Cool Springs (Tundra)

THE COMMUNITY OF COOL SPRINGS WAS NAMED FOR APPROXIMATELY ONE DOZEN SPRINGS AND SEEPS THAT DOT THE IMMEDIATE AREA. THE SITE IS ALSO THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN THE WATERSHEDS OF THE TRINITY RIVER, SABINE RIVER AND NECHES RIVER. WHEN THE VAN ZANDT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED A GROUP OF MEN IN 1850 TO REVIEW AND LAY OUT A ROAD FROM THE NEW TOWN OF CANTON TO THE HENDERSON COUNTY SEAT OF ATHENS, COOL SPRINGS WAS AN IDEAL RESTING SPOT FOR TRAVELERS. THE CLOSE PROXIMITY OF A GIN OPERATED BY DAVID L. RILEY ON NEARBY MILL CREEK MADE COOL SPRINGS A CONVENIENT LOCATION TO PROCESS CROPS AND DREW SETTLERS TO THE AREA. COOL SPRINGS PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH WAS ORGANIZED IN 1874 WITH JOHN R. MARTIN AS ITS FIRST PASTOR. THE CHURCH ORIGINALLY STOOD ONE QUARTER MILE FROM ITS PRESENT LOCATION ADJACENT TO THE COOL SPRINGS CEMETERY. THE COMMUNITY’S BUSINESS DISTRICT OPERATED APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE WEST FROM THIS SITE. BUSINESSES INCLUDED GINS, A DRUG STORE, A GENERAL MERCHANDISE STORE, AND A SERVICE STATION. THE LONE STAR SCHOOL (1883) OPERATED ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE CHURCH AND CEMETERY. THE SCHOOL SERVED THE CHILDREN OF THE AREA UNTIL CONSOLIDATING WITH CANTON SCHOOLS IN 1944. THE EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH ORGANIZED IN 1898 AND LATER CHANGED ITS NAME TO TUNDRA BAPTIST CHURCH, B. M. A. THE COMMUNITY WAS GRANTED A POST OFFICE IN 1899 UNDER THE NAME “TUNDRA.” THE COMMUNITY RETAINED THE NAME OF TUNDRA AFTER THE POST OFFICE CLOSED IN 1905. CHANGES IN AREA AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION MADE THE ONCE VIBRANT COMMUNITY OBSOLETE, AND THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTS HAS DWINDLED THROUGH THE YEARS. (2009)

Cool Springs (Tundra) is a historical marker in Canton, Van Zandt County, dedicated in 2009. It is one of 84 historical markers documented in Van Zandt County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 167 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.4767, -95.8695 near Canton. The nearest cataloged historic site is Cool Springs Cemetery (cemetery), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, Carter Cemetery, and Bethel Cemetery, Old.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507015942. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.