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Burton, Texas

Everything Burton is known for

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Music in Burton

Songs About Burton

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Artists From Burton

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Justin Brisco
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Rivers & Roads in Song near Burton

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

Brazos River 43 songs Texas State Highway 71 2 songs Texas Colorado River 6 songs Interstate 10 36 songs US Route 90 9 songs

Musical Heritage

Burton Cotton Gin Festival RoadyGoat

Every third weekend in April, the town of Burton runs its old cotton gin the way it was built to be run — full tilt, baling cotton, just like it has since 1990. The Burton Cotton Gin Festival is free to walk into, and it celebrates the crop that made this community: there's a tractor pull, craft vendors, and folklife demonstrations where you can watch cotton get spun and woven by hand. And running through all of it, live music — because you don't throw a Texas festival without a band. Cotton built the town. Once a year, the town makes it sing again.

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White Horse Tavern RoadyGoat

The White Horse Tavern in Burton has been pouring for its people since 1922 — and these days it's run by somebody who knows exactly what a room needs to feel alive. Allison Krause Crowson is a working musician and a former assistant principal, and she keeps the place doing double duty: lunch three days a week, and live music every single weekend. Some nights it's a tribute show — they've done Dolly Parton — and every night it's the kind of spot where the whole town seems to drift through the door whether they meant to or not. More than a hundred years old, and it still works the way the best small-town taverns always have: as the place everybody ends up. Turns out an assistant principal and a honky-tonk singer have the same job — keep the room together.

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History of Burton

The Lodge That Drew Two Thousand to a Town of Six Hundred RoadyGoat

1884

One of Burton's best stories almost never gets told, and the easiest way to feel its size is in a number: in 1896 a single celebration here drew around two thousand people, several times the entire population of the town. The reason was the Matson Lodge. Burton's Black families organized it in 1884 as a local branch of a fraternal order called the United Brothers of Friendship. In a time when banks and insurance companies shut Black families out, the lodge did the work nobody else would: it paid out life insurance and death benefits, helped families through hard times, and bound the community together. By its thirty-fifth anniversary, on a August day in 1896, the lodge threw what the papers called a grand jubilee. People poured in from this county and the ones next door, a band led by a man named Gus Hopkins marched right through town, and the crowd swelled to about two thousand. The two-story lodge hall built in 1919 still stands, and the order's work later carried on under the name the Long Life Brotherhood Club. (Source: Burton Heritage Society.)

Twelve Thousand Dollars and Nobody Convicted RoadyGoat

On the seventh of June, 2018, a man walked into the bank here in Burton wearing a cowboy hat, sunglasses and a surgical mask. He had a handgun. He worked his way to three different tellers demanding money, walked back out with about twelve thousand dollars, and left in a white pickup. Nobody was hurt. Nobody was arrested either, not for the better part of two years. In May of 2020, after a long run of interviews and a hard look at one man's finances, investigators charged Shawn Patrick Childers of La Grange with three counts of aggravated robbery, one for each teller. The case went in front of a Washington County jury in October of 2022. Prosecutors laid out that his phone had gone dark during the window of the robbery, that he made trips to Louisiana casinos in the days after, and that his account went from a negative balance to a fifteen hundred dollar deposit. The defense told the jury what the state did not have. No fingerprints. No DNA. No photograph that put this particular man inside that bank. The jury stayed out about four and a half hours and could not get there. Seven of the twelve voted not guilty on all three counts. The judge declared a mistrial. Childers was never convicted of anything in this case, and the public record simply stops there. The money was never recovered.

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Burton, TX RoadyGoat

Burton, Texas, is home to the Texas Cotton Gin Museum, which is located at the Burton Farmers Gin. Built in 1914, the gin is considered the oldest working cotton gin in the United States. This historical site is a testament to the importance of cotton as a local industry, and the annual Burton Cotton Gin Festival celebrates this heritage.

Gaines, Matthew

1863

Matthew Gaines, Black senator and Baptist preacher, was born on August 4, 1840, to a slave mother on the plantation of Bernardo Martin Despallier in Pineville, near Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. Her owner was widow Candida Grande Despallier, mother of Alamo hero Charles Despallier . Gaines biographies mention that in the old Despallier house, English, French, and Spanish were spoken, which is very probable because Bernardo Martin Despallier was of French descent, and he had worked for the Spanish in both Louisiana and Texas. Grande was of Spanish descent. Matthew Gaines learned to read by candlelight from books smuggled to him by a White boy who lived on the same plantation. Gaines, however, never told who the boy was, but it may have been young Blaz Philipe II Despallier. The boys were about the same age, and Blaz did attend school. Gaines escaped to freedom twice but each time was caught and returned to slavery . His first escape came after 1850, when he was sold to a man from Louisiana and was subsequently hired out as a laborer on a steamboat. Using a false pass, he escaped to Camden, Arkansas. He left Arkansas six months afterwards and made his way to New Orleans, where he was caught and brought back to his master. Later, Gaines was sold to a Texas planter from Robertson County, and in 1863 he made another escape attempt. His destination was Mexico, but he made it only as far as Fort McKavett in Menard County before being caught by the Texas Rangers . He was taken back to Fredericksburg and remained in that area until the end of the Civil War . During his tenure as a slave in Fredericksburg, Gaines worked as a blacksmith and a sheepherder. After Emancipation Gaines settled in Burton, Washington County, where he soon established himself as a leader of the Black community, both as a minister and a politician. During Reconstruction he was elected as a senator to represent the Sixteenth District in the Texas legislature. Gaines was a vigilant guardian of the rights and interests of African Americans . Among the many issues he addressed were education, prison reform, the protection of Blacks at the polls, the election of Blacks to public office, and tenant-farming reform. To encourage educational and religious groups to work toward educational improvement in their communities, Gaines sponsored a bill that called for exempting such organizations from taxation. Buildings and equipment used for charitable or literary associations were also exempted; the bill became law on June 12, 1871. Gaines was also responsible for the passage of a bill authorizing his district to levy a special tax for construction of a new jail. His concern for prison reform stemmed from his concern for the protection of Blacks from mob violence. In keeping with this belief, Gaines waged an unrelenting war in the Senate for the passage of the Militia Bill. It was Gaines's feeling that if Blacks were protected (via the Militia Bill) in the exercising of the Fifteenth Amendment, they could make a difference at the polls. Hence, after the successful passage of the Militia Bill, Gaines made a concerted, but unsuccessful, effort to drum up support to elect a Black Texan to the United States House of Representatives. Gaines was very sympathetic to the plight of the Black masses. He was one of the few Blacks who served in the legislature from 1870 to 1900 to voice an opinion in opposition to the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1872. As such, he proposed a law (which failed) to give the tenant the first lien on the crop. ( see FARM TENANCY.) Gaines was elected to a six-year term to the Senate, but served only four years because his seat was challenged when he was convicted on the charge of bigamy in 1873, and he subsequently relinquished his post. The charge was overturned on appeal, and he was reelected, but the Democratic and White majority seated his opponent. Gaines continued to be active in politics and made his political views known in conventions, public

Tsha Handbook →

McNelly, Leander Harvey

1874

Leander Harvey McNelly, Confederate Army officer and Texas Ranger captain, was born probably in Brooke County, Virginia (later West Virginia), on March 12, 1844. The 1850 census listed his parents as John and Catherine McNelly, who had immigrated from Ireland by 1835. Genealogy listings give the parents' names as Owen John McNelly and Mary Catherine (Killian) McNelly, who resided in Brooke County in 1850. The household consisted of eight children, and Leander was attending school. His family seems to have sojourned briefly in Missouri around 1855 before moving from Virginia to Texas in the fall of 1860. John McNelly drove a herd of sheep overland to western Washington County while the rest of his family sailed to Texas. For a period of time Leander herded sheep for a neighbor, T. J. Burton. In the Civil War during Gen. Henry H. Sibley 's New Mexico campaign, Leander McNelly served as a private in Capt. George Washington Campbell's Company F of Col. Thomas Green 's Fifth Texas Cavalry until he was detached to Sibley's escort company. In 1863, after taking part in the battle of Galveston , he served as a volunteer aide-de-camp on the staff of General Green, who was then commanding the Texas cavalry brigade of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department. For what Theophilous Noel characterized as "his daring gallantry," Green promoted McNelly to captain of scouts and on November 25, 1863, recommended him for a captain's commission. In Green's southern Louisiana campaign of 1864 McNelly played major roles in the battles of Brashear City and Lafourche Crossing. He was seriously wounded at the battle of Mansfield in April 1864, and command of his company devolved upon his lieutenants, William D. Stone and Thomas T. Pitts, who led the unit with distinction at Pleasant Hill, Blair's Landing, and Grande Écore ( see RED RIVER CAMPAIGN ). After recovering from his wound, McNelly returned to his command in May in time to participate in the battle of Yellow Bayou. He was then ordered into the Bayou Lafourche country of southern Louisiana to scout and harass the enemy. On July 1, 1864, after Green's death at the battle of Blair's Landing, Louisiana, McNelly was transferred to Gen. John A. Wharton 's cavalry corps and on July 6 was ordered with his company east of the Atchafalaya River "to procure and transmit to these Headquarters the latest and definite information of the enemy's movements in that section." In 1864 McNelly commanded a scout company on Bayou Grosse Tete west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In Noel's words, his company "betook themselves to the swamps and canebrakes where they confined their operations until the enemy commenced their retreat." Typical of McNelly's exploits was the capture of 380 men in the Union garrison at Brashear City, Louisiana, by his party of fifteen or twenty scouts. After a period of "hunting up Jayhawkers on the Calcasieu," McNelly was transferred to Gen. George G. Walker 's cavalry corps and ordered to Washington County, Texas, to arrest deserters. After the war he turned to farming near Brenham in Washington County and on October 17, 1865, married Carey Cheek. They had two children. He later worked for a time in the General Land Office . During the Edmund J. Davis administration, McNelly served as one of the four captains of the State Police from July 1, 1870, until the force was disbanded on April 22, 1873. In February 1871, after arresting four White men for the murder of a freedman in Walker County, McNelly was wounded by friends of the accused. In 1874 he was commissioned to lead a new company-a "Special Force" known as the Washington County Volunteers. Muster rolls recorded an enlistment date of July 14, 1874. A quasi-military branch of the Texas Rangers , the Special Force formed for service in South Texas, including the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande known as the Nueces Strip. Duties included the attempt to break up the Sutton-Taylor feud in DeWitt County. McNelly and his men

Tsha Handbook →

St. John's United Church of Christ Cemetery

1899

IN JUNE 1894, A CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION CALLED EVANGELICAL ST. JOHN’S CHURCH OF BURTON ORGANIZED. IN OCTOBER 1899, A LONG-FELT NEED FOR A CEMETERY FOR THE CHURCH WAS MET WHEN TWO ACRES OF LAND, A MILE EAST OF BURTON, WERE PURCHASED FROM MR. AND MRS. MICHAEL WOLFF FOR $57. THE FIRST RECORDED BURIAL IS OF MARTIN ROGAS (MARCH 30, 1900). THE FIRST MARKED GRAVE BELONGS TO HULDA ARNDT, BURIED SEPTEMBER 12, 1899. EXPECTING THE NEED FOR MORE CEMETERY LAND, THE CHURCH PURCHASED AN ADDITIONAL 1.448 ACRES ADJACENT TO THE ORIGINAL CEMETERY FROM F. R. AND ANNIE MAUD AVIS ON JANUARY 25, 1976. THE CEMETERY HAS CERTAIN DISTINCT AREAS WORTH MENTIONING. THERE IS A SEPARATE CHILDREN’S SECTION WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED EARLY ON, AND ACCORDING TO THE RECORDS, SOME 53 CHILDREN WERE BURIED THERE FROM 1899 TO 1909. IN THE CENTER OF THE CEMETERY THERE IS A FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR MINISTERS THAT INCLUDES THE GRAVE OF REV. HERMANN SCHULZ (d. JANUARY 13, 1941), WHO WAS THE MINISTER OF ST. JOHN’S FROM 1898 TO 1921. IN ANOTHER SECTION ARE SEVEN GRAVES, ALL IN A ROW AND MARKED BY IDENTICAL MONUMENTS. THESE BELONG TO FIVE CONFIRMANDS AND TWO YOUNG MEN FROM THE CHURCH WHO DIED IN ACTION OR OF DISEASE IN FRANCE DURING WORLD WAR I. OTHER VETERAN BURIALS BELONG NOT ONLY TO THOSE WHO SERVED IN THE WORLD WARS BUT ALSO THE KOREAN AND VIETNAM WARS. SINCE ITS CREATION, THIS CEMETERY ON A HILL HAS BEEN THE LAST RESTING PLACE OF THOSE WHO IN LIFE WERE PART OF THE CHURCH.

Historical Marker →

McNelly, Leander H.

1870

Born in Virginia; was valiant Confederate soldier. In 1870, appointed one of four State Police captains by Gov. E. J. Davis. Then with Texas Rangers, McNelly was assigned a special force, "The Washington County Volunteer MiIitia," to mediate the Sutton-Taylor feud. Company then assigned to Rio Grande border to control international cattle thieves in "Las Cuevas War." His men always proudly called themselves, "Little McNellys."

Historical Marker →

Burton Community

1820

John M. Burton (1806-77) of Georgia came to Texas in the 1820s, and to this area in 1834. When the Houston & Texas Central Railroad was being built in 1869, he sold land for townsite. Post office opened Sept. 23, 1870, with Charles Huberich as postmaster. Early businesses included a mercantile store, lumber yard, blacksmith, tin shop, cotton gin, oil mill, drugstore, and leather shop. The noted Texas Ranger Captain L. H. McNelly lived here. After service with State Police, he came home and raised two Ranger units that reflected credit on citizens of the Burton community, 1874-1877.

Historical Marker →

Things to Do in Burton

quirky 11.9 mi away
From Cotton Gin to Ice Cream Empire

In 1907 a group of Washington County dairy farmers converted an abandoned cotton gin into a creamery and started making butter. Ice cream production began in…
historical 11.9 mi away
The Night Federal Troops Burned Brenham

In 1866 Union soldiers occupying Brenham during Reconstruction clashed with local residents and set fire to an entire city block. The flames consumed…
quirky 11.9 mi away
The Underground City Beneath the Streets

After fires ravaged Brenham three times in a decade the town did something no other Texas city had attempted. They built twenty-seven underground cisterns…
music 9.3 mi away
Festival Institute

Festival Hill: a 210-acre classical-music campus on Jaster Road hosting summer concerts, recitals, and a renowned festival in its grand concert hall.
food 10.0 mi away
Royers Round Top Cafe

Bud Royer's pie-mecca on the Round Top square — buttermilk, pecan, and a daily rotation of about ten flavors. Statewide-famous and the anchor of the…
quirky 11.8 mi away
The Oldest Festival in Texas

When German immigrants fleeing the 1848 revolutions settled in Brenham they brought their traditions with them. The Maifest celebration they started became the…
historical 11.8 mi away
The First Tax-Funded Schools

In 1875 Brenham became the first city in Texas to operate a tax-supported public school system. They didn't stop there. The system included a school for Black…
historical 11.8 mi away
The Fire Department That Was Really an Army

The Brenham Volunteer Fire Department was organized after the 1866 burning but its true purpose had nothing to do with flames. The department was a civilian…

Sports in Burton

🏆 STATE CHAMPIONS Class 2A Division II · Baseball · 2026

Burton Panthers — 2026 UIL Class 2A Division II State Champions

def. Ropes 6–1 · Dell Diamond, Round Rock · June 4, 2026

Washington County had waited 39 years. The Burton Panthers ended the drought in style, topping Ropes 6–1 at Dell Diamond for the 2026 Class 2A Division II crown — the school's first baseball state championship since 1987.

Ace Tyler Witt did it on both ends. He went the distance on the mound — a complete game, one run on four hits with five strikeouts — and set the tone in the box, leading off the bottom of the first with a triple to right-center and scoring on Ruben Rodriguez's sacrifice fly. After Ropes tied it in the fourth, Ryder Biggs singled and came around on Isaac Matthies' RBI knock to put Burton back ahead, and the Panthers slammed the door with a four-run fifth.

Final
Burton 6, Ropes 1
Title
1st since 1987
MVP
Tyler Witt
MVP line
CG, 1 R, 4 H, 5 K
Key Players
  • Tyler Witt — MVP — complete-game one-run win AND a leadoff triple
  • Ruben Rodriguez — Sacrifice fly for the game's first run
  • Isaac Matthies — RBI single to retake the lead in the fourth
  • Ryder Biggs — Singled and scored the go-ahead run
The moment

Witt led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored the opening run — then never gave the lead back, finishing his own complete game.

Sources: KXXV · South Texas News

Everything Near Burton

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

  • The Lodge That Drew Two Thousand to a Town of Six Hundred

    One of Burton's best stories almost never gets told, and the easiest way to feel its size is in a number: in 1896 a single celebration here drew around two thousand people, several times the entire population of the…

  • Twelve Thousand Dollars and Nobody Convicted

    On the seventh of June, 2018, a man walked into the bank here in Burton wearing a cowboy hat, sunglasses and a surgical mask. He had a handgun. He worked his way to three different tellers demanding money, walked back…

  • Burton Cotton Gin Festival

    Every third weekend in April, the town of Burton runs its old cotton gin the way it was built to be run — full tilt, baling cotton, just like it has since 1990. The Burton Cotton Gin Festival is free to walk into, and…

  • White Horse Tavern

    The White Horse Tavern in Burton has been pouring for its people since 1922 — and these days it's run by somebody who knows exactly what a room needs to feel alive. Allison Krause Crowson is a working musician and a…

  • Burton, TX

    Burton, Texas, is home to the Texas Cotton Gin Museum, which is located at the Burton Farmers Gin. Built in 1914, the gin is considered the oldest working cotton gin in the United States. This historical site is a…

  • Burton Community · Historical Marker

    John M. Burton (1806-77) of Georgia came to Texas in the 1820s, and to this area in 1834. When the Houston & Texas Central Railroad was being built in 1869, he sold land for townsite. Post office opened Sept. 23, 1870,…

  • Steiner & Dallmeyer Building · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Burton, and right here is a building that's been a hub of commerce for over a century. Built by 1875, this structure first served as the Burton Farmers Co-op. Then, in 1903, German immigrants…

  • The Pink Granite That Fell Off the Train · 0.1 mi

    If you spot a big block of pink granite sitting in downtown Burton, near where the old Burton State Bank stands at Main and Washington, know that it was never supposed to stop here at all. In the early nineteen…

  • Burton's Daughter Who Broke Into the University's Boardroom · 0.1 mi

    A girl born right here in Burton in 1869 grew up to break into one of the most powerful rooms in Texas. Her name was Mary McClellan O'Hair. She became a leader in the women's club movement and a supporter of the fight…

  • Burton Cafe · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Burton, and right here is the Burton Cafe, built back in 1937. For generations, this spot wasn't just a place to grab a bite; it was the heart of the community, a real social hub. At one point,…

  • Burton Depot · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Burton, and right here is a piece of Texas railroad history. This depot was built in 1870, the very year this town sprang up as a terminal for the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. Imagine the…

  • Burton State Bank · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the old Burton State Bank. Chartered way back in 1906, this bank was founded by C.W. Homeyer, who also served as its first president. The bank operated right here for over fifty years,…

Show all 200 nearby places
  • St. John's Evangelical and Reformed Church · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of St. John's Evangelical and Reformed Church. Organized with 24 members in 1894, the congregation first built a church nearby. A new brick sanctuary was constructed at this location in…

  • One Engine Ran the Whole Cotton Factory · 0.2 mi

    The cotton gin in the middle of Burton is the oldest surviving gin of its kind in the country, and the secret is the giant machine at its heart. Local farmers banded together in 1913, raised about ten thousand dollars,…

  • A Mother Built It for Her Sons. Now It's the White Horse. · 0.2 mi

    Across the street from the cotton gin sits the White Horse Tavern, and the building has lived about five lives. It started in 1922, when a woman named Selma Schwartz put up a general store for her two sons, Hugo and…

  • Texas HS Baseball Playoff Leaders 2026: Burton (Burton) · 0.2 mi

    Burton put 2 players on the statewide leaderboards of the 2026 Texas high school baseball playoffs. Tyler Witt had 41 strikeouts (10th in the state). Braydon Martin had 14 RBI (9th in the state).

  • The House Built to Look Like a Riverboat · 0.2 mi

    One of Burton's old homes was designed to look like something that never floated within a hundred miles of it: a Mississippi riverboat. It belonged to Herman Knittel, a Prussian immigrant who came to this German-Texan…

  • Burton Farmers Gin · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the historic Burton Farmers Gin. Back in December of 1913, local farmers banded together to form the Burton Farmers Gin Association. They built this very two-story structure in 1914, initially…

  • Burton High School · 0.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Burton High School. Construction on Burton's first high school began in 1938, funded by the WPA, and the building was completed in 1940. It features a native field stone veneer and an…

  • The Cotton Gin That Wouldn't Quit · 0.4 mi

    The most incredible story in Burton is the one you can still see, hear, and feel. It's the Burton Farmers Gin, on the National Register of Historic Places and honored as a national mechanical engineering landmark.…

  • The Mechanical Heart of Burton · 0.4 mi

    The real power of Burton's cotton industry wasn't just the crop; it was the machine that processed it. Step inside the Burton Farmers Gin, and you're looking at a masterpiece of early 20th-century industrial…

  • The Ghost Road of Spanish Texas · 0.4 mi

    Long before Burton existed, before the railroad tracks were even imagined, this land was a highway. You're driving near the path of one of Texas's oldest and most important roads: the La Bahia Trail. This historic route…

  • Sutton, TX · 0.4 mi · Local history

    Sutton County, Texas, started taking shape after the Civil War, drawing settlers to its vast, open range. Ranchers were the first to arrive in significant numbers, attracted by the promise of cheap land and abundant…

  • Gaines, Matthew · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Matthew Gaines, Black senator and Baptist preacher, was born on August 4, 1840, to a slave mother on the plantation of Bernardo Martin Despallier in Pineville, near Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. Her owner was…

  • McNelly, Leander Harvey · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Leander Harvey McNelly, Confederate Army officer and Texas Ranger captain, was born probably in Brooke County, Virginia (later West Virginia), on March 12, 1844. The 1850 census listed his parents as John and Catherine…

  • Kerr, William Penn · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, near modern-day Burton, where the Kerr family settled way back in 1831. They founded Union Hill, and their home became a stop for some pretty famous Texas Revolution figures.…

  • Burton, TX · 0.5 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Burton, Texas, a town born in 1862 and named for an early settler, John M. Burton. It really took off when the Houston and Texas Central Railway rolled through after the Civil War, connecting…

  • Oak Hill Cemetery · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Oak Hill Cemetery, established in 1869 by the founders of Burton. The Burton Cemetery Association officially took over in 1890, governing the grounds for fifty years. The public knew it as Oak Hill…

  • St. John's United Church of Christ Cemetery · 0.9 mi · Historical Marker

    IN JUNE 1894, A CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION CALLED EVANGELICAL ST. JOHN’S CHURCH OF BURTON ORGANIZED. IN OCTOBER 1899, A LONG-FELT NEED FOR A CEMETERY FOR THE CHURCH WAS MET WHEN TWO ACRES OF LAND, A MILE EAST OF…

  • Union Hill · 1.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through what used to be Union Hill, a town that once boasted 800 residents. It all started back in 1831 with the Hugh and Lucy Kerr family, who came here from Tennessee. By 1850, a school called Union…

  • Gantt-Jones House · 2.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Gantt-Jones House, a beautiful Greek Revival home built around 1860. It was originally home to Dr. William Henry Gantt, a physician and scientist who even taught at Galveston Medical College. But…

  • Mt. Zion Cemetery · 2.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Mt. Zion Cemetery, a resting place for early Texas settlers. The first recorded burial here was an infant, E. A. Metcalfe, who died way back on September 15th, 1852. Some unmarked graves might even…

  • McNelly, Leander H. · 2.5 mi · Historical Marker

    Born in Virginia; was valiant Confederate soldier. In 1870, appointed one of four State Police captains by Gov. E. J. Davis. Then with Texas Rangers, McNelly was assigned a special force, "The Washington County…

  • Mt. Zion Baptist Church · 2.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a testament to faith and resilience in this pioneer community. Organized way back in 1852 on land donated by James R. Hines, this church has seen a lot of…

  • Holt, James · 3.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a Texas pioneer's home. James Holt arrived from Georgia around 1836, just as Texas was becoming a republic. By 1838, he'd been granted over a thousand acres along Mill Creek. He served as…

  • Christian Church Cemetery · 3.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're passing the Christian Church Cemetery, the final resting place for McClellan's Settlement. This land was originally part of William B. McClellan's property, who ran a store and gin right here. In <say-as…

  • St. Paul-Rehburg School · 3.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the St. Paul-Rehburg School, a testament to education in Washington County. While official records start in the 1880s, local lore says informal classes began in pioneer homes as early as…

  • Greenvine Gas Discovery · 5.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Washington County, near Greenvine. Back in 1879, a local farmer named William Seidel was digging for water, just like any other day. But at about 106 feet down, he hit something unexpected:…

  • Greenvine Schools · 5.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Greenvine, Washington County, where education for two distinct communities took root in the late 1800s. In 1880, German immigrants and local Lutherans and Baptists started classes in German, right…

  • Greenvine Baptist Church · 5.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Greenvine, and right here is the site of the Ebenezer German Baptist Church, organized way back in 1861. <break time="400ms"/> It all started after a revival led by Frank Kiefer, a German…

  • The Ants That Fooled Darwin · 5.3 mi

    Near Long Point, a few miles south of Somerville, lived Gideon Lincecum, a self taught doctor and naturalist, and in eighteen sixty one Charles Darwin himself sent Lincecum's paper to the Linnean Society in London. It…

  • Gideon Lincecum · 5.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site where Gideon Lincecum lived and worked in Washington County. Born in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1793</say-as>, Lincecum moved around the frontier as a boy, developing a deep…

  • Famous for studying an ant · 5.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site where Gideon Lincecum practiced medicine and pursued his passion for natural science. Born in Georgia, Lincecum moved around a lot as a boy, developing an early fascination with nature and…

  • Gideon Lincecum · 5.3 mi · Historical Marker

    (1793-1874) As a boy Gideon Lincecum moved with his family to various frontier sites in his native Georgia and in Mississippi. It was during this time that he developed insights about natural habitats and cultivated an…

  • Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Round Top-Carmine (Carmine) · 5.7 mi

    Round Top-Carmine (Carmine, TX) placed on the 2A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: William Neese (2 HR).

  • The Witte-Williams House · 5.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Witte-Williams House, a testament to German immigration and family history in Washington County. Victor Witte, who arrived from Hanover, Germany, in 1848, built this 3-room frame house for his…

  • A Town of 250 That Holds Texas Basketball's Memory · 5.9 mi

    It makes no obvious sense that the Texas Basketball Museum sits in Carmine, a farm town of barely 250 people with no college and no arena. The reason is one man: Bob Springer, a longtime Houston-area high school coach…

  • A German Rifle Club That Became the Town Dance Hall · 5.9 mi

    At 300 North Hauptstrasse stands Carmine Hall, and its real name tells you what it started as: the Cedar Creek Schuetzen Verein, German for shooting, or marksmen's, club. These vereins were a German institution,…

  • The Town Spelled Carmine and Pronounced Car-Mean · 5.9 mi

    The little antiques town you're rolling through on Highway 290 didn't start out as Carmine. It was first called Sylvan, a leafy name for a settlement in the post-oak country at the Fayette-Washington county line. The…

  • How a Railroad Promise Built a Town and a Closing Gin Emptied It · 5.9 mi

    Carmine exists because a doctor took a railroad's deal. Dr. B. J. Thigpen, a physician from North Carolina, moved his family to this spot around Christmas of the mid-1880s when the Texas and New Orleans line, part of…

  • The Thigpen Family Hand on Almost Everything in Town · 5.9 mi

    Pull the thread on early Carmine and the Thigpen name keeps coming up. Dr. Benjamin Jackson Thigpen, the North Carolina physician who came west with the railroad, is the man who actually made the town: accounts say he…

  • Steaks on Hauptstrasse in a Two-Stoplight Town · 6.0 mi

    If you're hungry while working the antique shops, the local bet is JW Steakhouse at 122 South Hauptstrasse Street, right on the German-named main drag a short hop off Highway 290. It's the kind of small-town Texas…

  • The Biggest Little Town in Texas · 6.1 mi

    Carmine calls itself 'The Little City with a Big Heart,' and for a few weeks each year that heart has to stretch. Normally home to about 244 people, Carmine is the eastern gateway to the spring and fall Round Top…

  • German Street Signs and a Depot That Came Home · 6.1 mi

    Drive Carmine's small grid and the street signs give the town away: you cross Hauptstrasse, which is simply German for Main Street, and Augsburg Avenue, named for the Bavarian city, plain evidence of the German and…

  • The Heartbeat at Carmine Hall · 6.1 mi

    In a lot of small Texas towns the community's heart beats loudest in the dance hall, and Carmine is no exception. Carmine Dance Hall sits on North Hauptstrasse, a block off Highway 290, and it's run by the Cedar Creek…

  • Carmine, TX · 6.1 mi

    In the heart of Carmine, Texas, you'll find the Texas Basketball Museum, a treasure trove of basketball history. Operated by Coach Bob Springer, this museum showcases players who've made it to the pros and high school…

  • Bethlehem Cemetery · 6.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Washington County, passing Bethlehem Cemetery. Land for this community burial ground was set aside in the 1850s by Erwin Brown, on land originally granted by the Mexican government. The earliest…

  • Winedale Stagecoach Inn · 7.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Winedale Stagecoach Inn, built by William S. Townsend around 1834. Imagine this place, constructed from cedar timbers with just one large room and a loft for sleeping. It served…

  • Mayer Cemetery · 7.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Washington County, past the Mayer Cemetery. This quiet resting place holds the stories of German immigrants who sought a new life in Texas starting in 1836. Many were wine makers, and their…

  • Hill, Isaac Lafayette · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Round Top, and just ahead is the site of a man who saw Texas history unfold. Isaac Lafayette Hill arrived from Georgia in 1835, just in time for the Texas Revolution. He served as a corporal,…

  • Waul's Texas Legion · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past where Waul's Texas Legion camped back in 1862. Thomas N. Waul, a name you might remember from the Civil War, gathered nearly two thousand men right here along New Year's Creek. They formed twelve…

  • Smitty's Cafe and Bakery: A Farm Girl's Kitchen in an Old Gas Station on 290 · 8.0 mi

    Smitty's Cafe and Bakery sits in a converted old gas station and store on US Highway 290 west of Brenham, near Lange Lake Road. It is the work of Kallie Schmidt, a culinary-trained Washington County farm girl who came…

  • Mount Vernon · 8.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Mount Vernon, a Texas ghost town. Named for George Washington's Virginia home, this settlement was the county seat of Washington County for just three years, from 1841 to 1844. John…

  • Louis Lehmann House · 8.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Louis Lehmann House, built in the 1870s by a German immigrant who became a leader in his community. Lehmann served in the Confederate Army and was elected President of the local agricultural…

  • Nassau Plantation · 8.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Nassau Plantation, a grand vision for German immigrants that never quite materialized. Back in 1843, this massive 4,428-acre tract was purchased with dreams of a new colony. It was named…

  • Ludwig Lehmann Family Cemetery · 8.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Ludwig Lehmann Family Cemetery. In 1849, Ludwig and Carolyn Lehmann, with their four sons and Ludwig's mother, sailed from Hamburg, Germany, bound for Galveston. Their journey was tough; Ludwig's…

  • Glenblythe Plantation · 8.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Glenblythe Plantation, a 3,500-acre agricultural powerhouse just south of here. From 1858 to 1868, its owner, a Scottish immigrant and renowned scientist, transformed this land into a hub…

  • Affleck, Thomas · 8.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Glenblythe, the Washington County plantation of Thomas Affleck. Born in Scotland, Affleck came to America in 1832 and became a leading voice in scientific agriculture. He wrote for many…

  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery · 8.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Gay Hill, and right here is Mt. Calvary Cemetery. It began as a burial ground for Mexican immigrants who worked as sharecroppers for landowner J.S. Poteet in the early 1900s. An influenza outbreak…

  • Connersville Primitive Baptist Church African American Cemetery · 8.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Connersville Primitive Baptist Church African American Cemetery, a burial ground for slaves and their descendants established between 1883 and 1885. Oral tradition says slave owners used this…

  • Market Hill · 8.8 mi · Things to Do

    Premier antiques-show venue on Highway 237 just north of town — a marquee stop during Round Top's twice-yearly fairs, with shopping and dining year-round.

  • Duo Modern · 8.8 mi · Things to Do

    Chef-driven, farm-to-table restaurant inside the Market Hill complex on Highway 237.

  • Samuel Knight Lewis · 8.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Round Top, and right here is the story of Samuel Knight Lewis. Born in South Carolina, Lewis first settled in Mississippi before heading to Texas in 1838. He served in the Republic of Texas House…

  • Eben-Ezer Evangelical Lutheran Church · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the Berlin community, settled by Germans way back in 1847. Look around – this area owes its spiritual roots to a Christmas Eve service in 1854. That's when Reverend Johann Ebinger held the very…

  • Chicken Ranch Site · 9.1 mi · Things to Do

    Former legendary brothel immortalized in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Now just a field.

  • Truth BBQ: One of the Finest Barbecue Joints in Texas, Right Here on 290 · 9.3 mi

    Truth BBQ, at 2990 US Highway 290 just west of Brenham, is the original location of one of the most decorated barbecue joints in Texas. Self-taught pitmaster Leonard Botello IV opened it in the summer of 2015 in a small…

  • Festival Institute · 9.3 mi · Things to Do

    Festival Hill: a 210-acre classical-music campus on Jaster Road hosting summer concerts, recitals, and a renowned festival in its grand concert hall.

  • St. Peter's Lutheran Church · 9.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Brenham. This congregation was founded by German immigrants who settled in the Gay Hill community back in the 1880s. They bought this land and built their…

  • La Bahia Road · 9.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past a piece of Texas history that's older than the state itself! This is the La Bahia Road. Originally an animal trail, it became a vital east-west route for Native Americans, and then for European…

  • Site of Wesley School · 9.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Wesley, a community founded by Czech immigrants back in 1859. Professor Josef Masik first tutored kids right in his home. By 1863, the Bohemian Slovakian Reading Club built the first schoolhouse.…

  • Round Top - Smallest Town, Biggest Culture · 9.7 mi · Historical Marker

    Round Top has fewer than ninety residents, making it one of the smallest incorporated cities in Texas. Twice a year, over a hundred thousand people descend on this Fayette County crossroads for antique shows that sprawl…

  • Menn House, The · 9.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Round Top, just past the Menn House. This home, built possibly by ex-congressman Samuel Lewis, was occupied in the 1860s by William and Carolina Menn and their *twelve* children. The Menn family…

  • Gay Hill, TX · 9.8 mi · Local history

    Gay Hill sits nestled within the rolling hills of Washington County, part of the Blackland Prairies. This land, once a sea of tall grasses nourished by dark, fertile soil, owes its existence to ancient seas that…

  • Scherrer, Bernard · 9.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Round Top, Texas, and just ahead is the story of Bernard Scherrer. He left Switzerland when he was just 22, traveling the world before landing in Texas in 1833. Scherrer fought in the Texas…

  • Wesley Brethren Church · 9.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Wesley, a community founded by Czech immigrants. Look to your right, and you're passing the site of the first Czech-Moravian Brethren church in Texas. Organized in 1864 by Rev. Joseph Opocensky,…

  • Royers Round Top Cafe: The Pieman on the Square in a Town of Seventy-Seven · 10.0 mi

    Royers Round Top Cafe, at 105 Main Street right on the square in Round Top, is one of the most beloved eateries in rural Texas. It was founded in 1987 when Bud 'The Pieman' Royer and his late wife Dr. Karen, along with…

  • Round Top Community · 10.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Round Top, a place that became a hub of German culture and crafts in the 19th century. But this community also has roots in the Texas Revolution. Look for the homes of Townsend, Hill, and McH.…

  • Royers Round Top Cafe · 10.0 mi · Things to Do

    Bud Royer's pie-mecca on the Round Top square — buttermilk, pecan, and a daily rotation of about ten flavors. Statewide-famous and the anchor of the…

  • Round Top · 10.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Round Top, a place settled by some of the most famous names in early Texas history. Look around you – this area was a stopping point on the Old San Felipe Trail. Many veterans of crucial Texas…

  • Early Texas Hotels and Inns · 10.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Round Top, Texas, where inns like the Old Sam Lewis Stopping Place were the lifeblood of early travel. Built in 1834 as a simple log cabin, this place, just a couple miles east at Winedale, was…

  • Robert Starke Armistead · 10.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site where Robert Starke Armistead lived and worked in Washington County. Born in North Carolina, he moved to Texas in 1835, just in time to serve in the Republic of Texas army in 1836. Later, in…

  • A charter trustee of Baylor University · 10.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Washington County, near where Robert Starke Armistead and his wife Ann settled after arriving from Alabama in 1835. Armistead served in the Republic of Texas army in 1836 and defended San Antonio…

  • Ellis Motel Lounge · 10.0 mi · Things to Do

    Cocktail lounge and emporium set in an 1800s dog-trot home near Henkel Circle.

  • Robert Starke Armistead · 10.0 mi · Historical Marker

    (November 5, 1800 - June 14, 1866) Robert Starke Armistead and his wife Ann came to Texas from Alabama in 1835. He served in the Republic of Texas army in 1836 and with forces defending San Antonio during the Vasquez…

  • Hill, Isaac Lafayette · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, near Round Top, where Isaac Lafayette Hill settled after fighting in the Texas Revolution. He was there at San Jacinto, the battle that won Texas its independence! Later, he became…

  • International Festival-Institute At Round Top · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, and you might just be passing the site of one of America's most unique music festivals. Right here in Round Top, concert pianist James Dick founded the Festival-Institute in 1971.…

  • Ledbetter, Hazel Gawley · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the rolling hills of Fayette County, and right here, in Round Top, you're passing through a place with a rich history of restoration, thanks in part to Hazel Gawley Ledbetter. In 1959, this…

  • Recknagel, Friederike Caroline Elise Michaelis · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Round Top, Texas, a place that comes alive through the lens of Friederike Recknagel. Born in 1860, she wasn't just a resident; she was the community's visual historian. While many photographers of…

  • Rosenberg, Peter Carl Johann von · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, and right here, you're passing through the story of Peter Carl von Rosenberg. He wasn't just any pioneer; he was a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, fighting at the Battle of Leipzig…

  • Winedale Historical Center · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, near Round Top, past the Winedale Historical Center. Right here stands the Samuel K. Lewis house, a remarkable blend of American and German architecture. Built around 1834, it…

  • Round Top, TX · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, heading towards Round Top. This tiny community owes its name to a unique landmark: an odd-shaped tower on a house built by Alwin Soergel in the 1840s. That tower gave the town its…

  • Henkel Square Market · 10.1 mi · Things to Do

    A restored village of 1800s German-Texan buildings on the square, now home to boutique shops, makers, and a market hall.

  • Il Cuculo · 10.1 mi · Things to Do

    Italian restaurant and cocktail bar inside Hotel Lulu, just off the square on Mill Street.

  • Round Top Brewing · 10.1 mi · Things to Do

    Nanobrewery and kitchen on the square pouring house-made craft beer.

  • Painter, James Donald · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Round Top, Texas, a town James Donald Painter fell in love with and brought back to artistic life. Born in Kentucky in 1906, Painter studied art across the country before finding his muse right here.…

  • Round Top Academy · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, past the community of Round Top. Right here, two miles east of town, was once the site of Round Top Academy. Founded in June 1854 on the Ledbetter Plantation, it served the…

  • Boon & Co · 10.1 mi · Things to Do

    Cocktail bar and casual eatery a block off the Round Top square on Washington Street.

  • Mill Street Cafe · 10.1 mi · Things to Do

    Cafe and bakery on Mill Street for fresh pastries and breakfast near the square.

  • Rhone Family Papers · 10.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, near Round Top, in an area that was once home to the Rhone family farm. Between 1886 and 1971, this land saw the lives and enterprise of Calvin and Lucia Rhone and their twelve…

  • Wandke House · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Round Top, and right here, you're passing the Wandke House. In 1855, Johann Traugott Wandke, a skilled mechanic and cabinetmaker, arrived from Prussia with his family. By 1860, they were in Round…

  • Bethlehem Church · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Bethlehem Church, a cornerstone of Lutheran faith in Fayette County. It was dedicated way back on October 28th, 1866, with Reverend Adam Neuthard leading the congregation. But what makes this place…

  • Hamilton Ledbetter House · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising past the Hamilton Ledbetter House, a place that saw some serious Texas history unfold. Ledbetter, originally from North Carolina, settled here in Fayette County in 1845 and built this very home for his…

  • Pochmann House · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Pochmann House, a home with a story that's a little bit tragic and a little bit resilient. German immigrant Zoellistin Pochmann arrived in Texas around 1856. He was a cabinetmaker,…

  • Rocky Creek Farm · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Rocky Creek Farm, a place with roots stretching back to the German dream of settlement in Texas. The original house here was built around 1854 for James Wade. It sat on a huge tract called Nassau…

  • Schueddemagen Home · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Schueddemagen Home in Round Top, a replica built in 1852. It's a direct echo of a Saxony home, crafted by Carl Siegismunde Bauer. Look for the Teutonic style in the steep roof and those thick,…

  • Round Top Coffee Shop · 10.2 mi · Things to Do

    Porch-side coffee shop near the square serving lattes and breakfast tacos.

  • Prost on Block 29 · 10.2 mi · Things to Do

    Relaxed wine bar on Block 29, a short walk off the Round Top square.

  • Schiege Cigar Factory · 10.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Schiege Cigar Factory in Round Top. By the 1860s, tariffs on imported cigars were making American-made cigars a hot commodity. In 1882, Charles Schiege, Jr. built this one-room…

  • Schiege Cigar Factory Manager's House · 10.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Schiege Cigar Factory Manager's House in Round Top. Back in 1882, Charles Schiege opened his cigar factory, employing single men who slept in the factory's attic. But for his…

  • Schiege House · 10.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Schiege House in Round Top. Prussian immigrants Carl and Caroline Schiege bought land here in 1861. Their son, Charles Henry Jr., built this house around 1885. He married Emma Frenzel…

  • LJ's BBQ: A Texas Monthly Top 50 Joint in the Heart of Brenham · 10.7 mi

    LJ's BBQ, at 1407 West Main Street in Brenham, is a family-owned barbecue joint that has grown into one of the finest in the state. Pitmaster Matt Lowery opened it in 2015, honing his craft after graduating from the…

  • Washington County, TX · 11.0 mi

    In Washington County, Texas, history was made with the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos during the Convention of 1836. This pivotal event marked the birth of Texas liberty and…

  • The French Children the Spaniards Found · 11.0 mi

    The creek they dammed to make Lake Somerville has had a name since sixteen ninety. That May, a Spanish expedition under Alonso de León camped on it and called it San Francisco. Historians identify it as the Yegua. De…

  • Yegua Creek · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Yegua Creek, a Brazos River tributary with a name that changed with the times. Back in 1690, the Spanish called it San Francisco. But by 1822, Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas, had mapped it as…

  • Hogan Funeral Home · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Brenham, and right here on South Park Street is the site of a vital community service. In 1914, educator Columbus H. Hogan founded the Washington County Undertaking Company, the only funeral home…

  • Lake Somerville · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    Right now, you're cruising past Lake Somerville, a huge flood control project that tamed the wild Yegua Creek. In the 46 years before 1958, the Yegua Creek flooded an astonishing 43 times, costing lives and destroying…

  • Milas Roberson "Burney" Parker · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former home of Milas Roberson "Burney" Parker, a man who served Washington County for nearly two decades. Parker, grandson of a Nueces County sheriff, first took public office as County Road…

  • The Texan Who Drew Against Wild Bill Hickok · 11.3 mi

    In Prairie Lea Cemetery here in Brenham lies a plain stone marked with the name Philip Houston Coe, and nothing about it hints that the man beneath it died in one of the most infamous gunfights of the Old West. Coe was…

  • Washington County · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, Texas, a place that witnessed a pivotal moment in the fight for independence. Right here, in the town of Washington-on-the-Brazos, the Texas Declaration of Independence was…

  • Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, not far from where Texas declared its independence. Right here, on March 2nd, 1836, delegates gathered in the town of Washington-on-the-Brazos. Imagine the tension, the hope, as…

  • Washington-on-the-Brazos, TX · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Washington-on-the-Brazos, officially named Washington, in the upper northeastern corner of what is now Washington County, was a major political and commercial center in early Texas. The town was originally named…

  • Barrington · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near Washington-on-the-Brazos, and right here is where the last president of the Republic of Texas, Anson Jones, made his home. He called it Barrington, after his birthplace in Massachusetts. Jones bought…

  • Baylor, Robert Emmett Bledsoe · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, Texas, and right here is a place tied to the incredible life of R.E.B. Baylor. He wasn't just a judge and a lawyer; Baylor was a Baptist minister who rode the circuit, holding…

  • Clay, William Roger Campbell [Sonny] · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Chappell Hill, Texas, the birthplace of Sonny Clay, a pioneering jazz pianist. Born in 1899, Clay moved west as a young man and became one of the first major jazz musicians in California. Around…

  • Crawford, William Carrol · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through history. William Carrol Crawford was the last living signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Born in North Carolina and trained as a tailor,…

  • Exodus of 1879 · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, but imagine a time when thousands of Black Texans decided to leave it all behind. Between 1875 and 1880, 'Kansas Fever' swept through communities here, especially in 1879. Tired of…

  • Hill, James Monroe · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, Texas, where James Monroe Hill arrived with his family in 1835, just in time for the Texas Revolution. After the Alamo fell, young Hill, then just 18, joined Sam Houston's army.…

  • Independence Baptist Church · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Independence, Texas, and right here is a church with a presidential connection. Independence Baptist Church was organized way back in 1839. But the big story? Sam Houston himself was a member. He…

  • Lawrence, Joseph · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Washington County, Texas, a place that played a crucial role in the Texas Revolution. Right here, in 1836, Joseph Lawrence was present at Washington-on-the-Brazos when calls went out…

  • Lincecum, Gideon · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, not far from Long Point. Right here is where Gideon Lincecum, a physician and naturalist, settled in 1848 after years of practicing medicine with Native American herbal…

  • Matthews, James Fiske · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, Texas, where James Fiske Matthews, known as 'Doc', fought with Terry's Texas Rangers. He enlisted in 1861 and by the war's end, he'd been wounded seven times. At the Battle of…

  • McArdle, Henry Arthur [Harry] · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the heart of Texas, and right here in Independence, you're passing through the former stomping grounds of Harry McArdle, a painter who brought Texas history to life on canvas. Born in Ireland,…

  • Robertson, Jerome Bonaparte · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here is where Jerome Bonaparte Robertson, known as 'Polly' to his men, made his mark. He arrived in Texas in 1836, a doctor by trade, but quickly became a respected…

  • Woodlief, Deveraux J. · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, Texas, and right here is where Deveraux J. Woodlief, a settler and soldier, made his home starting in 1828. He fought bravely at the Battle of San Jacinto, even earning a wound.…

  • Prairie Lea Cemetery · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Prairie Lea Cemetery, a resting place for Texas history. Graves here go back to the 1840s, but the land was formally set aside in 1871. It became the main cemetery after yellow fever victims…

  • Greenvine, TX · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Greenvine (Green Vine) is on Farm Road 2502 near Pond Creek five miles southeast of Burton in southern Washington County. In 1860 J. Frank Kiefer , a German Baptist evangelist, conducted a revival in the new community,…

  • Independence, TX (Washington County) · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Independence is at the intersection of Farm roads 390 and 50, twelve miles northeast of Brenham in northeast Washington County. It was founded in 1835 by J. G. W. Pierson, Robert Stevenson , Colbert Baker, and Amasa F.…

  • Ross, Lawrence Sullivan [Sul] · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Lawrence Sullivan (Sul) Ross, soldier, statesman, and university president, second son and fourth child of Catherine (Fulkerson) and Shapley Prince Ross , was born at Bentonsport, Iowa Territory, on September 27, 1838.…

  • Alexander, Robert · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the Republic of Texas, and right here, you're passing through the legacy of Robert Alexander. He was a Methodist minister who arrived in Texas in 1837, the very first of his…

  • Boatwright, Thomas · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County right now, and maybe you've heard of New Year's Day. Well, you're passing near where Thomas Boatwright and his family camped on New Year's Eve, 1821. They'd traveled down…

  • Buffington, Anderson · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here, in what was then Washington-on-the-Brazos, Anderson Buffington helped start the very first missionary Baptist church in Texas. Buffington arrived in Texas in…

  • Byars, Noah Turner · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here, near Washington-on-the-Brazos, is where Noah Turner Byars set up shop back in 1835. He wasn't just a gunsmith and blacksmith; he was a pioneer Baptist preacher…

  • Carter, George Washington · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, near Chappell Hill, where George Washington Carter once led a unique Confederate cavalry unit. Carter, a Methodist minister and educator, was invited to Texas in 1860 to lead…

  • Chance, Joseph Bell · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the heart of Stephen F. Austin's second colony. Right here, in the early 1830s, J.B. Chance arrived, swearing allegiance to Mexico while dreaming of Texas independence. He was a…

  • Coe, Philip Haddox · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Washington County, and right here, Philip Haddox Coe was building a life on the Texas frontier. Born in Georgia in 1800, Coe arrived in Texas sometime after 1829, possibly fleeing a…

  • Coles, John P. · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Right here, you're driving through history, the heart of what was once Coles' Settlement. John P. Coles, one of Stephen F. Austin's first settlers, arrived in Texas in 1822. His cedar log cabin became the center of this…

  • Cooke, James Russell · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, Texas, where James Russell Cooke lived. Cooke was a soldier who fought in the Texas Revolution, even participating in the pivotal Battle of San Jacinto. But his story doesn't…

  • Evans, Moses · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here, in what was then Washington-on-the-Brazos, lived a man known as the 'wild man of the woods.' That was Moses Evans, a surveyor and soldier who arrived in Texas…

  • Gant, William Washington · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, not far from where the first shots of Texas independence were fired. Right here, William Washington Gant arrived in Texas in 1835, settling in what was then Washington County.…

  • Gantt, William Henry · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, Texas, near the old Union Hill community. Right here, Dr. William Henry Gantt, a physician and scientist, was practicing medicine in the late 1850s. He wasn't just a doctor; he…

  • Graves, Henry Lee · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here is where Texas's higher education got its start. In 1846, Henry Lee Graves arrived to become the very first president of Baylor University. He wasn't just an…

  • Greer, Nathaniel Hunt · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, Texas, and right here is where Nathaniel Hunt Greer settled his large family after fleeing Creek territory in Alabama. He was a pioneer, a legislator, and patriarch to fourteen…

  • Hemphill, John · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, the very place where John Hemphill, a giant of Texas law, first hung his shingle. Arriving in 1838, Hemphill quickly rose through the ranks of the Republic of Texas. He became a…

  • Houston, Margaret Moffette Lea · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, not far from Independence, where Margaret Moffette Lea Houston lived. She was the wife of Texas legend Sam Houston, and a force in her own right. Despite Sam's struggles with…

  • Hoxey, Asa · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, near the site of Independence. Right here, Asa Hoxey, a doctor and planter from Georgia, arrived in Texas in 1833. He brought with him a fortune and thirty enslaved people,…

  • Jones, Mary Smith · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, near Washington-on-the-Brazos. Right here is where Mary Smith Jones, wife of Republic of Texas President Anson Jones, built their plantation home called Barrington in 1844. She…

  • Lea, Nancy Moffette · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here near Independence, you're passing a place with a story tied to a very famous Texan. Nancy Moffette Lea, the mother-in-law of Sam Houston, lived out her final…

  • Miller, James Weston · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here is Gay Hill, home to James Weston Miller. This Presbyterian clergyman arrived in Texas in 1844, but frequent illness soon brought him to this very spot. For…

  • Miller, Simon · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, a place that was home to Simon Miller, one of Stephen F. Austin's original Old Three Hundred colonists. Miller arrived in Texas back in December of 1821, settling near what is…

  • Morrell, Z. N. · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here, in what was once Washington-on-the-Brazos, you're passing through a place where a determined Baptist preacher named Z. N. Morrell helped found one of the first…

  • Ruter, Martin · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the Republic of Texas, and right here, in Washington-on-the-Brazos, is where a pioneering Methodist minister named Martin Ruter breathed his last. Born in Massachusetts in 1785,…

  • Salem, TX (Washington County) · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, not far from Brenham, and right here is the site of Salem. This community began in 1856, not as a town, but as a church. Following a split over doctrine among German Lutherans,…

  • Saul, Thomas Stovin · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, near the Brazos River, and right here is where Thomas Stovin Saul made his mark in early Texas. He arrived from Louisiana in 1829, a farmer and attorney who quickly got involved…

  • Sledge, Alonzo L. · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, near Chappell Hill, the hometown of Alonzo L. Sledge. Born into slavery in 1854, Sledge rose to become a Baptist preacher and, remarkably, a Texas legislator. In 1878, he won…

  • Soule University · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here in Chappell Hill, you're passing the site of Soule University. Founded in 1854 by the Texas Conference of the Methodist Church, it was meant to be a premier…

  • Stevenson, Robert M. · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Washington County, and right here, you're passing near where Robert M. Stevenson lived. Born in Ireland around 1805, Stevenson came to Texas before the Revolution. He fought in the…

  • Swisher, John Milton · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Washington County, and right here, in 1836, a young John Milton Swisher was on his way to join the fight for Texas independence. He and a handful of companions heard the call to defend…

  • Tom, John Files · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas history right now, past the site of Washington-on-the-Brazos. Back in 1836, a seventeen-year-old named John Files Tom was here, a young volunteer fighting for Texas independence. He fought…

  • Travis, Charles Edward · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, not far from Chappell Hill, where a dramatic military trial unfolded. Charles Edward Travis, son of Alamo hero William B. Travis, found himself in deep trouble with the U.S.…

  • Women and Education · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here, in what was once Coles Settlement, you're passing the site of Texas's very first boarding school for girls. Established in 1834 by Frances Trask Thompson, this…

  • Chappell Hill, TX · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Chappell (Chapel) Hill is located at the junction of Farm roads 1155 and 2447, fifty-seven miles northwest of Houston in southeastern Washington County. By 1847 the site was a trading locality, one mile from Cedar Creek…

  • Union Hill, TX (Washington County) · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Union Hill was a town on the wagon road between Houston and Austin near Carr's Crossing on Yegua Creek and just northwest of the present site of Burton in Washington County. Nearby Kerr and Mayfield Creeks and a deep…

  • Baine, Moses · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the land where Moses Baine made his home after fighting for Texas independence. Born in Ireland, Baine arrived in the U.S. in 1819 before joining Stephen F. Austin's colony in 1830. He fought in the…

  • Petty, George Washington · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    Right now, you're driving past the resting place of George Washington Petty. He was born in Tennessee back in 1812, but he came to Texas and fought in the Battle of San Jacinto, the fight that won Texas its…

  • Allcorn, Elijah · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once a vast, untamed frontier, and right here, in what is now Washington County, you're passing through land once settled by Elijah Allcorn. He arrived in Texas in December of 1821,…

  • Borden, Paschal Pavolo · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Washington County, not far from where Paschal Pavolo Borden farmed and worked in his father's blacksmith shop in San Felipe. Borden, brother of the famous Gail Borden Jr., came to…

  • Garrett, Christopher Columbus · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, near Chappell Hill, where Christopher Columbus Garrett was born in 1846. He became a lawyer and judge, eventually serving as the first chief justice of the Texas Court of Civil…

  • Hall, John W. · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near Washington-on-the-Brazos, a place that played a pivotal role in early Texas history. Right here, Captain Jack Hall settled in 1822, establishing a ferry and eventually becoming the county judge and…

  • Hill, William Warner · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Washington County, Texas, a place that played a role in the early days of the Republic. William Warner Hill was here, a soldier who fought in the Texas Revolution. He was a first…

  • Hogan, Columbus Henderson · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here in Chappell Hill, you're passing through the heart of a remarkable life. Columbus Henderson Hogan, born in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1870</say-as>,…

  • Kiefer, J. Frank · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here is Independence, where J. Frank Kiefer, a German immigrant, made his mark. He wasn't just a doctor; he was a Baptist evangelist who organized Texas's first German…

  • Kuykendall, Barzillai · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Washington County, Texas, a land that Barzillai Kuykendall knew well. He was one of Stephen F. Austin's original settlers, arriving here in 1822. Kuykendall wasn't just a farmer; he…

  • Kuykendall, Gibson · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, where Gibson Kuykendall arrived with his family in 1821, part of the Old Three Hundred settlers. They navigated the vast Texas landscape, settling near New Year Creek, just…

  • Morgan, George Washington · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Washington County, Pennsylvania, but back in 1836, a young George Washington Morgan was headed for Texas. He left college at just 16 to join the Texas Revolution, arriving in…

  • Norris, James M. · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the Texas frontier, a land James M. Norris was tasked with defending. Born in South Carolina in 1819, Norris came to Washington County, Texas, in 1841, a self-taught lawyer. He later…

  • Roddy, Ephraim · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here, Ephraim Roddy helped lay the foundation for this community. Arriving from Tennessee in 1830 with his family, Roddy quickly became involved in shaping the…

  • Swearingen, Richard Johnson · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, near Chappell Hill, where Dr. Richard Johnson Swearingen made his mark. He wasn't just a physician and farmer; he was a state legislator! He represented Washington County in the…

  • Toler, Daniel J. · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here, Daniel J. Toler was a key player in the Republic of Texas. Born in New Jersey in 1801, Toler first made his way to Mexico, becoming involved in land operations…

  • Vernon, John Alexander · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, Texas, where a man named John Alexander Vernon ended his days. Vernon was a Confederate officer who served along the Texas Gulf Coast during the Civil War, fighting in battles…

  • Walker, James · 11.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, right where James Walker settled his large family. He was one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists, arriving in Texas in 1824. Walker received a Spanish land grant and…

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