Discover Tyler: Festivals, History, and Nature

Tyler County offers several distinct reasons to visit: recurring festivals, pioneer history, art, and nature. To plan your trip, you can first decide whether a specific event should shape your stay or whether you would like to focus on different themes.

Festivals in Woodville

The Tyler County Dogwood Festival is an annual celebration of flowering dogwood trees in Woodville, Texas. Its program spans three weekends and features music, food, and art. The festival was first held on Saturday, April 6, 1940. Western Weekend takes place annually on the last weekend of March; more than 2,000 riders travel to Woodville on horseback and in wagons during the event. The festivals have different focuses: the Dogwood Festival centers on dogwood blossoms and a three-week program, while Western Weekend centers on its specific March dates and arrival by horse and wagon. If you are traveling specifically for a festival, check the dates for the relevant year before booking a hotel.

History, Museums, and Art

Heritage Village is a living museum dedicated to pioneer history. Through historic buildings and artifacts, it reconstructs a 19th-century village. Examples include a Cherokee Church, the Tolar Cabin, and the Collier Store.

The Allan Shivers Museum invites visitors to learn about Governor Allan Shivers’s life, career, and achievements. In contrast to Heritage Village, which reconstructs an entire 19th-century village, this museum focuses on the biography of one person.

The Tyler County Art League adds to the cultural offerings with local art classes and a gallery featuring works by its member artists. This offers two different ways to engage with art: creating it in classes and viewing the artists’ work.

To reach the W.T. Colmesneil House, take Highway 256 east from Highway 69, then continue via Pitzer Street.

Peach Tree Village tells a different story of settlement than the reconstruction at Heritage Village. Founded by Alabama Indians, the village was located near the Neches River at a site now crossed by Farm Road 2097, two miles north of present-day Chester in Tyler County. It was the largest and most important of the villages founded by Alabama Indians.

Nature and Regional Cuisine

Big Thicket National Preserve encompasses nine land areas and six water corridors; parts of this protected-area system also lie in Tyler County. The Big Woods Nature Trail is a network of five short, renovated hiking trails.

The Lake Tejas complex includes a 14-acre lake and 13 acres of park and beach areas. The figures are close: the lake is one acre larger than the combined park and beach areas.

Pickett House Restaurant is a boardinghouse restaurant behind Heritage Village in Woodville. It serves all-you-can-eat Southern-style dishes that have been popular for generations.

Discover more destinations: Woodville, Karnes, Llano, Upton County, Waller, Wilson County, Lee County, Fort Bend

For the broader travel overview: Texas.