 -1962
Senator Pollard served Texas as a Representative for three years and then as Senator for ten years, supporting legislation for oil and gas and the creation of Texas Tech University.

Governor Oran M. Roberts
1815-1883
Roberts was a noted jurist, author, professor, and founding president of the Texas State Historical Association, and served as Chief Justice and Governor of the State of Texas.

Shirley Simons, Sr.
1896 -1963
Shirley Simons, a famed architect, designed many outstanding buildings that have received national historic recognition such as City Hall and the U.S. Post Office/Courthouse. His numerous architectural designs have enhanced the Tyler vertical landscape. Watch a video about Mr. Simons.

Texas College
Founded in 1894 to educate the children of former slaves, the College continues to benefit society through its vision to “Enhance the Culture of Learning.” Watch a video about Texas College.

Tyler Carnegie Library
Built in 1904
It served as the City’s library for 75 years, until a new one was opened in 1979. It was financed by a $15,000 gift from Andrew Carnegie and by citizens who raised $2,000 to buy the land. Watch a video about the Tyler Carnegie Library.

Tyler Public Library
Since 1899, the library has served to expand the horizons and dreams of Tyler’s citizens while connecting them to the cultural and historic heritage of mankind.

Tyler Woman’s Building
Located at 911 S. Broadway, this building provided the launching pad for the Tyler Civic Theatre and East Texas Symphony Orchestra. Built in 1932, it became a civic and social gathering place for the Tyler community.

John Franklin “Doc” Witt
1884 -1952
Tyler’s Music Man, Doc Witt, organized the Tyler Municipal Band, Tyler High School and Tyler Junior College Band. Doc enriched Tyler citizens with his love of music for 44 years.

Robert Walter (RW) Fair
1886-1965
A man of deep faith and generosity, from humble beginnings, became a successful farmer and oilman. In 1935, established the R.W. Fair Foundation; Believes "To whom much is given, much is expected." Watch a video about Mr. Fair.

W. E. Stewart
1878-1956
A banker, financier, aviator and oilman. He founded Weslaco, Texas, and Stewart Blood Bank, and helped make Tyler a medical hub of East Texas.

D. K. Caldwell
1887-1977
A gentleman of vision who built roads, supported historic preservation, generously promoted education, and established the Caldwell Zoo, all for the betterment of Tyler.

Walter Connally (with photo)
1863-1918
A leading citizen and businessman with interests in cotton gin machinery, banking, wholesale hardware and farming. Watch a video about Mr. Connally.

Benjamin Bryant Beaird
1840-1915
A faithful resident of Tyler, he served as Smith County Judge, County Commissioner and Fair President. He was a member of the Texas Legislature and mayor of Tyler. Watch a video about Mr. Beaird.

Mattie Jones
1862 -1944
Mattie Jones was a pioneer Tyler teacher, the only female member of the Chamber of Commerce for many years, and a long-time member of the Carnegie Library Board .

Sarah Mcclendon
1910-2003
As a local journalist, she established her own news service and covered 12 presidents as a White House reporter. She was a WAC officer during WWII and championed women’s and veterans’ rights.

Tyler Commercial College
1899 -1963
Once considered the largest business training school in America, the college educated students in subjects ranging from business to petroleum geology and cotton classing.

Joe Zeppa
1893 -1975
An Italian immigrant, Zeppa arrived in Tyler with the East Texas oil boom,building Delta Drilling Company into an empire with 62 rigs, 900 producing wells and 2,100 employees.

Elizabeth Herndon Potter
1871 - 1966
Potter was a suffragette, first president of the Tyler Public Library Board, benefactor for the YMCA and Boy Scouts.

Brady P. Gentry
1896 - 1966
Gentry served as a U.S.Congressman & Texas Highway Commission Chair. He was instrumental in the development of Texas Farm Roads & the Interstate Highway System & was a major benefactor to Tyler Junior College.

Hampson Boren Gary
1873 - 1952
Born in Tyler, Gary was responsible for organizing the Smith County Rifles. He was also a soldier,public servant, diplomat to Egypt and minister to Switzerland.

F.M. (Frank) Bell
1853-1938
As one of the significant leaders of Tyler from the mid 1880’s to the early 1900’s, Mr. Bell was instrumental in developing and designing what is now downtown Tyler to Houston street and west to Vine/Palace.

Francis Marion Bell
1821-1854
One of the original founders of Tyler and Smith County having served on the first City of Tyler City Alderman (Council). He also opened the first retail grocery/supply store in downtown Tyler.

Henry Marsh Bell, Jr.
1928-1999
Is credited for being a leader in building Tyler's highly recognized medical community with the development of East Texas Medical Center and was a key player in development of the University of Texas at Tyler and in industrial expansion as a key player in the former Tyler Industrial Foundation, he helped bring to Tyler the General Electric air-conditioning factory

Thomas Bonner
1838-1891
Bonner was a farmer, soldier, banker, lawyer and speaker of the house for the Texas Legislature. He founded the first bank in Tyler and was instrumental in building the Tyler railroad.

Tyler Civic Theatre Center
Established in 1949
The Tyler Civic Theatre Center is a historic venue for community performances. Dedicated in 1951, it is the longest continuously operating theatre “in-the-round” in the United States.

E. Davis "Dave" Wilcox
1913-2000
Wilcox was an accomplished architect and community leader. He designed numerous public, commercial, and residential buildings during the 1940s - 1970s, including more than ten Tyler-area public school buildings. Watch a video about Mr. Wilcox.

The Tyler Junior League
Established in 1950
In 1950, 13 civic-minded women created the Tyler Service League to improve the community through organized volunteer service. Now known as the Junior League of Tyler, these trained volunteers continue the legacy of effective action.

Aubrey A. Arnold
1903-2001
Mr. Arnold dedicated 68 working years to the City of Tyler. His philosophy of public service is reflected in his untiring efforts toward making Tyler a better community in which to live.

Earle B. Mayfield
1881-1964
Mayfield was an influential attorney, politician and civic leader. He served in the Texas and United States Senate, on the Texas Railroad Commission and was president of the Mayfield Grocery Company

Earl C. Andrews
1907-1997
Earl C. Andrews was a leader, role model and a gentle man of faith who dedicated his entire life to philanthropic and business activities within the Tyler community.

W.D. Swann
1845-1935
A Civil War drummer at age 16, who rose to prominence as a Smith County landowner, banker and member of the Texas Legislature.

Colonel Bryan Marsh
1833-1901
Marsh served in the Texas Cavalry during the Civil War and gained further fame with the Texas Rangers. He served as Smith County Sheriff for 20 years.

East Texas Symphony Orchestra
Established in 1936
Since its founding in 1936 through the hard work and commitment of some of Tyler's preeminent civic leaders, the East Texas Symphony Orchestra has served as a center point to the cultural community of Tyler and the surround area. Through its history the orchestra has presented the highest quality of orchestral performance, encouraged the development of local emerging talent and offered citizens the opportunity to experience the talents of world class guest artists. The orchestra has worked to further music education in the region through its own programming, as well as through collaborations with other community entities and the Tyler public schools. The East Texas Symphony Orchestra continues to be a unique example of Tyler's cultural heritage, enriching lives for over 75 years with live performances of great symphonic music.

Thomas Elam Swann
1875-1939
Thomas Elam "T.E." Swann founded Swann's Furniture Company in 1895. He was a businessman, Entrepreneur, Corporate leader and philanthropist. He was known as "T.E. Swann, the Furniture Man." He was always looking for new fields to endeavor and conscious of new trends. He had various enterprises including RCA Victoria franchise for Texas, Tyler Motor Company and local real estate development. He valued children by establishing scholarships and college funding opportunities.

H.L. & Lyda Hunt
1889-1974/1889-1955
Tyler Residents nationally recognized for the development of the East Texas Oil Field. Shortened work shifts doubling employment and supported oil conservation regulations.

Willie Neal Johnson
1935-2001
Founder and lead singer of the Gospel Keynotes who won numerous awards and inducted into the Gospel Music and Gospel Quartet Halls of Fame in 1999.

Arthur "Dooley" Wilson
1886-1953
African-American actor appearing in more than 20 films. Cast as pianist, Sam, in Casablanca performing “As Time Goes By,” a legendary movie scene.