Editing Lindale, Texas (section)

==History==
<gallery widths="180px" class="center">
File:Old Mill Museum, Lindale, TX IMG 5303.JPG|Local history is highlighted in the Old Mill Pond Museum in Lindale.
File:Lindale May 2018 18 (Lillie Russell Memorial Library).jpg|Lillie Russell Memorial Library in Lindale
</gallery>
The area of Smith County where Lindale sits was inhabited long before the town was founded in 1871. In the early 19th century, the [[Caddo]] Indians were the area's primary inhabitants; their artifacts can still be found along streams in the area. The area also was home to [[Cherokee]] Indians, who were forced out when the [[Republic of Texas]] was founded in 1836.

After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], [[Richard B. Hubbard]], a former officer in the [[Confederate Army]] and owner of a large plantation on what is today a gated community called [[Hideaway, Texas|Hideaway Lake]], began searching for a more convenient way to ship the produce grown on his land. Hubbard convinced railroad officials to lay track between nearby [[Tyler, Texas|Tyler]] and [[Mineola, Texas|Mineola]]. Hubbard's brother-in-law, Elijah Lindsey, anticipating growth around the new railroad, opened the fledgling community's first general store in 1871, and Lindale had its start; Lindsey was elected the town's first mayor a year later.

In 1996, Lindale's school board banned 32 books from its schools, including ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird]]'', because they "conflicted with the values of the community." According to school board president John Offutt, a Baptist minister, the board's action [[Separation of church and state|was an attempt to make students adhere to Christian beliefs]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texnews.com/news/lindale070996.html |title=Lindale School District Bans 32 Books, Including Many Classics |accessdate=2014-01-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123014203/http://texnews.com/news/lindale070996.html |archivedate=2008-11-23 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2012/07/30/banned-books-awareness-to-kill-a-mockingbird/ |title=Banned Books Awareness: To Kill a Mockingbird &#124; Banned Books AwarenessBanned Books Awareness |accessdate=2014-01-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114201657/http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2012/07/30/banned-books-awareness-to-kill-a-mockingbird/ |archivedate=2014-01-14 }}</ref>