TYLER, Texas — The name, Erwin, is a familiar staple in Tyler and a name that has ties to Councilwoman Dr. Shirley McKellar. Off Highway 64 in west Tyler is an event venue you may have missed, but holds a lot of history for the Rose City.
"This property actually means a lot to me. My ancestors actually used to live on this property. It was the Erwin plantation early in the 1800s when my family settled here," McKellar said.
This property is now home to an event venue. Fast forward a few centuries, this same property hosted a reunion between long-lost family members in 2004.
"My family received a letter from the Caucasian side of the family from California and said that they wanted to come back into Tyler, meet some of the Black Erwins and come together and unify. It was an amazing event," McKellar said. "A couple of my cousins that lived here in the city were able to attend – Larry and Pamela Erwin."
McKellar couldn’t attend that reunion since she was stationed in Iraq. Though this property does look beautiful in current day, it brings mixed feelings for her.
"I can just visualize seeing my family out there. They worked with the roses – that was the big thing that they did roses, watermelons and potatoes," McKellar said. "I have some real mixed feelings about it because it was slavery times I guess."
If the name Erwin sounds familiar, McKellar said her ancestors helped build Smith County – which is why you may see the name sprinkled across town.
"My grandfather is that once he got off of this plantation he purchased his own land and 500 acres where I grew up on off Highway 110," McKellar said.