Stern Fountain

This beautiful solid bronze stature of Greek Goddess of Youth, Hebe, is not only a magnificent work of art, but also a reminder of Jefferson's once significant and thriving Jewish population.  Eva Sterne of Jefferson married Leopold Stern of Dallas, changing her new married name by simply dropping the letter "e".  In 1913 she commissioned Mott Foundry of New York to cast this masterpiece in honor of her parents Jacob and Ernestine Sterne.  The sculpture includes fountains on three levels for watering dogs, horses and humans.  It is said that for good luck Lady Bird Johnson drank from the fountain on every trip to Jefferson.  Mrs. Johnson was from Karnack, fifteen miles away.

The Civil War Powder Magazine

The Confederacy built three structures in Jefferson in 1863 to store gunpowder manufactured fifteen miles away in Marshall.  The powder was then loaded onto steamboats and shipped downstream to Confederate troops.  On April 14, 1865, Federal troops took over the little buildings and used them for troop encampment.  The Jefferson Powder Magazine is the only one left in Texas and one of few still standing in the United States.