Editing Marshall, Texas (section)

===Reconstruction and the railroad era (1865–1895)===
[[Image:A former slave displaying a horn used to call slaves.jpg|thumb|upright|A former slave displays a horn in 1939 that was formerly used by planters to call slaves on the outskirts of Marshall. Many [[freedmen]] moved to Marshall from rural areas during [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]], creating their own community and seeking the chance to live away from the supervision of whites. After Union troops departed at the end of Reconstruction, Democrats formed the White Citizens Party, establishing an [[insurgent]] [[militia]] dedicated to [[white supremacy]].]]

Marshall was occupied by Union forces on June 17, 1865.<ref name="Campbell 268">Campbell (2003), p. 286.</ref> During [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]], the city was home to an office of the [[Freedmen's Bureau]] and was the base for federal troops in the region.<ref name="Campbell 272">Campbell (2003), p. 272.</ref> In 1873 the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] founded [[Wiley College]] to educate freedmen. African Americans came to the city seeking opportunities and protection until 1878.

Although freedmen comprised the majority of voters in the county and supported the Republican Party, establishing a bi-racial government, in the post-Reconstruction era, the White Citizens Party, led by former Confederate General [[Walter P. Lane]] and his brother George, took control of the city and county governments by fraud and intimidation at elections.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Guzman|first=Will|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LbVCCQAAQBAJ&q=white+citizens+party+marshall&pg=PA19|title=Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands: Dr. Lawrence A. Nixon and Black Activism|date=2015-01-30|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-09688-4|language=en}}</ref> Their militia ran Unionists, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and many African Americans out of town. The Lanes ultimately declared Marshall and Harrison County "redeemed" from Union and African-American control.<ref name="Berglund">{{cite book |last=Berglund |first=Ernest |year=1948 |title=History of Marshall |edition=1st}}</ref>

Despite this, the African-American community continued to progress. The historically black [[Bishop College]] was founded in 1881, and Wiley College was certified by the [[Freedman's Aid Society]] in 1882.

Marshall's "Railroad Era" began in the early 1870s. Harrison County citizens voted to offer a $300,000 bond subsidy,<ref name="Lale 12"/> and the City of Marshall offered to donate land north of the downtown to the [[Texas and Pacific Railway]] if the company would establish a center in Marshall. T&P President [[Jay Gould]] accepted the business incentive, locating the T&P's workshops and general offices for Texas in Marshall. The city immediately had a population explosion from workers attracted to the potential for new jobs there.<ref name="Campbell"/>

By 1880, the city was one of the [[Southern United States|South]]'s largest [[cotton]] markets, with crops and other products shipped by the railroad. The city's prosperity attracted new businesses: [[Joe Weisman & Company|J. Weisman and Co.]] opened here as the first [[department store]] in Texas.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Weissbach|first=Lee Shai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDViIlVm0s8C&pg=PA101|title=Jewish Life in Small-Town America: A History|date=2008-10-01|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-12765-2|language=en}}</ref> When one light bulb was installed in the Texas and Pacific Depot, Marshall became the first city in Texas to have electricity. During this period of wealth, many of the city's now historic homes were constructed. The city's most prominent industry, pottery manufacturing, began with the establishment of [[Marshall Pottery]] in 1895.

Despite the prosperity of the railroad era, some city residents struggled with poverty. Blacks were severely discriminated against under what was known as [[Jim Crow]] laws and customs. At the turn of the 20th century, the Democratic-dominated state legislature passed segregation laws and [[Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|disenfranchised most blacks and Hispanics]], as did all the states of the former Confederacy in this period. These minorities were essentially excluded from the political system for more than 60 years. Unable to vote, they were also excluded from juries and suffered injustices from [[all-white juries]]. In addition, from 1877 to 1950, Harrison County had 14 lynchings, most in the early 20th century, and more than any other county in Texas.

In the rural areas of Harrison County, more interaction occurred between whites and African-Americans than in the city, and whites and blacks were often neighbors. However, Jim Crow rules were strongly imposed on African-Americans.