For New Year’s I explored the old town of Jefferson, Texas. Jefferson is in East Texas and sits close to the Louisiana border with a population of about 2,000 people. Jefferson dates back to the pre-civil war era and served as an important port for the confederacy during the civil war. The town is really small and the roads leading to it are fairly remote, passing through other aesthetic towns like Avinger and Pittsburg. Of all the remote towns I’ve explored in the past few years, Jefferson is definitely one of my favorites.

The first thing I noticed about Jefferson was it’s vintage vibe and out-of-Texas feel. Unlike the majority of the Texas towns I’ve visited, the town is encompassed by wooded areas and the houses are fairly spread out. In fact, Jefferson is built right along a Bayou and is in close proximity to Caddo Lake. The buildings, however, are what gives Jefferson it’s charm.

Jefferson General Store is an old fashion soda fountain and, it being New Years, it was closed, but it looked so cute. Signs hung on the side of the brick building indicated what it sold and an old fashioned, bright blue truck with ‘Jefferson’ painted on it was parked out front.

To add to the town’s charm there was an old fashioned gas station and a bridge going over a portion of the bayou. There were also a series of really cool alley ways between old buildings and sites holding historical significance. One of the coolest historical sites in Jefferson was the Excelsior House, a hotel at which Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Oscar Wilde once stayed. Right across the street there was also an old train car from the Union Pacific railroad.

The trip to Jefferson, as a whole, was really cool and I was able to get plenty of good pictures out of it so it was definitely worth it. Strong recommend if you’re ever in the area to drive through. It was also a great kick off to my 2019 adventures and I can’t wait for so many more!