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Angleton, Texas

Everything Angleton is known for

1 song mention this city

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Music in Angleton

Songs About Angleton

the ballad of lavern and captain flint
guy clark
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Artists From Angleton

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Rivers & Roads in Song near Angleton

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Angleton.

Brazos River 43 songs FM 3005 2 songs Interstate 45 8 songs U.S. Route 59 9 songs Texas Colorado River 6 songs Trinity River 11 songs

History of Angleton

The Courthouse That Became a Museum RoadyGoat

At 100 East Cedar Street stands the old red-brick building that ran Brazoria County for half a century. Accepted as finished in 1897, it was designed by Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner, who built courthouses all over Texas; this one reused the same plans Heiner had drawn for Bay City's courthouse next door in Matagorda County. The walls are masonry, faced in Houston brick with stucco trim, in the heavy, round-arched style fashionable in that era. The county outgrew it and put up a modern courthouse in 1940, after which the old building drifted through odd county uses and slowly fell into disrepair. By the late 1970s it was slated for demolition. The Brazoria County Historical Commission fought to save it, and on March 26, 1979, County Judge E. E. Brewer signed a 100-year lease handing it to the Commission as a museum. Today it's the Brazoria County Historical Museum, free to enter, with exhibits on Stephen F. Austin's colony, the county's plantations, and its oil-and-rail past, all housed inside the very building where that history was once recorded and ruled on. (Source: Brazoria County Historical Museum; Handbook of Texas.)

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The Town That Helped Build the Pacemaker RoadyGoat

This unassuming county seat once sat at the center of America's heart-implant industry. In 1973 a former Medtronic salesman named Albert Beutel founded Intermedics down the road in Freeport, and the company's reach soon spread into Angleton. Its first product was a small, mercury-powered implantable pulse generator, but the breakthrough came in 1976, when Intermedics introduced one of the first lithium-battery pacemakers, an advance that roughly tripled how long an implanted heart device could keep working before surgery to replace it. Building these things demands obsessive precision; a pacemaker is a sealed computer that has to run flawlessly inside a living body for years. To handle that low-volume, high-stakes assembly, Intermedics spun off a manufacturing arm in 1979, and that subsidiary grew up to become Benchmark Electronics, which by 1994 ran its corporate headquarters at 3000 Technology Drive in Angleton, right across from Intermedics. For a couple of decades, devices keeping hearts beating across the country were being engineered and assembled in this Gulf Coast farm town, a genuinely unique chapter of Texas medical technology. (Source: The World of Implantable Devices; Benchmark Electronics.)

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Angleton, TX RoadyGoat

Angleton, Texas, holds a quiet charm, a community-oriented small town where the rhythm of life often feels steady. Yet, beneath this calm, a history of notable figures and local lore runs deep. The city, founded in 1893 and named for Mrs. Angle, whose land facilitated the crucial depot, saw its prominence grow significantly when it became the county seat in 1896. Before that, during the Civil War, the area played a strategic role as the site of a Confederate salt works, a testament to the region's resources. Today, the waterways surrounding Angleton are still home to alligators, a constant reminder of the natural environment that defines this part of Texas. While the petrochemical industry in nearby Freeport draws many residents for work, Angleton has also sent its own talent into wider spheres.

Alsbury, Horace Arlington

1824

Horace (Horatio, Horacio) Arlington (Alex, Alexander) Alsbury (Alsberry, Allsbury; variant spellings occur in the surname of related Alsburys), possibly a native of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, came to Texas as one of Stephen F. Austin 's Old Three Hundred . With two of his brothers, James Harvey and Charles Grundison Alsbury , he received title to a league and a half of land now in Brazoria County on August 3, 1824. Although he called himself a doctor, it is not known where he studied medicine. He rode horseback across the Rio Grande between Mexico and Texas numerous times. He wrote voluminously to important persons in the Texas government and volunteered for numerous military activities. In January 1834 Stephen F. Austin wrote from Monterrey that he was sending by "Mr. Allsbury," probably Horace Alsbury, two portrait miniatures of himself to his Texas kin. In late August 1835, after perhaps being at the legislature of Coahuila and Texas in Monclova, Alsbury published a handbill in Columbia, "To The People Of Texas," warning of Antonio López de Santa Anna 's plans to drive Anglo-Americans from Texas. In the siege of Bexar (November-December 1835) he was a member of Capt. John York 's Company. In early 1836 Alsbury married Mrs. Juana Navarro Pérez, daughter of José Ángel Navarro , a Santa Anna loyalist of Bexar. She remained in the Alamo during the siege and final assault by Mexican forces ( see ALSBURY, JUANA NAVARRO ). Alsbury rode from the Alamo as one of the messengers on February 23, during the first hours after Santa Anna captured Bexar. On March 1 he possibly accompanied the thirty-two Gonzales volunteers on their way to the Alamo, and on March 3 he was in Gonzales with other Texas volunteers after failing to contact James W. Fannin 's division expected to reinforce the Alamo. Alsbury was a member of Henry W. Karnes 's company at San Jacinto and was one of the 154 Masons to take part in the fighting. After the battle he joined in the surveillance of Mexican troops retreating from San Jacinto toward La Bahía and Mexico. He returned to Bexar in May 1836 and took his wife and her young son away from the devastated town to Calavero Ranch, on the Goliad road. He received a military donation and bounties for his service at San Jacinto. The Congress of the Republic of Texas allowed him payment for service as major of the infantry and as interpreter for the post of Bexar, 1835 and 1836. He secured a land grant south of San Antonio near the site of present Von Ormy. In 1837 he successfully bid for office of tax assessor for Bexar County, which he may have held for some time before John W. Smith assumed the position. In early 1838 Alsbury and Joseph Baker, as Indian agents of the republic, led a group of men from Bexar and met with the Comanches on a peace mission on the Pedernales. They barely escaped with their lives. In late 1838 Alsbury wrote from San Antonio regarding the favorable business in South Texas with self-proclaimed Federalist traders from Mexico. In late 1839 and early 1840 Alsbury served as commander of Federalist leader Antonio Canales's bodyguard along the Rio Grande during the running battles of Mexican general Mariano Arista 's forces against Canales and Samuel W. Jordan 's movement to establish the Republic of the Rio Grande . During desperate fighting, Alsbury and his command, fleeing for their lives, escaped into Texas. In 1839 Alsbury joined other San Antonio citizens to ask for government protection of their lives and those of their families against Indian and Mexican incursions. In early September 1842 he was among the Texans captured by Mexican general Adrián Woll and marched to Mexico's Perote Prison, where he remained until his release on March 24, 1844. According to Juana Alsbury her husband accompanied the American army across the Rio Grande in 1846 during the Mexican War and was killed somewhere between Camargo and Saltillo in June 1847.

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Bailey, James Briton

1818

James Brit(t)on (Brit) Bailey, one of Stephen F. Austin 's Old Three Hundred colonists, was born in North Carolina on August 1, 1779. He married Edith Smith, and the couple had six children; after her death around 1815, Bailey married her sister, Nancy, also known as Dorothy or Dot Smith, and they had five children. Bailey apparently lived in Kentucky for a number of years and reportedly served in the legislature of that state; however he acquired a controversial reputation and may have been prosecuted for the crime of forgery before he left the state. He also resided in Tennessee for a number of years and fought in the War of 1812. He, his family, and six adult slaves moved to Texas around 1818 and settled near the Brazos River, where Bailey allegedly bought land from the Spanish government. After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821 he continued to claim title to his land, although the Mexican government did not recognize his title. Possibly due either to Bailey's reputation in Kentucky or his questionable land claim, Stephen F. Austin ordered him to leave the Austin colony. However, on July 7, 1824, Austin recognized Bailey's squatter's claim to a league and a labor of land on the east bank of the Brazos River near what is now Bailey's Prairie. Although Bailey and Austin reportedly disliked one another, Austin convened settlers from the lower Brazos region to Bailey's home to take an oath of fidelity to the Constitution of 1824 . At that meeting Bailey became lieutenant of a company of militia. In 1829 Governor José María Viesca granted him a commission as captain. Bailey fought in the battles of Jones Creek and Velasco , respectively in 1824 and 1832. He became known for his eccentric behavior and frequently engaged in brawls. He died on December 6, 1832, probably from cholera. He was buried in the family graveyard on Bailey's Prairie. His will, still extant, required that he be buried standing up and facing the West" legend has added "with my rifle at my side and a jug of whiskey at my feet." His ghost is said to wander the area as a white round ball of light, known as Bailey's Light, searching for more whiskey. The Texas Historical Commission placed a marker near Bailey's Prairie in 1970 to commemorate his life. BIBLIOGRAPHY : James Briton Bailey Papers, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. Eugene C. Barker, ed., The Austin Papers (3 vols., Washington: GPO, 1924–28). James A. Creighton, A Narrative History of Brazoria County (Angleton, Texas: Brazoria County Historical Commission, 1975). Edward M. Golson, "Baileys and Polleys among Earliest Texans," Frontier Times , February 1936. Josephine Polley Golson, Bailey's Light: Saga of Brit Bailey and Other Hardy Pioneers (San Antonio: Naylor, 1950). Noah Smithwick, The Evolution of a State, or Recollections of Old Texas Days (Austin: Gammel, 1900; rpt., Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin.

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Brigham, Asa

1830

Asa Brigham, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence , first treasurer of the Republic of Texas , and mayor of Austin, was born in Massachusetts about 1790. With his wife, Elizabeth S., two sons, a daughter, and a son-in-law, he arrived in Texas from Louisiana in April 1830. In December the ayuntamiento of San Felipe de Austin announced his election as síndico procurador for the precinct of Victoria (Brazoria), and in December 1831 he was elected comisario for the same precinct. He was one of those who signed a document on June 20, 1832, indicating readiness to participate in military operations in the interest of Texas independence. On October 6, 1832, he was elected treasurer for the Brazoria district. Brigham was appointed a member of the Brazoria board of health in 1831. After 1832 he kept a ferry at Brazoria, where he ran a mercantile business with his son-in-law, and later he was a stockholder in the San Saba Colonization Company and receiver of stock for the Brazos and Galveston Railroad. He acquired leagues of land at Hall's Bayou in Brazoria County and in Galveston and Bastrop counties, and raised sugar, cotton, corn, and cattle. By 1833 his daughter, wife, and son-in-law had all died. Though he held slaves for a time, Brigham later signed petitions for free Blacks. As one of those instrumental in establishing a Masonic lodge at Brazoria, he served as junior warden there and was also a charter member of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas, organized at Houston on December 20, 1837. Brigham was elected Brazoria alcalde in 1835. He served as one of four representatives from Brazoria to the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos and was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He remained at the convention until at least March 16, 1836. David G. Burnet appointed him auditor of the Republic of Texas , and President Sam Houston named him treasurer on December 20, 1836. He was the first to hold the latter office and was reappointed by Mirabeau B. Lamar in January 1839. On February 16, 1839, Brigham became a Houston alderman while serving as national treasurer. He left the treasury on April 12, 1840; later that year he was charged with using state funds for private purposes but was cleared. Houston reappointed him treasurer on December 31, 1841, and in 1842 Brigham became mayor of Austin. After the death of his first wife he married Mrs. Ann Johnson Mather, on July 8, 1839. He died on July 3, 1844, at Washington, Texas, where he is buried. A monument was erected by the state of Texas at the burial site in 1936, and Brigham's remains were removed to a site in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site sometime later.

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The Hon. Nathan H. Haller

1840

Born into slavery in Charleston, South Carolina on July 8, 1840, Nathan H. Haller was a Texas political leader, serving in the 23rd and 24th Texas Legislatures in the House of Representatives. Haller was brought to Walker County by his enslaver. After Emancipation, Haller operated a local farm and became active in Republican politics and served as county commissioner. Haller married Paralee Jordan of Huntsville, and the couple had two children: Jackson and James. After Paralee died, he married Annie Butcher, and they had three children: Joseph, Munroe and Jemmima. 
 By 1892, Haller moved his family to a farm in Brazoria County, remaining active in local politics. Voters elected him to the 23rd Texas Legislature, representing Brazoria and Matagorda Counties in the 40th district. Haller served as Brazoria County’s first black legislator. Two years later, he was reelected to the same seat after the House Committee on Privileges and Elections ruled in Haller’s favor in a contested election. Haller was appointed to the Roads, Bridges and Ferries; Labor; and Penitentiaries Committees. In 1893, Haller authored House Bill 469, seeking to establish a branch of the University of Texas for black students. 
 After his second term, he moved to Houston’s Third Ward. He was working as a wagon driver in 1910. He died on February 27, 1917, and was buried in Houston’s College Park Cemetery with surviving family members residing in Angleton and Houston. Haller and colleague R.L. Smith were the last African Americans elected to the Texas Legislature until 1966.


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Brazoria County Courthouse

1897

Angleton's first permanent courthouse was built in 1897, a year after the city was chosen Brazoria County seat. Constructed from plans originally drawn for the Matagorda County courthouse, the structure was enlarged and extensively remodeled in 1927. After the building suffered some structural damage in a 1932 storm, the county erected a new courthouse but maintained offices here until the 1970s. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1983

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Angleton Independent School District

1892

On September 5, 1892, two Angleton residents donated one of the original town blocks near this site to the city for school purposes. Citizens contributed two hundred dollars for a frame building to house the first classes for Angleton students and serve as a meeting house for lectures, programs and services. Enrollment increased quickly, and the community made additions to the structure as needed. In 1897 Angleton was incorporated as a school district. A new brick building erected that year was destroyed in the 1900 storm but was soon replaced. The people of Angleton took pride in their school system and its support. The city touted its academic program to attract new residents. Citizens continued to demonstrate their dedication to the district by voting to enlarge the district from 12 to 25 square miles and approving the construction of another, larger brick facility after the second brick building was destroyed in a 1909 storm. The new structure was called "Albert Sidney Johnston School" for one of the county's famous former citizens. The community continued to grow, and within a few years a new high school was erected. In 1931 the school district served eleven grades instead of ten, and in about 1940 the district extended its program to twelve grades. Separate schools for African American and Hispanic students were established until widespread integration was achieved in the 1960s. The town annexed more rural land, resulting in a still-higher enrollment and more crowding in the schools. The Angleton School District continued to grow, and by the end of the twentieth century encompassed 396 square miles. (2000)

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Things to Do in Angleton

nature 12.4 mi away
Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge

More than 40,000 acres of coastal marsh and prairie on the Central Flyway — one of the top birding spots in the U.S., with 320+ recorded species. Drive the…

Sports in Angleton

🏆 STATE CHAMPIONS Class 5A · Softball · 2019

Angleton Wildcats — 2019 UIL 5A Softball State Champions

Most recent: 2019 5A

Angleton High School, nestled in the heart of Angleton, Texas, has a proud history in Class 5A softball. The Wildcats have consistently demonstrated strong play on the diamond, reflecting the competitive spirit found throughout Texas high school athletics. Their program continues to be a point of local pride, drawing support from the community.

The Angleton Wildcats reached the pinnacle of Texas high school softball, securing a UIL State Championship in 2019. This achievement highlights a period of excellence for the program, marking them as one of the top teams in Class 5A during that season. The success of the team provides a memorable chapter in Angleton's sports history.

State titles
2019
Most recent
2019
Class
5A
The moment

Angleton High School claimed the Class 5A UIL State Championship title in 2019.

Sources: Wikipedia · UIL State Championship Archives · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)

Everything Near Angleton

398 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

  • The Courthouse That Became a Museum

    At 100 East Cedar Street stands the old red-brick building that ran Brazoria County for half a century. Accepted as finished in 1897, it was designed by Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner, who built courthouses all over…

  • The Town That Helped Build the Pacemaker

    This unassuming county seat once sat at the center of America's heart-implant industry. In 1973 a former Medtronic salesman named Albert Beutel founded Intermedics down the road in Freeport, and the company's reach soon…

  • Angleton, TX

    Angleton, Texas, holds a quiet charm, a community-oriented small town where the rhythm of life often feels steady. Yet, beneath this calm, a history of notable figures and local lore runs deep. The city, founded in 1893…

  • Named for a Railroad Man's Wife

    The town you're rolling into owes both its name and its existence to a railroad. In 1890, Lewis R. Bryan Sr. and Faustino Kiber laid out a townsite near the geographic center of Brazoria County, betting that steel rails…

  • Angleton's Pro Football Hall of Famer

    Angleton can claim a Pro Football Hall of Famer as a native son. Emmitt Thomas was born here on June 3, 1943, and took an unlikely road to the top. He went undrafted out of tiny Bishop College in Dallas, signed with the…

  • The Godfather of Nu Metal Was Born Here

    One of the most influential rock producers of the 1990s started life in Angleton. Ross Robinson was born here on February 13, 1967, before his family's path led him to California and a career in heavy music. He cut his…

  • The High School That Sent Stars Up the Road

    Angleton High School has quietly produced an outsized share of big-time athletes. Quentin Jammer, a do-everything two-way star here in the 1990s, made the 1997 Texas high-school all-star team alongside future NFL…

  • The Biggest County Fair in Texas

    Every October, Angleton more than doubles in spirit when the Brazoria County Fair rolls in, billed as the largest county fair in Texas. It grew out of humble beginnings. In 1938 the Angleton Jaycees took over running…

  • The Judge Who Never Adjourned

    After dark, the old courthouse on Cedar Street earns a second reputation, the one that doesn't make the museum brochures. Local ghost lore holds that the 1897 building, now the Brazoria County Historical Museum, is…

  • Freeman W. Douglass · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site where Freeman W. Douglass once stood guard. He was born in Georgia way back on December 21, 1822. During the Texas Revolution, on April 21, 1836, Douglass was part of the group tasked with…

  • The Records That Moved by Lantern Light · 0.1 mi

    Becoming a county seat is rarely peaceful, and Angleton's promotion in 1896 was downright bitter. The honor had long belonged to the older town of Brazoria, and the fight over moving it inland to the young railroad town…

  • Brazoria County Courthouse · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    Angleton's first permanent courthouse was built in 1897, a year after the city was chosen Brazoria County seat. Constructed from plans originally drawn for the Matagorda County courthouse, the structure was enlarged and…

Show all 200 nearby places
  • Alsbury, Horace Arlington · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Horace (Horatio, Horacio) Arlington (Alex, Alexander) Alsbury (Alsberry, Allsbury; variant spellings occur in the surname of related Alsburys), possibly a native of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, came to Texas as one of…

  • Bailey, James Briton · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    James Brit(t)on (Brit) Bailey, one of Stephen F. Austin 's Old Three Hundred colonists, was born in North Carolina on August 1, 1779. He married Edith Smith, and the couple had six children; after her death around 1815,…

  • Brigham, Asa · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Asa Brigham, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence , first treasurer of the Republic of Texas , and mayor of Austin, was born in Massachusetts about 1790. With his wife, Elizabeth S., two sons, a daughter, and…

  • Brown, Reuben Robinson · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, maybe near the coast, and you're passing through a story of survival from the Texas Revolution. Reuben Robinson Brown arrived in Texas in November 1835, just in time to join the Matamoros…

  • Dodson, Sarah Randolph Bradley · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Harrisburg, a place that saw a pivotal moment in Texas history. Back in 1835, Sarah Dodson, a resident here, was asked to make a flag for a volunteer company preparing to resist the…

  • Ellersly Plantation · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, not far from the Gulf Coast, and you're passing through the echoes of Ellersly Plantation. Established in 1824 by John Greenville McNeel, this was more than just a farm; it was a…

  • Johnston, Albert Sidney · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the heart of Texas, a land shaped by conflict and courage. Right here, in what is now Brazoria County, Albert Sidney Johnston made his home. Born in Kentucky, Johnston came to Texas in 1836,…

  • Logan, Greenbury · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Brazoria County, a place that was once home to Greenbury Logan. Born into slavery in Kentucky around 1798, Logan was freed and came to Texas in 1831. He was a free Black man who became…

  • Mitchell, Asa · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the heart of early Texas settlement, near the mouth of the Brazos River. Right here, Asa Mitchell, one of Stephen F. Austin's 'Old Three Hundred,' arrived in 1822. He wasn't just a…

  • Phelps, James Aeneas E. · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here is the site of Orozimbo Plantation, home to Dr. James Aeneas E. Phelps. Phelps was one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists, arriving in Texas in 1822. He…

  • Smith, Henry · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the heart of early Texas politics, right here in what is now Brazoria County. And you're passing through the territory of Henry Smith, a man who became known as the first American…

  • Angleton, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Angleton, a town that holds a dark distinction. On August 31st, 1923, right here, what is believed to be the last legal hanging in Texas took place. Angleton was named for the wife of a railway…

  • San Luis, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    San Luis was on what is now Farm Road 257 across San Luis Pass from the west end of Galveston Island and twelve miles east of Surfside in southeastern Brazoria County. The area, San Luis Island, was still a true island…

  • Velasco, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Old Velasco, (encompassed by present-day Surfside Beach) on the east side of the Brazos River sixteen miles south of Angleton and near the Gulf of Mexico in southeastern Brazoria County, was founded in 1831. Ten years…

  • Acadia · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're cruising along the Texas coast, and right here, ten miles northeast of the Brazos River mouth, lies the watery grave of a Civil War blockade runner. The Acadia, built extra large and fast in 1864 for this…

  • Adriance, John · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, near the town of Columbia, where John Adriance made his mark. Arriving in Texas in 1835, he first helped protect fleeing Texans during the Runaway Scrape and even guarded Santa…

  • Brazoria County · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, right where Texas history really got its start. Back in 1821, Stephen F. Austin chose this very area for his ambitious colonization project. By 1824, eighty-nine of his original…

  • Brown, Henry Stevenson · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Brazoria County, perhaps near Columbia, where Henry Stevenson Brown met his end in 1834. But before that, he was a key player in early Texas conflicts. Arriving in 1824, he quickly got…

  • Bryan, Guy Morrison · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here is where a young courier rode to deliver one of the most famous letters in Texas history. It was March of 1836, and the Alamo had fallen. Sixteen-year-old Guy…

  • Eagle Island Plantation · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, not far from the Gulf. Right here, back in 1826, Sarah Ann Groce and her husband William Harris Wharton established Eagle Island Plantation. They built it up to cover 16,000 acres…

  • Edwards, Monroe · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Brazoria County, near Chenango, where Monroe Edwards built his fortune on a dark chapter of Texas history: slave smuggling. Born in Kentucky around 1808, Edwards arrived in Texas in…

  • Franklin, Benjamin Cromwell · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the Republic of Texas, a time of revolution and nation-building. Right here, Benjamin Cromwell Franklin was making history. Arriving in Velasco in 1835, he quickly joined the fight…

  • Green, Thomas Jefferson · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Velasco, a town that played a key role in the Texas Revolution. Right here, in 1836, Thomas Jefferson Green, a veteran of North Carolina and Florida politics, arrived with a Texas…

  • Hill, William Green · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, the heart of early Texas. Right here, William Green Hill, known as Colonel Hill, was more than just a soldier in the Texas Revolution. He was the very first signer of the Goliad…

  • Houston Tap and Brazoria Railway · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the heart of Texas's sugar country, and right here is where the Houston Tap and Brazoria Railway laid its tracks. Chartered in 1856, this line, nicknamed the 'Sugar Road,' was built…

  • Kiber, Faustino · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Angleton, a town that owes its very existence to a Swiss immigrant named Faustino Kiber. He arrived in Texas in 1874, eventually settling in Brenham and later Houston. But Kiber's real vision took…

  • Marshall, Abraham Barrington · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Angleton, Texas, and right here is a place that carries the name of a man who built his community from the ground up. Abraham "Abe" Barrington Marshall was born in Brazoria County in 1872. He…

  • McNeel, John Shelby · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here is the land once owned by John Shelby McNeel. He was one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists, arriving in Texas back in 1822. By 1830, his plantation, China…

  • McNeel, Pleasant D. · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here is the land where Pleasant D. McNeel made his mark. He arrived in Texas around 1822, becoming one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists. By 1824, he'd secured a…

  • McNeel, Sterling · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, the heart of Texas's early sugar country. Right here, Sterling McNeel arrived with Stephen F. Austin's first colonists back in 1822. He wasn't just a planter; McNeel was an Indian…

  • Retrieve Plantation · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, near what was once Retrieve Plantation. Opened in 1839 by Abner Jackson, this place was a sugar-producing powerhouse, making Jackson and his partner, former South Carolina…

  • Salmon, Richard · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Velasco, Texas, a place that saw the very beginning of organized Episcopal ministry in the state. <break time="400ms"/> Richard Salmon, a priest from New York, brought fifteen…

  • Sharp, John · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, not far from where John Sharp arrived in Texas back in 1835. He was a soldier and a civil servant, and he jumped right into the fight for Texas independence. Sharp signed…

  • Shipman, Daniel · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what used to be the wild frontier of Texas, and right here, Daniel Shipman was making his mark. Born in North Carolina in 1801, he arrived in North Texas in 1822, eventually joining Stephen F.…

  • Sweeny, Thomas Jefferson · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, the heart of Texas's early Republic struggles. Right here, in 1835, Thomas Jefferson Sweeny, a recent arrival from Tennessee, signed a petition calling for a convention to ease…

  • Thompson, Jesse · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Mexican Texas, perhaps near the Brazos River. Right here, Jesse Thompson, one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists, was trying to make a life for himself. He arrived in Texas…

  • Wharton, John Austin · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Brazoria County, the heart of a tragic story from the Civil War. John Austin Wharton, a name you might recognize from Terry's Texas Rangers, rose through the ranks to become a major…

  • Williams, Charles F. Augustus · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the Municipality of Brazoria, right where the town of Columbia became its capital in 1834. Right here, Charles F. Augustus Williams served as sheriff. He was a man who knew military…

  • Anchor, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Anchor is at the intersection of Farm roads 521 and 44 four miles northwest of Angleton in central Brazoria County. A two-story residence that was once the Whistler Hotel is all that remained in the 1980s to mark a once…

  • Bell, Thomas B. · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Thomas B. Bell, colonist, farmer, stockman, and soldier, obtained on August 16, 1824, in Stephen F. Austin 's first colony, a tract of 4,428 acres, situated on the west bank of the San Bernard River six miles from the…

  • Jones, Oliver · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Oliver Jones, Texas pioneer, Indian fighter, and public official, was born in New York City in 1794. He served in the War of 1812 and was taken prisoner by the British. He became so disturbed by the failure of the…

  • Sulfur Industry · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Sulfur, one of the major natural resources of Texas, occurs in important commercial quantities in the calcite caprock of some of the salt domes on the Coastal Plain , in the Permian Castile gypsum in numerous…

  • Angleton Independent School District · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    On September 5, 1892, two Angleton residents donated one of the original town blocks near this site to the city for school purposes. Citizens contributed two hundred dollars for a frame building to house the first…

  • Sweeny Home · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Sweeny Home in Angleton. This Victorian house, built in 1896, has a unique connection to the county's history. Its owner, Rees P. Sweeny, was the Brazoria County tax collector during a major…

  • Angier, Samuel Tubbs · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, near the Chocolate Bayou. Right here, in 1824, Dr. Samuel Tubbs Angier arrived as one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists. He was a physician who received land…

  • Bingham, Francis · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the edge of the Texas frontier, a land of opportunity and hardship. Francis Bingham arrived here in 1822, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred settlers. He established a…

  • Bolivar, TX (Brazoria County) · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, approaching the site of a town called Bolivar. It was founded in 1830 by Henry Austin, a cousin of Stephen F. Austin. He established a cotton plantation and one of the county's…

  • Cedar Lake Creek · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here, along Cedar Lake Creek, was a significant Confederate defense line during the Civil War. In late 1862, Camp Nellie was established here, hosting the Twenty-fifth…

  • Collins, Richard Montgomery · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, Texas, a place that saw a surprising post-Civil War exodus. Richard Montgomery Collins, a wealthy planter and legislator, wasn't content to stay after the war. In fact, he and…

  • Fourth Texas Cavalry, Arizona Brigade · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Confederate Texas, and right here, in Brazoria County, a unique military unit was stationed: the Fourth Texas Cavalry, Arizona Brigade. Organized in <say-as interpret-as="date"…

  • Gill, John Porter · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the heart of early Texas settlement, and right here, John Porter Gill answered the call to arms. Born in Alabama, he arrived in Texas in 1831 and quickly became involved in the…

  • Gray, Thomas · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Brazoria County, and right here, back in the 1820s, lived Thomas Gray. He was one of Stephen F. Austin's original 'Old Three Hundred' settlers, arriving as early as 1823. Gray was a…

  • Hall, William Sims · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Right here, in what is now Brazoria County, you're passing through a region that saw some early Texas grit. William Sims Hall, known as Sims Hall, was a militia captain and a contractor for Stephen F. Austin's army…

  • Haller, Nathan H. · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Brazoria County, a place where history was made by Nathan H. Haller. Born into slavery in South Carolina, Haller eventually made his way to Texas. After emancipation, he became a…

  • Holt, Benjamin · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here is where Benjamin Holt settled in the early 1850s, returning to Texas after living in Louisiana. Holt was a pioneer who first arrived in Mexican Texas back in 1825,…

  • Hunt, William Hudson · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the western edge of Wise County, Texas, a place William Hudson Hunt called Cactus Hill. Hunt arrived in Texas in 1836, a surveyor who mapped vast areas of the Republic, including…

  • McCormick, Andrew Phelps · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Brazoria County, the birthplace of Andrew P. McCormick. Born in 1832, McCormick was a man who navigated Texas's turbulent post-Civil War years. He started as a wealthy planter but…

  • Runnels, Henry George [Hal] · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what used to be Brazoria County, the home of Henry "Hal" George Runnels. Runnels was a Confederate officer who organized the San Jacinto Guards at the start of the Civil War. He was elected…

  • Sayre, Charles D. · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, not far from where Charles D. Sayre built his Willow Glen Plantation. Sayre arrived in Texas in 1831, a New Yorker who became a prominent sugar planter. By 1852, he was one of the…

  • Thirty-Fifth Texas Cavalry [Brown’s] · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Columbia, Texas, a town that gave its name to a company of soldiers during the Civil War. These were the 'Columbia Blues,' part of the Thirty-fifth Texas Cavalry, also known as…

  • Underwood, Ammon · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, near the town of Columbia, where Ammon Underwood spent most of his life. He arrived in Texas from Massachusetts back in 1834, and after exploring and working various jobs, he…

  • Waverly Plantation · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, not far from where the mighty Brazos River flows. Right here, back in the mid-1800s, stood Waverly Plantation. Purchased in 1842 by Scottish immigrant William Kennedy, this…

  • Chenango, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Chenango, seven miles north of Angleton on State Highway 521 and the International-Great Northern Railroad in northeast Brazoria County, was named for a town in New York State. It grew up around nearby Chenango…

  • Galveston and Brazos Navigation Company · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    The Brazos Canal Company, chartered in 1841, represented the first effort in the Galveston area to connect inland plantations to Gulf shipping ports. Construction began in 1847 on a "slave ditch" in southern Brazoria…

  • Gulf Prairie, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Gulf (Gulph) Prairie grew up around several plantations off what is now State Highway 36 between Jones Creek and the San Bernard River, twelve miles south of Angleton in southeastern Brazoria County. On December 31,…

  • Old Ocean, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Old Ocean is on State highways 35 and 524 five miles northwest of Sweeny in southwestern Brazoria County. The site was located on or near the land grant patented by Joseph H. Polley and Samuel Chance on July 27, 1824,…

  • Otey, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Otey is on Oyster Creek and the westernmost extension of Farm Road 655 in northwestern Brazoria County. Otey is the site of Palo Alto, an antebellum cotton plantation that was owned by Robert and David G. Mills . The…

  • Burnley, Albert Triplett · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, maybe near Brazoria County, and you're passing through a bit of Republic of Texas history. Albert Triplett Burnley was tasked by Sam Houston himself to secure a massive loan for the new…

  • Forbes, Robert Mitchell · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the heart of Texas history, and right here, in what was once Columbia, you're passing through the footsteps of Robert Mitchell Forbes. He arrived in Texas in February of <say-as…

  • Houston and Brazos Valley Railway · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what used to be a vital industrial corridor. The Houston and Brazos Valley Railway was chartered in 1907, taking over a line built in the early 1890s. Its main purpose? To connect the bustling…

  • Marsh, Shubael · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Spanish Texas, a land of opportunity for early settlers. Right here, in what is now Brazoria County, Shubael Marsh arrived in 1822, one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists. He…

  • Masterson, Thomas G. · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, perhaps near Rosharon, and you're passing through land once owned by Thomas G. Masterson. He arrived in Texas back in 1832, a lawyer from Tennessee. By the time he settled near…

  • Robinson, Tod · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near Galveston Island, and right here, Tod Robinson arrived in Texas in 1839. He settled at San Luis Pass, and before long, he was helping to edit the San Luis Advocate newspaper. He didn't stay out of…

  • Smith, Morgan L. · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the heart of a sugar empire in Brazoria County. Right here, in Columbia, Morgan L. Smith arrived after the financial panic of 1837, already a successful businessman from New York. He…

  • Velasco Terminal Railway · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near the Texas coast, likely in Brazoria County, where a grand plan once unfolded. In 1891, the Velasco Terminal Railway was chartered, part of a massive project to create a deep-water port at Velasco.…

  • First Baptist Church of Angleton · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Angleton, and right here is the site of the First Baptist Church. It got its start way back in 1896, with Joseph Matthew Kailin leading the congregation. But just four years later, a massive…

  • Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge is five miles east of Freeport and eleven miles southeast of Angleton and is bordered to the north and east by Bastrop Bayou and to the south by Bastrop, Christmas, and Drum bays. In…

  • China Grove, TX (Brazoria County) · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    China Grove is twelve miles north of Angleton, two miles south of Rosharon, and west of State Highway 288 in northwest Brazoria County. It was named for the chinaberry trees planted for shade by Warren D. C. Hall ,…

  • Hasima, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Hasima was on Linnville Bayou, which in that part of its course forms the border between Brazoria and Matagorda counties, and four miles west of Sweeny in southwestern Brazoria County. For a time Hasima was a stop on…

  • Stratton Ridge, TX · 0.2 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Stratton Ridge, also known as Ranch Prairie and Phair (but not to be confused with a community known as Stratton near Hinkle's Ferry), is a dispersed settlement thirteen miles east of Brazoria on the Missouri Pacific…

  • Cast Iron and Live Music Downtown · 0.3 mi

    If you want a meal in old downtown Angleton rather than out on the highway strip, The Dirty South at 116 North Velasco Street is the move. It occupies one of the historic brick storefronts on the original main drag, the…

  • First Presbyterian Church of Angleton · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Angleton's First Presbyterian Church, a story of faith and community resilience. Organized in 1896 with just fifteen members, this congregation faced hardship. The devastating 1900 storm…

  • The Hon. Nathan H. Haller · 0.7 mi · Historical Marker

    Born into slavery in Charleston, South Carolina on July 8, 1840, Nathan H. Haller was a Texas political leader, serving in the 23rd and 24th Texas Legislatures in the House of Representatives. Haller was brought to…

  • The Midnight Ride for the Courthouse · 1.2 mi

    The impressive Art Deco courthouse in the center of Angleton is more than just a government building; it’s a monument to a heist. In 1896, the brand-new railroad town of Angleton challenged the historic town of Brazoria…

  • When the Brazos River Broke Free · 1.2 mi

    In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey stalled over Southeast Texas, dumping staggering amounts of rain. For Angleton and the rest of Brazoria County, the greatest threat wasn't the wind, but the water. The Brazos River,…

  • The Science of a Super-Flood · 1.2 mi

    When Hurricane Harvey hit, the Brazos River turned into a massive physics problem. The storm dropped over thirty inches of rain into its watershed, and all that water had to go somewhere. Hydrologists measure river flow…

  • The End of the Line · 1.2 mi

    For half a century the pulse of Singleton was the rhythm of a train. The town did not exist until the International and Great Northern laid its line through east central Grimes County around 1900 and families moved out…

  • Surveyed with transits and chains · 1.2 mi

    The existence of Singleton is a story of 19th-century engineering. When the International & Great Northern Railroad planned its route, surveyors with transits and chains walked this land, calculating the most efficient…

  • Angelton, TX · 1.2 mi

    Angleton's transportation infrastructure includes Texas State Highway 288, which runs along the western edge of the city, providing access to downtown Houston 43 miles to the north and Freeport near the Gulf of Mexico…

  • Snow, Sheriff Joe H. · 1.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the area where Sheriff Joe H. Snow lived and served. Born in West Columbia in 1872, Snow began his public service as a justice of the peace for over a decade. He then moved to law enforcement,…

  • A 76-Foot Father of Texas · 1.7 mi

    Drive Highway 288 near Angleton and you can't miss him: a towering white figure of Stephen F. Austin, the empresario who brought the first Anglo colonists to this very county in the 1820s, now standing guard over the…

  • The Medic Who Crawled Through the Rice Paddies · 4.5 mi

    Farm to Market Road Five Twenty One through Brazoria County carries the name of the Clarence BB Sasser Medal of Honor Highway. Clarence Sasser was raised on a farm in Rosharon. He was studying chemistry at the…

  • Brit Bailey's Ghost Lantern · 4.8 mi

    The most enduring story from Bailey's Prairie is one you might see after dark. It's the legend of Bailey's Light. The town's founder, Brit Bailey, was a man who feared nothing and respected no one, including God. As he…

  • From Prairie to Petrochemicals · 4.8 mi

    As you drive through Bailey’s Prairie, you’re crossing a landscape defined by two different kinds of engineering. The first was agricultural: clearing a prairie, planting cotton, and using the Brazos River to ship it.…

  • The 'Free State' of Bailey's Prairie · 4.8 mi

    Bailey's Prairie has been out here on the Brazos flats since 1818, when James Briton 'Brit' Bailey settled the land that still carries his name. For a century and a half it stayed exactly what it was — an unincorporated…

  • Bailey's Prairie, TX · 4.8 mi

    Established in 1818, Bailey's Prairie is a village with a rich history, named after the pioneer James Briton 'Brit' Bailey. This early 19th-century founding makes it a place with deep roots in the southeastern part of…

  • Bailey Prairie, TX · 4.8 mi · Local history

    The genesis of Bailey Prairie, Texas, lies with the rich, fertile land that drew early Anglo-American settlers to the Brazoria County region. The broad, expansive prairies, fed by the nearby Brazos River, presented an…

  • Bailey, James Briton "Brit" · 5.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Bailey's Prairie, named for a man who wanted to face the world, even after death. James Briton 'Brit' Bailey arrived in Texas in 1818 with his wife and six kids, settling right here. He joined…

  • Bailey, "Brit", Plantation · 5.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Bailey's Prairie, the site of an early Texas plantation. James Briton Bailey, a fearless Irishman, established his claim here way back in 1818. He was a member of Stephen F. Austin's original…

  • Munson Cemetery · 5.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Bailey's Prairie in Brazoria County. In 1850, Mordello Stephen Munson set aside this burial tract for his family and friends. It was part of the Ridgely Plantation.

  • The Flood of 2017 · 5.8 mi

    In late August 2017, Holiday Lakes faced its greatest test. Hurricane Harvey parked over Southeast Texas and the rain began to fall, and fall, and fall. For a town built on flat coastal plain along Oyster Creek, four…

  • Engineering a Lakeside Town · 5.8 mi

    The town of Holiday Lakes is, first and foremost, a feat of earth-moving. Look at a map and you see a community built around a network of lakes — Lake Alaska, Lake Yukon, Timber Lake and Lake Anak — and not one of them…

  • The Vote for Cityhood · 5.8 mi

    Holiday Lakes did not start out as a city. It started as a private subdivision on Oyster Creek, four miles northwest of Angleton, laid out around a set of man-made lakes with names borrowed from the far north — Alaska,…

  • Bailey's Light · 6.3 mi

    Bailey's Prairie, in Brazoria County, is named for James Briton 'Brit' Bailey, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists and a famously cantankerous brawler. When he died of cholera in eighteen-thirty-two,…

  • The Paperboy Who Became the Ryan Express · 6.4 mi · Historical Marker

    State Highway Two Eighty Eight through Brazoria County, from the county line down to Freeport, is the Nolan Ryan Expressway. Ryan was born in Refugio in nineteen forty seven, and his family moved to Alvin when he was…

  • Danbury, TX · 6.5 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Danbury, Texas, a town that owes its very existence to the railroad. Back in 1905, this area was just ranches and farms, but the Missouri Pacific Railroad changed everything. It opened up rich…

  • Danbury, TX · 6.7 mi

    Folks driving through on Highway 35 might not realize the quiet history tucked away in Danbury. It’s a place where rice fields stretch out under the big Texas sky, and you’re more likely to see an alligator sunning…

  • Brazos Canal · 7.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a massive, failed 19th-century infrastructure project. In 1841, local landowners formed the Brazos Canal Company, aiming to connect inland plantations to the Gulf. Construction started in…

  • When the River Rose · 7.9 mi

    In late August 2017, Richwood faced its greatest modern crisis: Hurricane Harvey. The storm stalled over Southeast Texas, dumping unprecedented amounts of rain. Here, the danger wasn't just the rain from above, but the…

  • The Town That Chemistry Built · 7.9 mi

    As you travel through Richwood, you're in a place that owes its shape to a remarkable feat of chemical engineering a few miles away. During World War II the government needed magnesium in enormous quantity — a…

  • The Birth of a City · 7.9 mi

    The City of Richwood wasn't planned by a big developer or a corporation; it was willed into existence by its own residents. In the mid-1950s, this area was a patchwork of unincorporated subdivisions. People lived here,…

  • Phair Cemetery · 7.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Phair Cemetery, a quiet resting place for some of Brazoria County's earliest settlers. The land itself was originally granted by Mexico to Stephen F. Austin. The first burial here was in 1853,…

  • Quintanilla Perez, Selena [Selena] · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Lake Jackson, Texas, the birthplace of a Tejano music legend: Selena Quintanilla Perez. Born right here in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1971</say-as>, Selena, known simply as Selena,…

  • Muzzy, Mary Sue Blair Hairgrove · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here, in Lake Jackson, Mary Sue Hairgrove and her husband Jim owned and operated two local radio stations. After Jim passed away unexpectedly in 1967, Sue, with no prior…

  • Brannen, Bess Courtney · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Lake Jackson, Texas, a town that remembers a profound loss. It was here, in 1945, that the American Legion Post 306 was named in honor of Andy Brannen. Andy was the oldest son of Bess and Carl…

  • Jackson, Abner · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, not far from the modern town of Lake Jackson. Right here, in the mid-1800s, stood Retrieve Plantation, owned by Abner Jackson. By 1860, Jackson was the second-largest slaveholder…

  • Lake Jackson, TX · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Lake Jackson, a community with a fascinating rebirth story. The land you see was once the site of Abner Jackson's plantation, worked by as many as eighty-two slaves in the mid-1800s. After the…

  • The Volunteer Museum With a Dinosaur and a Sea of Shells · 8.7 mi

    Tucked into the Center for the Arts and Sciences at 400 College Boulevard, the Brazosport Museum of Natural Science is one of Clute's genuine surprises, and it's free to walk into. It holds one of the largest seashell…

  • Joseph H. Hawkins · 8.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the Lake Jackson area, and you're passing the site of a crucial partnership that helped launch Texas. Joseph H. Hawkins, a lawyer and former congressman from Kentucky, became friends with a broke…

  • Breakfast Tacos on a Street Called That Way · 8.9 mi

    The address alone is worth the trip: Nena's Restaurant sits at 104 That Way, on one of Lake Jackson's famously named streets, so you can honestly tell someone the best breakfast taco in town is over That Way. The place…

  • Magnesium from the Sea · 9.0 mi

    The entire existence of Lake Jackson is owed to a monumental feat of chemical engineering driven by World War II. In 1940, the British were desperate for magnesium, a metal lighter than aluminum, to build aircraft. The…

  • The City of Enchantment · 9.0 mi

    As you navigate Lake Jackson, you might notice something unusual: the streets curve and wind, and you'll rarely find a simple four-way stop. This is no accident. It's the deliberate work of architect Alden B. Dow, who…

  • The Doctor Who Delivered Selena Later Ran for President · 9.0 mi

    Here is a only-in-Lake-Jackson collision of fame. The obstetrician who delivered Selena Quintanilla in 1971 was a young local OB-GYN named Ron Paul, whose practice sat at 104 Circle Way in town. He spent years in…

  • The Ghosts of the Sugar Mill · 9.0 mi

    Before Lake Jackson was a city it was a kingdom of sugar. In the 1840s this land was Abner Jackson's plantation, one of three he built, and the sugar and molasses made here helped make him one of the wealthiest men in…

  • Selena's Suburban Life · 9.0 mi

    Lake Jackson is where the Queen of Tejano started. Selena Quintanilla was born here on April 16, 1971, and spent her childhood in this town, on a street named for a flower the way so many streets here are. Her father,…

  • The Mod Little Building That Ran the Whole Town · 9.0 mi

    Tucked into Carriage Square at 101 South Parking Place is a low, angular building that looks like nothing else downtown, and that is the point. Architect Alden B. Dow designed it in 1940 as his on-site office while he…

  • The Town's Story Under One Roof · 9.1 mi

    If you want the whole arc of this place in one stop, it is at 249 Circle Way. The Lake Jackson Historical Museum, run by the Lake Jackson Historical Association, walks you from the Karankawa hunters who roamed this…

  • Nolan Ryan Expressway: Who It's Named For · 9.3 mi

    The Nolan Ryan Expressway is named after Nolan Ryan, a Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher who grew up in Alvin, Texas. The highway carries this name from Freeport to the Harris-Brazoria county line in recognition of the…

  • Nolan Ryan Expressway · 9.3 mi · Historical Marker

    Honors Nolan Ryan, 8x MLB All-Star, 7-time no-hit pitcher, all-time strikeout leader (5,714). Born Refugio, raised Alvin. Honorary segment on SH-288 in Brazoria County.

  • Before Corpus, Selena Sang in Lake Jackson · 9.4 mi

    Long before she became the Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla was a Lake Jackson kid. She was born April 16, 1971, to the Quintanilla family, who had settled in this Dow company town. In 1980 her father, Abraham…

  • Mining Metal Out of the Gulf of Mexico · 9.4 mi

    Just south of here, Dow Chemical pulled off something that still sounds like alchemy: it mined a metal straight out of seawater. Founder Herbert Dow had dreamed since the 1920s of using the ocean as a mine, and on…

  • The Dentist Who Built the First Plastic Airplane · 9.4 mi

    One of aviation's quiet revolutions was dreamed up by a Lake Jackson dentist. Leo Windecker ran a dental practice here in the 1950s, and many of his patients were Dow Chemical scientists working on fiberglass-reinforced…

  • The Town Dow Built From Scratch · 9.4 mi

    Almost everything around you was conjured out of coastal swamp in a hurry, for a war. In 1941 Dow Chemical's Texas Division manager A. P. Beutel decided the company needed a brand-new town to house workers for its…

  • This Way, That Way, and Any Way · 9.4 mi

    If your map app sounds confused, it isn't malfunctioning. Lake Jackson was laid out by architect Alden B. Dow, son of Dow Chemical's founder and a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, and he refused to draw the usual flat…

  • A Whole Town for the War Effort · 9.4 mi

    The neighborhoods around you went up at wartime speed for one reason: Dow Chemical needed somewhere to put thousands of workers running its new Freeport plants. When the United States entered World War II, Dow was…

  • The Summer the Tap Water Made National News · 9.4 mi

    In September 2020 this quiet chemical town suddenly led national newscasts for the worst possible reason. A 6-year-old Lake Jackson boy, Josiah McIntyre, died after an infection from Naegleria fowleri, the so-called…

  • Lake Jackson, TX · 9.4 mi

    Lake Jackson is a place born of the land itself, or rather, sculpted by its absence. Ten feet above sea level doesn't leave much room for drama. It's a flat expanse, where the horizon stretches uninterrupted until it…

  • Mount Zion Cemetery · 9.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Mount Zion Cemetery, established way back in 1939. It was later recognized as a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2011.

  • Pulling Warplanes from the Sea · 9.6 mi

    In 1933 Clute was ten people and two little businesses at a crossroads. What turned it into a city was an incredible feat of chemical engineering just down the road during World War Two. The Allies desperately needed…

  • The Great Texas Mosquito Festival · 9.6 mi

    If you want to understand Clute's sense of humor, you need to know about its biggest party: The Great Texas Mosquito Festival. Every July, this town throws a massive three-day festival to 'celebrate' its most annoying…

  • The WWII Boomtown · 9.6 mi

    Imagine this place in 1940: a crossroads with barely a dozen people, named for the Clute family who settled here after the Civil War. As late as 1933 Clute had two businesses and a population of ten. Then, on March 7,…

  • The Ghosts of Eagle Island Plantation · 9.6 mi

    The streets and subdivisions of Clute sit on ground that used to be plantation land — the old Calvit and Eagle Island places. Eagle Island got its start in 1826, on five leagues that Jared Groce, the richest man in…

  • Clute, TX · 9.6 mi

    Clute's history began at the junction of the old Calvit and Eagle Island Plantations. Alexander Calvit, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred, obtained title to the land in 1824. After the Civil War, Joseph…

  • Mammoth Lake · 9.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Clute, and right here, this spot was once a massive sand pit, but it's got a history stretching back to prehistoric times. Nomadic tribes hunted here, and by 1822, Jared E. Groce, a big-time…

  • Johnston, Albert Sidney · 10.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Bonney, Texas, where a major figure in American military history once called home. Albert Sidney Johnston, born in Kentucky in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1803</say-as>, graduated from…

  • Clute, TX · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Clute, Texas, a town with roots stretching back to one of the very first plantations in Brazoria County. In 1824, Alexander Calvit, one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists, and Jared E.…

  • The War Boom That Woke a Crossroads · 10.2 mi

    For more than a century Clute was nothing but plantation ground and a handful of houses. What changed it was a war and a metal. In the early 1940s the Dow Chemical Company built next door at Freeport, and on January 21,…

  • Willie Man-Chew and the Great Texas Mosquito Festival · 10.2 mi

    Clute decided long ago that if you can't beat the mosquitoes, you throw them a party. The Great Texas Mosquito Festival has run since 1981, every year on the last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of July at Clute…

  • Selena's Brother Learned Music in a Clute Classroom · 10.2 mi

    Before he produced and co-wrote the hits that made his sister Selena a legend, A.B. Quintanilla was a kid in the band hall at Brazoswood High School in Clute. The Quintanilla family settled in next-door Lake Jackson,…

  • The Ice Age Giant Under the Sand Pit · 10.2 mi

    In November 2003 a backhoe operator working a sand pit near Brazoswood High School in Clute snagged something no one expected on the Texas coast: a pair of mammoth tusks buried in the ground. Word reached scientists…

  • How a Yankee With a White Beard Gave the Town Its Name · 10.2 mi

    The ground under Clute started as some of the richest cane land in Brazoria County. In 1824 Alexander Calvit, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, took title to land here, and the neighboring Eagle…

  • The Buccaneers Who Brought Home a State Title · 10.2 mi

    Brazoswood High School opened in Clute in September 1969, pulling together students from across the Brazosport area under the Buccaneers banner in Columbia blue and silver. It took the young school only five years to…

  • Archer, Dr. Branch Tanner · 10.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site associated with Dr. Branch Tanner Archer, a key figure in early Texas. He served as President of the Consultation in 1835, a pivotal moment for the Republic. Archer then traveled to the…

  • Wharton, William Harris · 10.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Clute, and right here is a marker for William Harris Wharton. He was a key player in the Texas Revolution, starting with the Battle of Velasco back in 1832. Wharton didn't just fight; he led. He…

  • Eagle Island Plantation · 10.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past what used to be Eagle Island Plantation, home to Sarah Ann Groce Wharton and William Harris Wharton. William was a big deal in early Texas history. He served in the Convention of Texas in 1832, then…

  • Orozimbo · 10.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Orozimbo, home of Dr. James Aeneas Phelps, one of Stephen F. Austin's original "Old Three Hundred" settlers. Phelps served as a hospital surgeon for the Texas Army during the Battle of San Jacinto.…

  • Phelps, Dr. James Aeneas · 10.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the area where Dr. James Aeneas Phelps served as the hospital surgeon at the Battle of San Jacinto. Born in Mississippi, he arrived in Texas way back in 1822, long before the revolution. After…

  • Dance Brothers · 10.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here in East Columbia, a remarkable story of Texas ingenuity unfolded during the Civil War. While many Texans were fighting, the Dance brothers, James Henry, David, and…

  • Site of Crosby's Landing · 10.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Crosby's Landing, a crucial hub for early Texas commerce. Thomas Phillip Crosby arrived from New York in 1830, recognizing the need for a vital landing on the Brazos River. After being…

  • Calvit, Alexander · 10.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, not far from where Alexander "Sandy" Calvit settled. He was one of Stephen F. Austin's original Old Three Hundred colonists, arriving in <say-as interpret-as="date"…

  • East Columbia, TX · 10.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here is where East Columbia got its start. It began in 1823 as Bell's Landing, a simple plantation supply depot on the Brazos River. By 1827, it was laid out as a town…

  • The Clute Sign That Named a Restaurant Empire · 10.8 mi

    There are now El Toro Mexican Restaurants scattered across Texas, but the name was born right here in Clute. Eugene Ybarra opened his first place in La Porte in 1960 with twelve hundred dollars and a lien on his own…

  • Long, Jane · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Brazoria, and right here is where Jane Long ran a legendary boarding house and tavern. Born in Maryland in 1798, she moved to Texas and opened this popular spot in 1832. It wasn't just a place to…

  • Nash-Wright House · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past one of the oldest houses still standing in Bell's Landing, founded way back in 1823. Look for the Nash-Wright House! The earliest part of this home was built around 1847 by George Lewis Nash, who…

  • Bethel Presbyterian Church · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Bethel Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest in Texas. It was organized way back on June 13, 1840. The land and the very first church building here were a gift from Mrs. J. H. Bell. The…

  • James & Selina Phillips House · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the James and Selina Phillips House in West Columbia. James Price Phillips, from an old Brazoria County family, built this American foursquare home for his wife Selina in 1920, celebrating the birth…

  • Dr. Sofie Deligath Herzog · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Brazoria area, home to Dr. Sofie Deligath Herzog, an Austrian immigrant who became a pioneering surgeon in early 20th-century Texas. Despite limited opportunities for women, she excelled,…

  • Brazoria Townsite · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Brazoria, a town that was once the bustling port and social heart of Stephen F. Austin's colony. Established in 1828 by John Austin, this place saw the legendary Jane Long, widow of Dr.…

  • Carry Nation's Hotel · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Carry Nation's Hotel in East Columbia. Before she became the famous hatchet-wielding temperance crusader, Carry Nation ran this hotel around 1880. Born in Kentucky to slave owners, she…

  • Barrett, Don Carlos · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site where Colonel Don Carlos Barrett lived out his final years. Born way up north in Vermont in 1788, Barrett came to Texas and became a key player in the early days of the revolution. In 1835,…

  • Bell's Landing · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Bell's Landing, right on the Brazos River. It started in 1823 as a landing for Josiah Bell's plantation. By 1824, the townsite of Marion was laid out here, eventually becoming East…

  • Brazoria Cemetery · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Brazoria, heading past the old Brazoria Cemetery. This land was officially set aside for burials back in 1827 by the Mexican government, intended as a Catholic cemetery but open to all Austin…

  • Austin, John · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Brazoria area, where John Austin made his mark on Texas. He was part of Long's Expedition way back in 1819, and later became a pioneer settler in Stephen F. Austin's colony. Austin served as the…

  • Sweeny - Waddy Log Cabin · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Sweeny-Waddy Log Cabin, a place that tells a story of Texas history spanning generations. John Sweeny, Sr. arrived here from Tennessee around 1833, clearing land and building a…

  • Dance Gun Shop · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Dance Gun Shop, started by three brothers right here on the Brazos River back in 1850. These weren't just any firearms; their guns were noted for precision and helped arm the…

  • Underwood, Ammon · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the home of Ammon Underwood, a merchant, civic leader, and soldier who lived right here in East Columbia. The first part of this house was built around 1835 by Thomas Nibbs, using hand-hewn cedar.…

  • Tyler-Bryan-Weems House · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Tyler-Bryan-Weems House, a place with a story as layered as its Greek Revival architecture. The original part of this home was built around 1871 by Ariadne Gautier. She'd already lived a full…

  • Aldridge - Smith Home · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Aldridge-Smith Home, a house that's seen some serious Texas history unfold. Built between 1837 and 1841 for a farmer named William Aldridge, this place has been a witness to change. It was later…

  • Masonic Oak · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a truly historic moment in Texas. Right here, in March of 1835, the very first Masonic Lodge in Texas was organized. It was called Holland Lodge, and it met here in Brazoria. This humble…

  • Weems, M. L., House · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the home of Dr. Mason Locke Weems II, built around 1847. This Greek Revival house, with its distinctive raised cottage form and six-bay inset porch, was the start of a family tradition. The Weems…

  • The Deputy Who Set the Flares · 11.7 mi

    Farm to Market Road Two Thousand Four, across Brazoria County, is the Jason Oliff Memorial Highway. Jason Alexander Oliff joined the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office in July two thousand one. He worked as a jailer, then…

  • Herzog, Sofie Dalia · 11.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, Texas, home to Dr. Sofie Herzog, a woman who defied expectations. Born in Austria, she followed her husband to America and eventually to this very town. At first, the locals were…

  • Mills, David Graham · 11.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, Texas, and right here, you might have passed the former site of Low Wood Plantation. This was the heart of David Graham Mills' empire. In 1850, Mills and his brother Robert were…

  • Mills, Robert · 11.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Brazoria County, and right here, Robert Mills built an empire from scratch. He arrived in Texas in 1830, joining his brother in a trading post. Soon, their burro trains and ships were pushing…

  • Pease, Elisha Marshall · 11.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the Municipality of Mina, but Elisha Marshall Pease found his destiny further south, right here in Brazoria. He arrived in Texas in 1835, and by the very next year, he was helping to…

  • Russell, William Jarvis · 11.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Velasco, a key flashpoint before Texas independence. Right here, on June 26, 1832, William Jarvis Russell, commander of the schooner Brazoria, is said to have fired the very first…

  • Anthony, Daniel W. · 11.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Fort Bend County, near the San Bernard River, but back in 1832, this was the wild frontier. Daniel W. Anthony, a newspaperman and attorney, arrived in Texas and immediately jumped into…

  • Archer, Branch Tanner · 11.8 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Brazoria County, Texas, a place that was once home to Branch Tanner Archer. He was a doctor, a legislator in Virginia, and even killed a man in a duel in 1828. But Archer's real story…

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