Love's Lookout

On this nine mile long ridge there are two historic lookout points which command a view of 30 to 35 miles. Between this site, with an elevation of 713 ft., and Point Lookout (1/4 mi. NW), lies a narrow valley. An Indian trail and later a pioneer road crossed this valley. The pass became known as McKee's Gap in 1846, after Thomas McKee led a group of Presbyterians here from Tennessee and began the town of Larissa (3.5 mi. NW). Named by McKee's son the Rev. T. N. McKee, the village flourished as the location of Larissa College from the 1850s until the 1870s. Point Lookout was a popular recreational area for citizens of Larissa until the railroad bypassed the town and it declined. Around the turn of the century, John Wesley Love (1858-1925) bought this land and developed a 600-acre peach orchard. Known as Love's Lookout, the scenic point was used for outings by area residents. After Love's death, his family gave 22.22 acres, including the lookout site, to the state for a park. The City of Jacksonville bought 25 adjoining acres and developed both tracts as a WPA project. J. L. Brown (1866-1944) and Jewel Newton Brown (1873-1966), former Larissa residents, gave the city 122 acres next to the park in 1940 in tribute to pioneers of Larissa. (1978)

Love's Lookout is a historical marker in Jacksonville, Cherokee County, dedicated in 1978. It is one of 112 historical markers documented in Cherokee County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 245 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.0314, -95.2790 near Jacksonville. The nearest cataloged historic site is Unknown (cemetery), about 0.5 miles away. Others within a short drive include Spraggins Family, Gossett Chapel, and Grimes Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5073006965. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.