In 1716, Spain established a mission there, Misión Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe[broken anchor], the first European construction in the area.

[11] Colonel Antonio Gil Y'Barbo, a Spanish trader, emerged as the leader of the settlers, and in the spring of 1779, he led a group back to Nacogdoches.

People from the United States began moving to settle in Nacogdoches in 1820, and Texas's first English-language newspaper was published there.

In 1832, the Battle of Nacogdoches brought many local settlers together, as they united in their stand to support a federalist form of government.

[15] Sam Houston lived in Nacogdoches for four years prior to the Texas Revolution (1836) and opened a law office downtown.

[16] He was appointed as an agent to trade with the Cherokees and was prominent in providing assistance to the Texas Army during the Revolution.

Adolphus Sterne was a merchant of German Jewish extraction who maintained the finest home in town.

His frequent visitors included Sam Houston, Thomas Rusk, Chief Bowles and David Crockett, so his diary is one of the best sources for early Nacogdoches history.

August Tubbe was a German-born immigrant, who with his elderly mother, left Germany in 1858 and arrived in Nacogdoches by 1859.

[18] Their lives are recounted in several books, including a historical fiction novel by Gisela Laudi entitled "I am Justina Tubbe".

[19] Tubbe plantation is historically significant in the formation of early life in East Texas, not only in its cotton and sugarcane,[17] but also because it later played an important part in milled-lumber production.

The estate contains one of the largest privately-owned genealogical archives pertaining to the Tubbe family in existence, providing important insight into early settlers' life during the 19th century.

August Tubbe was responsible for not only his large 2,000-acre (810 ha) plantation, sawmill, and participation in Milam Masonic Lodge,[21] but also is credited with bringing the now defunct Texas and New Orleans Railroad spur into town.

However, after the war, Barret returned to Oil Springs, an area about 13 miles (21 km) east of Nacogdoches, to resume his project by acquiring another drilling contract in 1865.

In 1868, the price of oil dropped so low that Barret lost his financial backing, and was forced to resign from the project.

[24] In 1912, the Marx Brothers came to town to perform their singing act at the old Opera House (now the SFA Cole Art Center).

Most of the audience left the building, and when they filed back in, Julius (later known as Groucho) began insulting them, saying "Nacogdoches is full of roaches!"

Soon afterward, Julius and his brothers decided to try their hand at comedy instead of singing, at which they had barely managed to scrape together a living.

In the edition of March 8, 1950, of You Bet Your Life, Marx said, "I was once pinched in Nacogdoches for playing euchre on the front porch of a hotel.

[citation needed] In 1997, singer Willie Nelson came to Nacogdoches to perform with his friend, Paul Buskirk, a mandolin player.

[26][27][28] Nacogdoches experienced the same problems Houston was having because of the unprecedented number of people evacuating the Houston-Galveston area.

Many Houstonians took the Eastex Freeway (U.S. Highway 59) (future Interstate 69) out of Houston to evacuate through East Texas.

As a result of Hurricane Rita, U.S. Highway 59 has been designated as an evacuation route by TXDOT, with all of its lanes to be used for contraflow traffic.

[31] The community celebrates a host of other events year round which can be found by going to visitnacogdoches.com Once a Democratic stronghold, Nacogdoches has in recent years[clarification needed] moved steadily toward the Republican Party, being represented in the United States Congress and the Texas State Legislature by Republicans.

[clarification needed] Nacogdoches' downtown was named the "Best Historic Venue" by Texas Meetings and Events magazine.

Like many college towns in the United States, Nacogdoches businesses heavily depend on university students as customers and regularly employ them.