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Local History & Genealogy

The Local History and Genealogy Room on the main floor of the Library is open during regular hours of operation.   It contains more than 500 volumes relating to Commerce, Hunt county, and surrounding areas. Also, on the walls are photographs from the 1800's to 1965 of early Commerce and local citizens.  Issues of the local newspaper, the Commerce Journal, from 1901 to present are available on microfilm. The Local History Archives are located in the basement of the library and house the majority of the local history collections.  It includes hundreds of photographs dating back to the mid 1800's as well as detailed information on many of the families and businesses in the area, the Cotton Belt Railroad, fraternities, women's clubs, public and rural schools dating back to the 1800's, yearbooks, city directories, memorabilia, and much more.  Access to the archives is only available on Wednesdays and Thursdays, or by appointment.

Commerce Public Library Digital Collections

Genealogy Spotlight:

Brigham Family of Neylandville

James Brigham and his wife Belinda Brigham (Born 1817) were living in Hopkins County in the early 1850s, while still in bondage, Mr. Brigham worked
all over Hopkins and Hunt County for other settlers. James made enough money by 1860 to buy freedom for himself, his wife, and his youngest child. Eventually, the family was
reunited after the war and lived on land in Neylandville that James had purchased. One of James' sons George Brigham ( Born 1856), was a farmer in Neylandville. George had a son, Zebedee K. Brigham ( Born 1900), who is pictured below. Zebedee's wife, Mary Belle Bean (1892), is also pictured here below. Zebedee was a farmer in Klondike and died there in 1944. Mary Belle Brigham grew up in Ladonia and died in 1988 at the age of 96. Their son William E. Brigham, also pictured below, is the father of Rolanda Brigham.

James Brigham's wife Belinda and several children were still bonded in 1959. One son, born in 1856 was named George in a document from Hopkins County. James was able to buy freedom for his wife and one child. The rest of his children became free at the end of the war. George's son was named Zebedee K. Brigham, born in 1885 in Neylandville. Zebedee married Mary Belle Bean who had been born in 1892. Their son William E. Brigham is the father of Rolanda Brigham.

Zebedee K. Brigham

Zebedee's wife, Mary Belle Bean

William Eugene Brigham Senior, son of Zebedee K. Brigham, with his great granddaughter Tone Lashelle Brigham, daughter of Windi Lashun Brigham.


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Available thanks to a grant from the Ladd and Katherine Hancher Foundation
The database also contains most of the SREGIT yearbooks for the years 1950-1989.
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East Texas History
Commerce History
includes many stories about the buildings in Commerce, Texas

The Commerce Public Library is very excited and proud to be a partner in the “HeirLoom Project”, sponsored by TAMU-Commerce James G. Gee Library (now renamed as the Velma K. Waters Library).  Select photographs and memorabilia from the library’s archives were scanned and entered into the university’s digital library database allowing world-wide access to those collections.  As one of twelve partners in the Northeast Texas region, the public library has contributed items from our popular Cotton Belt Railroad Collection and from our African-American Collection.    

       View the HeirLoom Project Collections:

http://dmc.tamu-commerce.edu/cdm4/browse.php
(Check back for access. This collection is currently being migrated.)


BLACK HISTORY VIDEO
(created for Black History Month 2022)

        History of the Commerce Public Library Building

Pictures of Library (former Post Office Building) being built

History of Author's Park and Brick Ceremony with plans for the future
List of Brick Recipients by year

The Texas Historical Foundation has provided funding for the parapet project by donating money for six spindles.  The Library acknowledges and appreciates this support.

Sign up for their newsletter by visiting their web page and clicking on the newsletter link.

Historical Highlight

(changed often)

                              

Neylandville Future Farmers of America and Future Homemakers of America Clubs at St. Paul School.  Circa 1940-1950

Railroad Tracks and MLK east of Park Street

Bettina Zvanut, the Local History & Genealogy Librarian, is at the Library on Wednesdays 10:00-5:00 and Thursdays 10:00-6:00.  She would be happy to help you with any questions or research.  You can contact her by email at CPLgenealogist@gmail.com

Please take the opportunity to come by and see how much our town has changed throughout the years and share your knowledge of Commerce History.

The Archives Wish List:

  • City Directories    
  • High School Year Books   
  • Railroad items  
  • Photographs (copies can be made and the originals returned to owner)
  • Any items related to the history of Commerce and/or surrounding areas
  • Monetary donations to buy archival needs such as shelving, acid-free boxes and tissue paper, protective sleeves, equipment, etc.