Gilmer, Texas

Gilmer is a city in and the county seat of Upshur County, Texas, United States. Its population was 4,843 at the 2020 census. The East Texas Yamboree is an annual event held in Gilmer. Founded in 1846, the city's namesake is former Secretary of the Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer. Gilmer is located on the Old Cherokee Trace, a trail used by the Cherokee Indians in their travels. To this day, arrowheads and other Native American artifacts can be found with little to no digging. Sam Houston, when he lived with the Cherokee, traveled the trace through here. The location of Gilmer was determined by a flood on Little Cypress Creek. First located near the creek, residents decided to change locations because of frequent floods. In 1919, Chilton Jennings, a 28-year-old African American man, was lynched in Gilmer’s town square by a mob of about 1,000 White residents.