Love's Lookout
Jacksonville, Cherokee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On this nine mile long ridge there are two historic lookout points which command a view of 30 to 35 miles. Between this site, with an elevation of 713 ft., and Point Lookout (1/4 mi. NW), lies a narrow valley. An Indian trail and later a pioneer road crossed this valley. The pass became known as McKee's Gap in 1846, after Thomas McKee led a group of Presbyterians here from Tennessee and began the town of Larissa (3.5 mi. NW). Named by McKee's son the Rev. T. N. McKee, the village flourished as the location of Larissa College from the 1850s until the 1870s. Point Lookout was a popular recreational area for citizens of Larissa until the railroad bypassed the town and it declined. Around the turn of the century, John Wesley Love (1858-1925) bought this land and developed a 600-acre peach orchard. Known as Love's Lookout, the scenic point was used for outings by area residents. After Love's death, his family gave 22.22 acres, including the lookout site, to the state for a park. The City of Jacksonville bought 25 adjoining acres and developed both tracts as a WPA project. J. L. Brown (1866-1944) and Jewel Newton Brown (1873-1966), former Larissa residents, gave the city 122 acres next to the park in 1940 in tribute to pioneers of Larissa. (1978)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This long ridge, with views stretching thirty miles, guided travelers along an old Indian trail and later a pioneer road through McKee's Gap, named after Thomas McKee led Tennessee Presbyterians here in 1846 to found Larissa. The village thrived as home to Larissa College until the railroad bypassed it. Around 1900 John Wesley Love planted a 600-acre peach orchard here, and after his death the scenic lookout became a public park developed as a WPA project.
Why it matters
Love's Lookout layers the whole arc of East Texas settlement—Native trail, frontier college town, orchard, and Depression-era park—into one commanding ridge.
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Related people
- · John Wesley Love
- · Thomas McKee
Themes & tags
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