In an area opened in 1839 to white settlers by Republic of Texas victories over Cherokee Indians, whose trails led the way to good springs, fine farmlands, and useful salines, the town founded in 1846 was named by the first Legislature of the state of Texas for President John Tyler, who signed the resolution annexing Texas to the United States. Originally a farm market, Tyler in its early years had few men of wealth, but by 1860 it was known for good schools, churches, and cultured citizens. Several men there raised and commanded troops in the Civil War, and after mid-1863 it became transportation headquarters for the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederacy. It had an ordnance factory and was the site of Camp Ford, the largest P.O.W. post west of the Mississippi. In the 1870s it was important as the site of railroad shops and a roundhouse, and it developed industries, manufacturing, fruit and vegetable packing, shipping, and an expanding economy. It furnished Texas with statesmen, including Governors Richard B. Hubbard, in office 1876-1879, O. M. Roberts, 1879-1883, and James Stephen Hogg, 1891-1895. Upon discovery of the nearby East Texas oil field in 1931, it became an investment, banking, and servicing center, and it was home of Tyler Junior College and the annual Rose Festival.
