Discover Harrison County: Water Landscapes, History and Art

Harrison County combines impressive water landscapes with tangible history and a wide range of discoveries around Marshall. Here, you can combine days in nature on winding waterways with museum visits, historic homes and a driving route focusing on African American history. When choosing your vacation rental, it is therefore worth deciding on your preferred focus first: Marshall offers cultural attractions, while nature experiences such as the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Caddo Lake State Park add their own distinctive accents.

Waterways, Bald Cypress Trees and Wetlands

Caddo Lake State Park is home to dense stands of bald cypress trees and aquatic plants. The lush vegetation forms a labyrinth of side channels, bayous and ponds, giving the landscape a distinctive character. The park also offers canoe rentals for paddling on Saw Mill Pond and Big Cypress Bayou. Anyone who wants to make water and nature the focus of their trip can specifically include these paddling opportunities in their daily plans.

The Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge lies northeast of Marshall in Harrison County. A restored guard station from the arsenal, renovated by the refuge and the Caddo Lake Institute, provides information and photos about wildlife species. It also explains why parts of Caddo Lake and the refuge are among the 26 sites in the United States recognized as wetlands of international importance under an international treaty signed by more than 150 nations.

Marshall as a Destination for History and Culture

At the Starr Family Home State Historic Site, you can visit an 1871 Greek Revival-style home and learn about the Starr family. Several buildings there illustrate 150 years of the Starr family's history in Texas. The Harrison County Historical Museum offers another area of focus: it has two locations in downtown Marshall, Texas. The exhibits in the 1901 Courthouse present the general history of Harrison County, while the “Service & Sacrifice” exhibit documents and honors people from Harrison County who served in the military.

Railroad history also shapes the destination. The Texas & Pacific Depot remains an important symbol of Marshall's relationship with the railroad, which was once the city's largest employer and primary means of transportation. At the Texas And Pacific Railway Museum, housed in the restored 1912 Texas and Pacific Railway Depot, you can see, among other things, a replica of a former railroad agent's office with a working telegraph key. Operating model trains travel through models of historic Marshall buildings.

Routes, Market and Special Events

The Buard Historic Trail is a 90-minute driving route highlighting 28 sites related to African American history in Marshall's New Town Neighborhood. Guides for the trail are available at the Marshall Convention and Visitors Bureau in downtown Marshall. This allows you to add a themed drive to a visit to Marshall rather than experiencing the city's history only through exhibits.

For local impressions, Market on the Square in downtown Marshall offers homemade products and handcrafted goods. The Michelson Museum of Art expands the cultural offerings with a collection of more than 1,000 works of art created by Michelson. During Wonderland of Lights, the historic 1901 Courthouse is decorated with millions of twinkling lights; the program includes carriage rides, an ice-skating rink, Santa's Village and train rides. Because nature and cultural attractions appeal to different travel interests, you can give particularly careful consideration to your preferred daily rhythm and starting point when searching for a vacation rental.

More destinations to compare: Marshall, Milam County, Cherokee County, Comanche, Palo Pinto County, Hemphill County, Refugio County and Hockley County.

For the higher-level travel overview: Texas.