Today, this steam-and-diesel railroad museum operates tourist trains between Palestine and Rusk.

Indigenous groups, such as the Coushatta Tribe, occupied this area for thousands of years before European encounter.

During the years of Spanish and Mexican control of major parts of the Southwest, what became East Texas was lightly settled by Europeans.

[8] In 1846, the Texas Legislature incorporated Palestine to serve as a seat for the newly established Anderson County.

James R. Fulton, Johnston Shelton, and William Bigelow were hired by the first Anderson County commissioners to survey the surrounding land and lay out a town site.

An 1861 state almanac showed that the city was connected to the rest of Texas via a tri-weekly stagecoach that served Huntsville, Crockett, and Nacogdoches.

[11] In 1861, a joint resolution called for the construction of the "Metropolitan Railroad" from Texarkana to Austin, passing through Palestine, Henderson, and Fairfield.

In the postwar period, during the Reconstruction era, the timber trade and town growth were stimulated in the 1870s by the construction of a railroad through here.

Successful merchant owners and railroad executives built other elaborate homes along South Sycamore Street.

The railroad originally transported raw materials to the iron smelter located at the Rusk Penitentiary.

One of the many historical sites is Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which was designed by Nicholas J. Clayton.

Palestine became a center for oil-well servicing and supplies in support of other producing fields found later elsewhere in Anderson County.

[17] Construction of the earth-filled Blackburn Crossing Dam on the Upper Neches River, creating Lake Palestine as a reliable source of water, was begun in 1960, and completed in 1962.

The Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority owns and operates Lake Palestine.

[29] As the city's population has grown despite interval declines from 1990 to 2020, its racial and ethnic makeup continues to be dominated by non-Hispanic or non-Latino whites, and Black or African Americans according to official census records.

[33] The official census tabulation and census estimates reflect continued diversification within the United States;[34] in 2000,[3] the racial and ethnic makeup was 64.60% White, 24.77% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 7.90% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races.

[36] Typical of many rural American communities, Palestine's economy is stimulated by small businesses, and local chains from national and international retailer.

Other significant employers include a thriving medical and healthcare sector that tends to the large population of retirees.

[38] The current Anderson County Courthouse in Palestine is the fourth building to serve this purpose.

Trinity Valley Community College operates TVCC-Palestine just north of the city limits at the intersection of US 287 and State Highway 19.

In addition to offering academic transfer courses, the Palestine campus offers vocational-technical programs in vocational nursing, cosmetology, mid-management, computer science, criminal justice, business and office technology, fire science, legal assistant, emergency medical technician, and paramedic programs, and also trains correctional officers for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

The nearest television transmitter to the city is KETK-TV (NBC) located 30 miles away at Mt.

Likewise, most radio stations serving Palestine originate from Tyler, Jacksonville, or Henderson.

Wired internet for the city is primarily provided by Suddenlink and CenturyLink, with Windstream serving rural areas formerly operated by Valor Telecom.

One afternoon flight arrived from Dallas and Tyler continuing on to Lufkin, Beaumont, and Houston, while another aircraft stopped through going the other way.