Home of Congressman and Mrs. Alexander W. Gregg
Palestine, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Honored national statesman from Palestine, Congressman A. W. Gregg (1855 - 1919) lived in this house at height of his career. Gregg, member of a distinguished southern family, graduated from University of Virginia School of Law; practiced in Palestine; was in State Senate, 1886-1888. Serving in U.S. Congress 1903-1919, he was instrumental in securing sea wall to protect Galveston from such devastation as that of 1900 hurricane. Congressman Gregg married (first) Mary Bridges and (second) Mary Brooks. Had four children. House was built 1886-1892. (1970) Incise on base: Marker donated by Col. Perry E. Taylor
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Congressman Alexander W. Gregg lived in this Palestine house, built between 1886 and 1892, at the peak of a career that carried him from the Texas Senate to the U.S. Congress from 1903 to 1919. A University of Virginia–trained lawyer, he was instrumental in securing the federal seawall that protected Galveston from the kind of catastrophe the 1900 hurricane had inflicted. His home stands as a reminder of the era's turn toward public works and disaster protection.
Why it matters
Gregg's push for the Galveston seawall reflects the Progressive-era conviction that government engineering could shield American cities from natural disaster.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Alexander W. Gregg
Related events
- · 1900 Galveston hurricane
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
The Bowers Mansion
Palestine, TX
Built in 1878 as merchant Henry Ash's home, this house was bought in 1884 by railroad official Andrew L. Bowers, who spent decades transforming it with a cupola, gazebo, circular galleries, and ornate detailing. Bowers was a leading figure in Palestine—an International & Great Northern Railroad executive, salt and coal company president, banker, and long-serving mayor active in the county's oil discoveries. His family held the elaborate mansion for 72 years.
Site of McKnight Plaza
Palestine, TX
After James B. McKnight ran a saddlery and farrier shop on this Palestine block in the late 1800s, the property passed in 1910 to the Farmers and Citizens Bank, founded by African American businessmen in 1906. For the next 35 years the block—known as McKnight Plaza and fondly called "on the square"—thrived as the commercial heart of Palestine's Black community, packed with the offices of doctors, dentists, druggists, cafés, barbers, and a funeral home. Its social life centered on the Missouri Pacific Colored Booster Club, which sponsored dances and events until the building was razed in 1945.
Kolstad Jewelers
Palestine, TX
Soren Kolstad, a skilled clockmaker born in Norway in 1823, emigrated to Texas in 1852 and opened a jewelry store in Palestine the following year. Passed down through five generations of his family, the shop is believed to be the oldest retail business in Texas still run by its founding family. Its mahogany display cases, installed in 1916, moved with the store to its present home in 1933.
Eilenberger's Bakery
Palestine, TX
At the turn of the 20th century, waves of German immigrants brought Old World baking traditions to Texas towns, and F. H. Eilenberger was one of them—apprenticing in Galveston and Fort Worth before opening his own shop in Palestine in 1898. Moved to this site in 1918, the bakery became an East Texas institution, its bread carried across the region for decades. Today it endures for its fruit and pecan cakes, still made from the founder's family recipe and shipped worldwide.