War of 1812 veteran John Dewberry came to Texas in 1835 and was listed as a resident of Tyler by 1845. A successful businessman and cotton farmer, he served on the commission to locate county boundaries and a county seat after the creation of Smith County in 1846. The Greek Revival house he named "Myrtle-Vale" was begun in 1852 and served as headquarters for his large cotton plantation. A rare surviving example in the county of a two-story antebellum residence, the Dewberry house remained in the family until 1908.