T. C. Lindsey & Co.
T. C. Lindsey & Co. has been the center of the small
east Texas community of Jonesville since 1847. The last bale of cotton ginned in
Harrison County can be seen inside the store and was ginned in 1973 at the
cotton gin across the road from the store.The gin is still standing and an old
John Deere tractor can be seen in the gin yard as a reminder of the days when
"cotton was king" in East Texas.
Tourists,
antique lovers, history buffs, and area residents patronize the business which
has been in continuous operation since 1847. It originated as a trading post
operated by William Harrison Jones who came to East Texas from Alabama. He
opened his business and a stagecoach line in 1847. The original trading post was
north of the present store site and near where the railroad later ran through
Jonesville to Swanson's Landing, a major steamboat port on Caddo Lake.
The town of Jonesville relocated further south after the Civil War when the Texas and Pacific Railroad laid new tracks and established a depot in Jonesville. The store moved to its present site that year and in 1922, a new store building was constructed replacing a much smaller structure.
Many antiques are on display (but not for sale) and delicious hoop cheese is still cut the old fashioned way on a wheel with a sharp blade attached. Pottery, washboards, bonnets, cast iron cookware, oak kegs, oil lamps, knives, wash tubs, rocking chairs, overalls, specialty books (Texas history, candles, cookbooks, Texas humor), and other treasures from yesteryear can be purchased along with speciality soft drinks like sarsaparilla, rootbeer, creme soda, grapette, and black cherry soda.
Directions from I-20: take exit 633 and go 2 miles north on
Farm Road 134. 
Phone (903) 687-3382.
Mailing address: Box 34, 2293 Farm Road 134,
Jonesville, Texas, 75659
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
The business will open up at other hours for groups of 20 or more when
arrangements are made in advance.
Movies in which filming was done at the store (in chronological order)
Bayou Boy - 1970 - Walt Disney Studios
Stroke of Murder - 1974 - Antry Studios
The Pond - 1974 - Walt Disney Studios
The Evictors - 1979 - Charles
Pierce Productions
The Long Hot Summer - 1985 - NBC
Productions
Big Bad John - 1988 - Red River Films
Renfroe's Christmas - 1996 - Jim McCullough Productions
Major Television Shows
CBS 60 Minutes - Harry Reisner - 1982
CBS Sunday Morning - Charles Karault - 1989
Financial News - American Entrepeneur - 1990
Books in which T. C. Lindsey & Co. is mentioned
Beverley,
Mary Frances. Cowbells and Coffins.
Austin, Texas: Eakin Press, 1987.
Christansen, Ken. Romantic
Texas. San Diego, California, 1986.
Highsmith, Carol and Ted Landphair.
Texas, A Photographic
Tour. New York City, New York: Random House, 1998.
Phillips, Bob. 52 Offbeat Texas Stops. Dallas, Texas: Phillips
Productions, Inc., 1993.
Rodriguez, June Naylor. Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to
Unique Places. Guilford, Connecticut: The Globe Pequot Press, 1994.
Smith-Rodgers, Sheryl. Weekends Away: Camping and Cooking in
Texas State Parks. Austin, Texas: Eakin Press, 1993.
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This page was last modified on November 29, 2001