About the Project
The first bronze statue in Nacogdoches was erected in 1985 by students of SFASU as part of the Texas Sesquicentennial. In 1992, Friends of Historic Nacogdoches, Inc. began raising funds to erect statues in honor of Nacogdoches's historic figures. In 2010 the board kicked off a second round of four statues. Since 1985 FoHNI and other organizations have erected five more statues in town. We work closely with individuals, families, and organizations to raise funds and to select the honoree, sculptor, and site. The City of Nacogdoches ensures long-term preservation and maintenance of many of the statues. Special thanks to all the individual and group donors and the Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation for their financial support. We will gratefully accept your donation to this and other project on our Support FoHNI page.
Friends of Historic Nacogdoches, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the history and historic resources of Nacogdoches. We have an active board of fourteen rotating members who, since 1992, have implemented numerous projects including the Living History of Oak Grove Cemetery tour, the Historic Hospitality cookbook (available for purchase at the CVB and The Mustard Seed), the Nacogdoches 300 celebration, the construction of the gazebo in the Eugenia Sterne Park, and the restoration of gravestones in Oak Grove and Zion Hill Cemeteries.
The "Nacogdoches Statue Tour" was created by Emily Smith for Friends of Historic Nacogdoches, Inc. under the direction of Dr. Perky Beisel, VP and Treasurer of FoHNI. Smith took many of the photographs and wrote the original descriptions in Spring 2020 as a public history graduate assistant in the History Department at Stephen F. Austin State University. There is a companion tour on the East Texas History App, also created by Emily Smith in Spring 2020. In Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 history department graduate assistant Bruce Moran edited sound clips from oral history recordings for certain statues. Dr. Perky Beisel, also Professor of History at SFASU, continues to expand and update the website. FoHNI appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with SFASU and other community partners on this and its other projects.
Friends of Historic Nacogdoches, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the history and historic resources of Nacogdoches. We have an active board of fourteen rotating members who, since 1992, have implemented numerous projects including the Living History of Oak Grove Cemetery tour, the Historic Hospitality cookbook (available for purchase at the CVB and The Mustard Seed), the Nacogdoches 300 celebration, the construction of the gazebo in the Eugenia Sterne Park, and the restoration of gravestones in Oak Grove and Zion Hill Cemeteries.
The "Nacogdoches Statue Tour" was created by Emily Smith for Friends of Historic Nacogdoches, Inc. under the direction of Dr. Perky Beisel, VP and Treasurer of FoHNI. Smith took many of the photographs and wrote the original descriptions in Spring 2020 as a public history graduate assistant in the History Department at Stephen F. Austin State University. There is a companion tour on the East Texas History App, also created by Emily Smith in Spring 2020. In Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 history department graduate assistant Bruce Moran edited sound clips from oral history recordings for certain statues. Dr. Perky Beisel, also Professor of History at SFASU, continues to expand and update the website. FoHNI appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with SFASU and other community partners on this and its other projects.