Now Accepting Input for This Destination!

Use the left menu to submit listings, photos & travel tips.

Jefferson, Texas is a popular tourist town and retirement area. Seniors enjoy the gracious hospitality found in this historic Piney Woods town.

Jefferson TX History

In the early 1840’s, Allen Urquhart and Daniel Alley founded Jefferson, naming it for Thomas Jefferson. Before railroads came to North Texas, all farmers were dependent on water port cities to ship their goods. Steamboats were able to go up Cypress Bayou as far as Jefferson, making Jefferson the only dependable port in North Texas for 200 miles. To take advantage of this, wealthy planters migrated to Jefferson with their families and slaves to create a new cotton kingdom. Jefferson soon became an East Texas metropolis and elegant stern-wheelers churned into Jefferson, earning the town the title of "Gateway to Texas".

During the Civil War, Jefferson was very important as a supplier for the Confederacy. The years after the Civil War were prosperous for the city as people seeking a new life moved in from devastated southern states.

In 1873, the U.S. Corps of Engineers destroyed a dam on the Red River above Shreveport, which made it impossible to use the bayou at Jefferson for shipping. The advent of the railroad and the loss of the waterway ended Jefferson's prosperity as a shipping center.

Jefferson Texas – Popular Senior Vacation Area

Today, Jefferson Texas is a favorite with senior tourists. Horse-drawn carriages and trolleys tour along the original brick streets and boats tour Big Cypress Bayou, the same waterway once traveled by stern-wheelers.