The Durst-Taylor House is the best small historic stop in town: an 1830s wood-frame house with gardens, a smokehouse, a blacksmith shop, and simple exhibits on the families who lived here. It is the kind of place that makes early Texas feel domestic rather than mythic.
The house stands near El Camino Real de los Tejas, the old Spanish route across East Texas. Tours are usually short and free, which suits the scale of the place. Pair it with a walk along North Street and the nearby downtown blocks.