Paris, Texas

Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River County during the Republic of Texas. By 1840, population growth necessitated the organization of a new county. George Washington Wright, who had served in the Third Congress of the Republic of Texas as a representative from Red River County, was a major proponent of the new county. The Fifth Congress established the new county on December 17, 1840, and named it after Mirabeau B. Lamar,[3] who was the first Vice President and the second President of the Republic of Texas.

Map of the city in 1885

Lamar County was one of the 18 Texas counties that voted against secession on February 23, 1861.[4]

In 1877, 1896, and 1916, major fires in the city forced considerable rebuilding. The 1916 fire destroyed almost half the town and caused an estimated $11 million in property damage. The fire ruined most of the central business district and swept through a residential area. The burned structures included the Federal Building and Post Office, the Lamar County Courthouse and Jail, City Hall, most commercial buildings, and several churches.[5]

In 1893, black teenager Henry Smith was accused of murder, tortured, and then burned to death on a scaffold in front of thousands of spectators in Paris.[6] In 1920, two black brothers from the Arthur family were tied to a flagpole and burned to death at the Paris fairgrounds. The city has prominent memorials to the Confederacy, but has no acknowledgement of these killings.[6]

In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court in Largent v. Texas struck down a Paris ordinance that prohibited a person from selling or distributing religious publications without first obtaining a city-issued permit. The Court ruled that the ordinance abridged freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.[7]

Transportation

Paris Union Station, opened in 1912, served Frisco, Santa Fe, and Texas Midland passenger trains

Paris has long been a railroad center. The Texas and Pacific reached town in 1876; the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (later merged into the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) and the Frisco in 1887; the Texas Midland Railroad (later Southern Pacific) in 1894; and the Paris and Mount Pleasant (Pa-Ma Line) in 1910. Paris Union Station, built 1912, served Frisco], Santa Fe, and Texas Midland passenger trains until 1956. Today, the station is used by the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce and serves as the research library for the Lamar County Genealogical Society.[8]

Historical residences

The Sam Bell Maxey House in July 2015

The city is home to several late-19th to mid-20th century stately homes. Among these is the Rufus Fenner Scott Mansion, designed by German architect J.L. Wees and constructed in 1910. The structure is solid concrete and steel with four floors. Rufus Scott was a prominent businessman known for shipping, imports, and banking. He was well known by local farmers, who bought aging transport mules from him. The Scott Mansion narrowly survived the fire of 1916. After the fire, Scott brought the architect Wees back to Paris to redesign the historic downtown area.[9]

Lynching of Henry Smith, Paris Fairgrounds, 1893

Race relations in Paris have a bloody history[12] and have been deeply polarized,[12] turbulent,[13] and sometimes explosive.[13]

In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, several lynchings were staged at the Paris Fairgrounds as public spectacles, with thousands of white spectators cheering as the victims were tortured and then immolated, dismembered, or otherwise murdered.[14][12] Among the victims was Henry Smith, a teenager lynched in 1893 after the alleged rape and the murder of a 3 years old White girl.

Local resident and activist Brenda Cherry speaking at the rally for Brandon McClelland, 2009

115 years later, in 2008, an African-American man, Brandon McClelland, was run over and dragged to death under a vehicle. Two white men were arrested, but the prosecutor cited lack of evidence and declined to press charges, and no serious subsequent attempt to find other perpetrators was made. This caused unrest in the Paris African-American community. Following this incident, an attempt by the United States Department of Justice Justice Community Relations Service to initiate a dialog between the races in the town[15] ended in failure when African-American complaints were mostly met by silent glares.[12]

A 2009 protest rally over the case let to Texas State Police intervention to prevent groups shouting "white power!" and "black power!" from coming to blows.[16]

I think we are probably stuck in 1930 right about now.

— Brenda Cherry[17]

In 2007, a 14-year-old African-American girl was sentenced by a local judge to up to 7 years in a youth prison for shoving a hall monitor at Paris High School. Three months earlier, the same judge had sentenced a 14-year-old white girl to probation for arson. This sentencing disparity occasioned nationwide controversy[18] and the African-American girl was released after serving one year on orders of a special conservator appointed by the State of Texas to investigate problems with the state's juvenile-justice practices.[18]

In 2009, some African-American workers at the Turner Industries plant in the city claimed that hangman's nooses, Confederate flags, and racist graffiti were regular features of plant culture.[19] At the same time, the United States Department of Education was conducting an investigation into allegations that African-American students in Paris's schools are disciplined more harshly than white students for similar offenses.[18]

I do not believe there is systematic racial discrimination in Lamar County. I do believe there is a misperception that that is going on.

— Judge M. C. Superville[17]

In 2015, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled after an investigation that African-American workers at the Sara Lee Corporation plant in Paris (closed in 2011)[20] were deliberately disproportionately exposed to asbestos, black mold, and other toxins, and also were targets of racial slurs and racist graffiti.[21]

Some Paris residents deny that the town has a race-relations problem.[14][16][17]

Paris is located at 33°39′45″N 95°32′52″W (33.662508, −95.547692).[22] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.4 square miles (115 km²), of which 42.8 square miles (111 km²) are land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²) (3.74%) are covered by water.

As of the census[27] of 2010, 25,171 people, 10,306 households, and 6,426 families resided in the city. The population density was 588.1 people per square mile (227.4/km²). The 11,883 housing units averaged 277.6 per square mile (107.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.3% White, 24.8% African American, 3.1% Native American, 1.1% Asian, and 4.1% from other races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.2% of the population.

Of the 10,306 households, 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.8% were married couples living together, 19.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were not families. About 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city, the population was distributed as 25.0% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.

In the past, Paris was a major cotton exchange, and the county was developed as cotton plantations. While cotton is still farmed on the lands around Paris, it is no longer a major part of the economy.

Paris' one major hospital has two campuses: Paris Regional Medical Center South (formerly St. Joseph's Hospital) and Paris Regional Medical Center North (formerly McCuistion Regional Medical Center). It serves as the center of healthcare for much of Northeast Texas and Southeast Oklahoma. Both campuses are now operated jointly under the name of the Paris Regional Medical Center, a division of Essent Healthcare. Paris Regional Medical Center South Campus has recently closed and only the North Campus remains open. The health network is one of the largest employers in the Paris area.[28]

Outside of healthcare, the largest employers are Kimberly-Clark and Campbell's Soup.

[29]

Note: PRMC is Paris Regional Medical Center.

Paris Public Library in July 2015

Elementary and secondary education is split among three main school districts:

• Paris Independent School District
• North Lamar Independent School District
• Chisum Independent School District

Prairiland ISD also serves a small portion of the town, along with Blossom ISD.

In addition, Paris Junior College provides postsecondary education. It hosts the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology, a well-respected school of gemology, horology, and jewelry. The Industrial Technology Division offers programs in air conditioning technology, refrigeration technology, agricultural technology, drafting and computer-aided design, electronics, electromechanical technology, and welding technology.

Texas A&M University-Commerce, a major university of over 12,000 students, is located in the neighboring city of Commerce, 40 minutes southwest of Paris.

The Paris Public Library serves Paris, as does the Lamar County Genealogical Society Library.[30]

City Hall in July 2015

It is governed by a city council as specified in the city's charter adopted in 1948.

The Culbertson Fountain

The 65-foot Paris Eiffel Tower with the red cowboy hat at its summit

• Pat Mayse Lake
• Beaver's Bend Resort Park (Oklahoma)
• Evergreen Cemetery – Located on the south side of town, there are over 50,000 people interred. This is the site of a noted 12-foot (3.7 m) tall "Jesus with cowboy boots" statue and grave marker, as well as the resting place of banker/philanthropist William J. McDonald, Confederate General/U.S. Senator Sam Bell Maxey, rancher Pitts Chisum, and cotton magnate John J. Culbertson. Pitts Chisum's more famous brother, John Chisum, is also buried in the city.
• Sam Bell Maxey House – Maxey was a Confederate general and 2 time US Senator.
• Paris Eiffel Tower
• On October 4, 1955, early in his career, Elvis Presley performed at the Boys Club Gymnasium at 1530 1st Street Northeast in Paris as a member of the Louisiana Hayride Jamboree tour.
• Lamar County Historical Museum

Media related to Paris, Texas at Wikimedia Commons

• Texts on Wikisource:
  • "Paris (Texas)". Encyclopædia Britannica. 20 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 823.
  • "Paris, Tex." . The New Students Reference Work . 1914.
• City of Paris
• Paris Texas Event Calendar
• Lamar County Historical Society
• Lamar County Courthouse
• Handbook of Texas Online entry
• Paris Texas information – Lamar County Station