The Dr. Emmet Headlee House
Teague, Freestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built 1906 in Brewer (now Teague). Builder (b. 1848 - d. 1918) was son of a Methodist preacher who was also a Confederate Army surgeon in Civil War; in turn was father and grandfather of doctors. Came to Texas 1866; became a planter, church leader, Brewer's first postmaster; a civic leader, peace officer, banker, druggist, school trustee, Mason, citizen influencing railroad building. This is Teague's oldest home. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1906 in the town then called Brewer, this is the oldest home in present-day Teague. Its builder, Dr. Emmet Headlee, came to Texas in 1866 and became a fixture of local life—planter, druggist, banker, peace officer, church and school leader, and the town's first postmaster—part of a family line of physicians spanning three generations.
Why it matters
The house embodies how a single civic-minded settler could help shape a young Texas town, from its post office to the railroad that gave it a future.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Dr. Emmet Headlee
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
First Baptist Church of Teague
Teague, TX
This congregation began in 1877 among Baptists in the village of Brewer Prairie and took its present name when the town was renamed Teague in 1906. Settled on the corner of 6th Avenue and Walnut Street, it has worshiped in several buildings on the same site — a first sanctuary, a 1929 replacement lost to fire, and a brick sanctuary completed in 1948. Its long continuity mirrors the growth of the town around it.
Captain Richard B. Haley
Teague, TX
Richard B. Haley was among the Anglo colonists who took up arms in 1835 as Texas moved toward revolution against Mexico. He fought in the Grass Fight in late November and in the capture of San Antonio that December, service that earned him six land grants. Born in Tennessee, he had settled in the Shelby County area in 1824 and later lived in Leon and Freestone counties.
Salem Predestinarian Baptist Church and Cemetery
Teague, TX
One of the oldest congregations in Freestone County, Salem Predestinarian Baptist Church was founded in December 1853 by the Lee families, with elders Thomas Dossey and C. T. Echols certifying its constitution. A five-acre site donated by the McSwane family held first a log meetinghouse, later a frame building, and eventually the present chapel raised in 1961. Elder Dossey gave the church its name.
Salem Cemetery
Teague, TX
Established around 1853, this burial ground dates to the first years of Anglo settlement in Freestone County, when small family and community cemeteries were among the earliest permanent marks a pioneer settlement left on the land. Recognized as a Historic Texas Cemetery, it preserves the resting place of the area's early residents.