Gilmer

History

Founded in 1846, the city's namesake is former Secretary of the Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer. Gilmer is located on the Old Cherokee Trace, a trail used by the Cherokee Indians in their travels. To this day, arrowheads and other Native American artifacts can be found with little to no digging. Sam Houston, when he lived with the Cherokee, traveled the trace through here. The location of Gilmer was determined by a flood on Little Cypress Creek. First located near the creek, residents decided to change locations because of frequent floods. In 1919, Chilton Jennings, a 28-year-old African American man, was lynched in Gilmer’s town square by a mob of about 1,000 White residents.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 mi2 (12.0 km2), all land. Gilmer is part of a larger area known as the East Texas Piney Woods. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Gilmer has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity