Davis Reynolds

How New York, Texas, got its name is not settled. The Handbook of Texas says it was reportedly named either by T. B. Herndon as a joke or by Davis Reynolds out of hope for the town's future. Settlers around 1856 included James C. Walker, Reynolds, Jesse M. Forester and A. M. Otts, and by 1884 the place had two steam gristmills and cotton gins and a district school. Its school joined the Poynor system in 1936. In the 1980s a nearby farm began marketing New York, Texas, cheesecake, known nationally by 1992.

What the plaque says

Davis Reynolds Henderson County pioneer Davis Reynolds (1800-1869) came to Texas in 1856 with his wife Catherine (1802-1871), their unmarried children, James, Julia, Catherine, and John H.; and several slaves. Traveling by wagon and foot, they journeyed from Gordon County, Georgia. Three married children, Almira Otts, Eliza Forester and George W., came later. Reynolds named his settlement New York as a sign of his hopes for its growth and prosperity. Reynolds donated land for the first community cemetery which came to be used by all neighboring families. The first marked grave is that of Reynolds' daughter Almira Otts (1838-1863). Davis and Catherine are among the many other members of the Reynolds family buried there. A combination school and church, used for many years by both Baptists and Methodists, was built on land given by the Reynolds' son John Harrison (1843-1903) in 1873. Reynolds' hopes for a big city were dashed when the railroad bypassed New York in 1901 and the town lost its post office. The village now consists of the Baptist church, cemetery, and the store at this site. Owned by Reynolds descendants, the store continues to serve the New York community and its neighbors in the same spirit in which it was founded. (1982)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center — 6.5 mi
  A Texas Parks and Wildlife hatchery and visitor center in Athens where visitors can borrow tackle and fish a stocked pond, watch native species in gallery tanks and ride a tram around the hatchery.
• Purtis Creek State Park — 23 mi
  A 1,582-acre park straddling the Henderson and Van Zandt county line, built around a 355-acre lake with no-wake fishing, borrowed tackle, a 4.1-mile hike-and-bike trail and a nature path.
• Tyler Rose Garden and Rose Museum — 24 mi
  More than 38,000 rose bushes of about 600 cultivars in a free city garden, beside a museum of the Texas Rose Festival, which began in 1933, and of the rose industry.
• Goodman-LeGrand House and Museum — 25 mi
  A Tyler house begun in 1859 as four rooms, enlarged by the Goodman family over 73 years, and left to the city in 1939 with its furnishings, in a garden that fills a city block.

More markers nearby

• Barker Cemetery — 6.2 mi
• Fincastle — 6.5 mi
• Fincastle Cemetery and Church — 6.6 mi
• Athens Lodge No. 165 A.F. & A.M. — 9.5 mi