(Editor’s note: The Polk County Historical Commission and the City of Livingston will host a Founder’s Day Celebration at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Old City Cemetery at the corner of Hwy. 190 and Hwy. 146. Moses L. Choate, the founder of Livingston, will be recognized and celebrated and a newly installed marker on his gravesite will be unveiled. A reception will follow at the Central Baptist Church Brick House located across the street from the Old City Cemetery. Following is an excerpt from “Moses L. Choate and His Influence in the Formation of Polk County, Texas,” researched, compiled and written by local historian Gary B. Davis.) By Gary B. Davis Moses Choate was a founding member of the Masonic Trinity Lodge #14 which was organized in 1840 in Swartwout. James J. Hill was the Worshipful Master of the new lodge and Moses L. Choate and Arthur P. Garner both joined, as all new candidates do, as “Entered Apprentice.” The men built a two-story structure for their meeting hall. The…

The Jackson Store from Everitt and the Sunset Granite Rock at Old Town Coldspring. Photos by Charles Ballard By Charles BallardSJNT correspondent COLDSPRING — One of the sunset granite rocks destined for the construction of the Texas State capital 1880s never made it to Austin as it fell off a train car into a lake. Instead, about 140 years later, it was donated to San Jacinto County and dedicated on April 21 — San Jacinto Day — the day that Texas won its independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto, near Deer Park. There are only six of the massive stones believed to be in existence, and this one was donated by Dick and Dodie Scott and Bill and Gay Scott to the San Jacinto County Historical Commission, along with the old Post Office. The connection between the stone and the county is the Everitt family, early settlers of the county. When William Nyle Everitt (1844-1904) was appointed Postmaster in 1890, he named the community Everitt, in memory of Dr. Stephen H. Everitt, one…

STOCK PHOTO SJNT staff Robert Dale ClaryCOLDSPRING — Robert Dale Clary, 67, of Shepherd, convicted in a 5-year-old murder case, recently was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Clary pleaded guilty on March 25 to the murder of 59-year-old Rhonda Darline Richardson of Shepherd, in 411th District Court before Judge John Wells. District Attorney Todd Dillon said the plea is the final chapter in an investigation that began when Richardson was found murdered in a wooded area near her home near FM 2025 in May 2019. At that time, San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives arrived to a gruesome crime scene. A combined response from county, state and federal investigators identified several potential suspects, but further investigation focused on Clary. However, authorities lacked sufficient evidence to bring charges against Clary by the end of 2020. In 2022, at the request of both the Sheriff and District Attorney’s Office, a team of independent investigators, analysts and…

By Chris Edwardsnews@tylercountybooster.com LUFKIN – The region-wide flooding incidents, which began three weeks ago with various severe weather incidents over a two-day period and again on Sunday, have affected people in Tyler County, as well as other counties within the Deep East Texas Council of Governments (DETCOG) region of service. Last week, DETCOG announced that it is offering assistance to families affected by flooding within five counties: Tyler; Hardin; Jasper; Shelby and Newton. All five counties, which are represented by DETCOG, are included within the disaster declaration issued on April 10 by Gov. Greg Abbott. DETCOG’s Regional Housing Authority is accepting applications, and the organization’s executive director said that due to the disaster declaration, DETCOG is able to speed up the issuance of housing vouchers to those affected. Hunt said that the DETCOG housing program assists nearly 1,800 families throughout the 12-county region of service, and while there is…