Description: George Foss served as Mayor of Palestine from 2001 until 2005.

Description: This building is one of the relatively few historic warehouses to survive in Palestine. The building is indicative of how little stylistic ornamentation was applied to buildings that were used for utilitarian purposes. The building does have paired, double-hung windows set within segmented arches and vertical brick piers that define the bays. The Davidson-Pearlstone Grocery Company was in operation at this site for several years following its formation in 1899. In 1904 local businessman Hyman Pearlstone bought the controlling interest and renamed the company. According to local historians, J.T. Sweetman bought an interest in the firm in 1905. The Pearlstone Grocery Company opened in this building in January 1913.

Description: Two story house known locally as the "Grant House", which was built before 1900.

Description: The Gatewood-Shelton Gin is a 2-story metal-clad structure that faces north onto W. Crawford Street, just beyond the northern limits of Palestine’s historic downtown. Lacking any stylistic ornament, the free-standing structure originally housed a cotton ginning operation, but now houses a private club. All of the gin equipment and machinery was removed from the premises, leaving only the shell of the original building. The land on which the Gin is located was the site of perhaps the earliest settlement in what became the City of Palestine. In the early 1840’s this land belonged to James R. Fulton and Johnson Shelton, who operated an Indian trading post and grist mill on the site. When, in 1846, the Texas Legislature created Palestine to serve as seat for the newly established Anderson County, the new town was laid out just to the east of Fulton and Shelton’s trading post. The two men, along with William Bigelow, were hired by the first Anderson County commissioners to survey the surrounding land and lay out a town site, consisting of a central courthouse square and the surrounding 24 blocks. It is thought that the earliest business on the site, other than the trading post, was the ...

Description: The Dilley Building is a Two-Part Commercial Block building located at 401 W. Main Street in Palestine’s central business district. Fronting south, the 2-story brick building has a rectangular plan and load-bearing masonry walls. Architectural embellishment is characteristic of the Victorian Italianate style, as evidenced by the elaborately detailed parapet on the façade and the segmental-arched hoodmolds on the second floors of the south and east elevations. It is very strongly suspected that it was designed by the prominent architect Nicholas J. Clayton, but this has not been conclusively proven. The building was constructed in 1882 for George Edward Dilley, a prominent citizen of Palestine. The sophistication of its design and the sturdiness of its construction reflect both the type of buildings that were erected in the late 19th century Palestine, and also the wealth and prosperity enjoyed by the Dilley family. George Edward Dilley (G.E.) (1858-1932) was a prominent citizen of Palestine during the late 19th century. He came to the city in 1873 when his father, George Mansfield (G.M.) Dilley, relocated his family from Shelbyville, Illinois. His father was a highly successful railroad-building contractor who amassed a fortune constructing various railroad lines, including the important Houston & Great ...