El Campo began as a rail stop called Prairie Switch, planted in 1882 along the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway. That line, chartered in 1880 to link New York toward Mexico, earned the nickname the Macaroni Line because roughly 1,200 Italian laborers laid its track between Rosenberg and Victoria. Herds bound for market were held here on the open coastal prairie, tended largely by Mexican cowboys who camped for days awaiting rail cars. Cowboys admired the spot and dubbed it Pearl of the Prairies. Around 1890 the settlement took a shorter, fitting name: El Campo, Spanish for the field or the camp. A general store rose in 1889, a post office followed in 1890, and the town incorporated on June 19, 1905, growing into the second largest hay-shipping center in the country.

Watering the Rice Prairie RoadyGoat

1900

Around 1901, farmers here bet on a crop that reshaped the coastal prairie: rice, which needs standing water on flat, leveled ground. The grassland was ideal, but rice demands a steady flood, so growers engineered one. Around 1900 three canal systems were built to carry water from the Colorado River, feeding pumping plants that lifted it into leveled fields. Deep-water wells later added a second source, tapping groundwater beneath the prairie. The system spread fast. By 1904 about seventy rice farms and 126 pumping stations ringed El Campo. Mills followed the harvest. The El Campo Rice Milling Company opened in 1903, Broussard Rice Mills joined it, and in 1914 the two merged under the El Campo Rice Milling name, later known as ELCO. That marriage of canals, pumps, and flat prairie made Wharton County a top rice-producing county in Texas.

Czech and German Roots on the Prairie RoadyGoat

1888

As rail and rice pulled newcomers to the prairie, Central European families put down deep roots around El Campo. Many were Czech and German immigrants, part of the wave that settled the Texas coastal plain in the late 1800s. Just southwest of town, the little community of Hillje took its name from Fred Hillje, who bought part of a ranch in 1888 and brought in German and Czech settlers from Weimar. In El Campo itself, congregations organized between 1890 and 1898 included a German Lutheran church alongside Swedish, Baptist, Methodist, and Catholic ones. The Czech community grew strong enough to sustain its own voice: a Czech-language newspaper, Svoboda, meaning freedom, was published here in 1931. That legacy still flavors local kitchens, from sausage to kolaches.

El Campo, TX

1882

El Campo is on U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 71, thirteen miles southwest of Wharton in south central Wharton County. The Lower Colorado River Authority provides water, and several creeks flow near the city limits. In 1882 a railroad camp called Prairie Switch was situated where El Campo now stands and served as a switching point on New York, Texas and Mexican Railway. Cowboys called the camp "Pearl of the Prairies." Located in the midst of cattle country, the camp was used by Mexican cowboys who changed the name to El Campo in 1890. Ranching was the chief industry, and thousands of cattle were shipped yearly to San Antonio. Four large ranches surrounded the settlement: the Texas Land and Cattle Company (KO Ranch) to the south, the Pierce Ranch to the east, the Herder Ranch to the west, and the Brown Ranch to the north. For several years El Campo had no permanent structures except the section house and a switch serving the cattle-loading chute. In 1889 a general store was built. In 1890 a post office opened. In 1892 the community had an estimated population of twenty-five, a general store, a mill and gin, and a justice of the peace. Settlers began moving into the area and planted rice, cotton, and corn. Hay soon became one of the chief products, and in the early 1900s the town was the second largest hay-shipping center in the United States. The Farmers Union Warehouse Company was established in El Campo. A one-room schoolhouse was built in 1891, and in 1895 an independent school district was established. By 1901 it enrolled 177 students. Between 1890 and 1898 Swedish Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, German Lutheran, and Swedish Methodist churches were organized. In 1896 a fire destroyed the principal business section; by 1900, 130 businesses had been rebuilt. In 1901 another fire destroyed a large part of the town, and this time the residents built brick buildings. El Campo Brick and Tile Company provided building materials for many of the permanent structures. In 1901 a library was organized. In 1902 the first bank was established. On June 19, 1905, El Campo was incorporated. The El Campo Ice and Water Company was established in 1907. This plant lighted businesses, streets, and homes, and made enough ice to supply the city. The El Campo Rice Milling Company was established in 1903. By 1904 seventy rice farms and 126 pumping stations were in operation around El Campo. Broussard Rice Mills was established, and in 1914 the two rice mills consolidated under the name El Campo Rice Milling Company, now known as ELCO. At one time rice hulls were compressed into bricks used as an experimental building material. The first doctor in El Campo arrived in 1890. By 1906 two funeral homes had been established. In 1910 there were 1,778 residents. The first hospital was established in 1912. The first newspaper was published in 1894. The El Campo News began in 1928 and has survived in the present El Campo Leader News . In 1931 a Czech-language paper, Svoboda , was published. It was later purchased by Culp Krueger and merged with the main newspaper. In the mid-1930s gas and oil were discovered in Wharton County and spawned the local petroleum and oil-service industries. The Texas Company (now Texaco, Incorporated ) established a branch office in El Campo. In 1930 the town had a population of 2,034 and 160 businesses. In 1941 the town had 3,906 residents and twenty-two businesses; the population was 6,216 in 1952, 7,700 in 1961, and 9,995 in 1970. In 1990 agriculture and petroleum related businesses provided the base for local economy. Crops included milo, rice, corn, cotton, and soybeans. Three farm cooperatives were functioning. The area remained a major beef producer as well. Aquaculture products and pecans added to the diversity. Manufactured items included aluminum extrusion, children's clothing, nursery containers, foam cups and containers, and valves. El Campo also had a wholesale nursery. Much of the industrial d

Tsha Handbook →

Greer, Ennis Adolphus

1913

Ennis Adolphus Greer, educator and namesake for the pre-integration African-American high school in El Campo, Texas, was born on July 10, 1896, on a farm in Wharton County, Texas, to Lee and Margareth (also known as Margaret) Greer. Ennis was the youngest of eleven children. Ennis Greer attended grammar school in Wharton. At just ten years of age, he became the Sunday school superintendent at his church, and the following year he was elected a delegate from his church to a district denominational convention. At the age of just seventeen, in about 1913, Greer began teaching Black students in El Campo. The first year he taught seventeen students in seven grades. Those seventeen had been urged to attend by Greer, who canvassed the area to get enough students so that the school would qualify for financial assistance from the state. The second year the school grew to forty-five students; an additional teacher was hired to help Greer with the teaching load. The school board authorized the hiring of that teacher but pledged only half of her $30 per month salary. The school had to raise the other half. Initially classes were conducted in a Methodist church auditorium. Burlap sacks were used to form partitions between "classrooms," and, in addition, other burlap bags were stuffed into holes in the floor to help insulate it from the cold wind outside during the winter. Ennis Greer first attended Houston Colored Junior College and then transferred to Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College, where he earned a teacher's certificate in 1919, but he did not complete his bachelor's degree at that time. He returned to El Campo and resumed teaching. At some point he also became the principal of the school. In 1922 a brick school building for Blacks was constructed in El Campo. At that time it was the first and only such establishment in Wharton County. The lot upon which to construct it cost $150, but, true to form, the school board again authorized just half that amount and said that the school would need to raise the remaining $75. Greer sold peanuts on the streets until he raised that amount of money. The new building contained five classrooms. Soon additional teachers were hired. On December 28, 1925, Ennis Greer married Lyla Bell Roberson from Matagorda, Texas. Like Ennis, she came from a big family. She, too, was well educated; she had four years of college and taught in the Black El Campo high school. They had no children. In 1935 Greer returned to Prairie View and completed his bachelor's degree. Later he attended graduate school at the Colorado State College of Education, now the University of Northern Colorado, in Greely. In 1948 Greer completed his master of science degree at Texas State University for Negroes (now Texas Southern University) in Houston. After each personal educational accomplishment, he returned to his job as principal of the El Campo high school, which was consistently rated as an honor school by the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas (CTSAT). At one point, Greer's role as founder of the school was officially recognized when the school was named for him. Eventually the school building that had been erected in 1922 was not large enough to accommodate the increasing number of students. In 1953 the voters of El Campo approved a school bond issue for $1 million that included funding to build a new school for African Americans . The resulting school building that was again named after Greer contained a cafeteria, a gymnasium, and fifteen classrooms. By early 1954 the enrollment had grown to 335 students. In 1959 the school expanded again to include a chemistry lab, a teacher's lounge, and four more classrooms. Additionally, it received full accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. It was one of the only schools in the area to do so. Greer was elected to a term as president of the South Texas Teachers Association, an organization comprising thirty counties in the Gul

Tsha Handbook →

El Campo

1882

Begun as a camp on the New York, Texas, and Mexican Railroad in 1882, El Campo initially was known as Prairie Switch and served as a supply and shipping center for area ranchers. By the 1890s the town had grown to include a post office, homes, businesses, schools, and churches. An influx of European immigrants produced a strong ethnic heritage. Fires in 1896 and 1901 destroyed much of the downtown area, but the city rebuilt. Oil and gas discoveries in the 1930s provided an economic boom, although agriculture remains the primary local business.

Historical Marker →

First National Bank of El Campo

1890

The First National Bank of El Campo traces its history to the Koch and Poole Mercantile Company. In 1890 El Campo was an exciting new railroad town. Customers left their money in the Koch and Poole safe for protection, and soon the store assumed the duties of a banking institution. A group of local businessmen purchased the company and applied for a national bank charter, which was granted in January 1902. A two-story bank building was erected on the corner of Monseratte and Post Office Street. The bank's founders were instrumental in the development of El Campo and led efforts to have the city incorporated in 1905. Providing investment capital for the rice and oil industries, which were the foundations of El Campo's economy, the bank grew with the city, survived the Great Depression, and emerged as a strong financial institution serving residents throughout Wharton County. After sixty-five years at the Monseratte St. location the bank moved to a larger facility at this site. It continues to support business, civic, and youth activities throughout the county.

Historical Marker →

El Campo Independent School District

1891

El Campo's first permanent school building was a simple wooden structure built near this site about 1891. El Campo Independent School District was organized in 1895. Early schools were financed through local taxes, individual subscriptions, tuition, class fees, and bank loans. In its early history the district leased a Methodist Episcopal church building, restaurant, store, and Swedish school building as temporary classrooms. A brick schoolhouse, erected at this site in 1902, was razed in 1922 and replaced later that year with larger school facilities. By 1952 ten rural schools moved from the 1922 structure to a new facility opened during the fall of 1953. In 1961 the Crescent Independent School District merged with the district to form El Campo Consolidated Independent School District. Integration of schools in El Campo was achieved by 1968. Since the late 1950s the district has continued to construct new facilities and remodel a number of older facilities. By 1994 El Campo Independent School District's high school, middle school, and three elementary schools served an enrollment of more than 3500 students of varied ethnic and racial backgrounds. (1995)

Historical Marker →

Egypt, TX (Wharton County)

1822

Egypt, on Farm Road 102 eleven miles northwest of Wharton, is the oldest community in Wharton County. John C. Clark was there in 1822, and Egypt is located on his league. Robert Kuykendall 's land was below Egypt, and Thomas Rabb 's was above. These three men were among the first of the Austin colony settlers. The land along the Colorado River was the favorite hunting ground of the Karankawa Indians, and Clark, Kuykendall, and Rabb were noted Indian fighters. The area soon became safe enough for others to move into because of the efforts of these men. The original settlement was started in 1829, when Eli Mercer established a plantation and ferry on the Colorado River at the San Felipe-Texana crossing. The road from Matagorda to Columbus crossed the San Felipe-Texana road a mile or so from the river, and the community developed at this junction. The town was originally called Mercer's Crossing, but during a severe drought the area supplied corn to surrounding settlements, and people began to refer to it as Egypt. In 1832 William J. E. Heard started Egypt Plantation on the 2,222 acres he purchased from John C. Clark and built his home in what is now the center of Egypt; in 1992 it was still occupied by his family. The Republic of Texas opened a post office in November 1835 with Eli Mercer as postmaster. By 1840 four different Texas mail routes were passing through Egypt. The fertile soil has made Egypt an agricultural center since its beginning; Mercer produced some of the first sugarcane in Texas, and Heard had a cotton gin in 1836. In February of that year Capt. Thomas Rabb recruited a company of men in the Egypt area. They became Company F of the First Regiment of Texas Volunteers. They were at Gonzales when Gen. Sam Houston arrived, and they made the long retreat across Texas. Under Capt. W. J. E. Heard at San Jacinto, they formed the center of the Texas line and captured the Mexican cannons. During the Runaway Scrape many of the people from west of the Colorado gathered in Egypt, hoping that Houston and the Texas army, which was camped just above Egypt, would keep the Mexicans from crossing the river. During the republic days many prominent Texans lived in Egypt, including William Menefee , who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence ; Dr. John Sutherland , Alamo courier; and Eli Mercer's son-in-law, editor and inventor Gail Borden, Jr. Gen. Thomas J. Rusk and the Texas army established temporary headquarters at Egypt in May 1836 as they followed the retreating Mexican army. The republic opened Post Colorado at Egypt in 1837. In 1839 a stagecoach line, operated by Andrew Northington, served Egypt. By 1840 a general store was well established. Egypt had originally been in Colorado County, but in 1846 it became part of newly established Wharton County. When the first election was held a general store was the polling place; in the 1990 primary election, the general store at Egypt was still the polling place. In 1848 some enterprising people in Egypt built a railroad. The wooden rails were made of hard live oak, and the cars were pulled by horses. It operated between Egypt and Columbus. A school district was established in 1854 and operated until 1958, when it was consolidated with the Hungerford Independent School District. Just before the Civil War Captain Heard's son-in-law Mentor Northington built a new cotton gin, which the family operated for over 100 years. In 1881 George H. Northington and Green C. Duncan built a large general mercantile company in Egypt. The store became the business and social center for a large area of the county. It stocked everything from seeds, farm implements, clothes, and groceries to caskets. The post office moved to the new store when it was built and remained there until 1981, when a new brick building was constructed a block down the street. During the 1930s and until the beginning of World War II a quarter horse racetrack was in operation in Egypt. On race days large crowds of people f

Tsha Handbook → · 6.1 mi away

Sports in El Campo

⭐ HOMETOWN LEGENDS Class 4A · Football

El Campo — El Campo — a college & pro athletic pipeline

5 alumni who reached major-college or pro sports

The El Campo High School athletic program has a history of producing athletes who have gone on to compete at higher levels. This tradition reflects the dedication found within the El Campo community and its sports programs. Several former El Campo High School athletes have made their mark in major college and professional sports, bringing recognition to their hometown.

Among these notable alumni are Arkeith Brown, a former professional football defensive back, and Joey Hunt, an NFL center for the Seattle Seahawks. Rueben Owens II currently plays college football running back for the Texas A&M Aggies. Horace Perkins was a former NFL defensive back for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Vic Vasicek was an NFL football player.

Pro/D1 alumni

Class

Key Players

Arkeith Brown — former professional football defensive back
Joey Hunt — NFL center for the Seattle Seahawks
Rueben Owens II — college football running back for the Texas A&M Aggies
Horace Perkins — former NFL defensive back for the Kansas City Chiefs
Vic Vasicek — NFL football player

The moment

Joey Hunt played as an NFL center for the Seattle Seahawks.

Sources: Wikipedia · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)

Everything Near El Campo

176 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

From Prairie Switch to El Campo
El Campo began as a rail stop called Prairie Switch, planted in 1882 along the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway. That line, chartered in 1880 to link New York toward Mexico, earned the nickname the Macaroni Line…
Watering the Rice Prairie
Around 1901, farmers here bet on a crop that reshaped the coastal prairie: rice, which needs standing water on flat, leveled ground. The grassland was ideal, but rice demands a steady flood, so growers engineered one.…
Czech and German Roots on the Prairie
As rail and rice pulled newcomers to the prairie, Central European families put down deep roots around El Campo. Many were Czech and German immigrants, part of the wave that settled the Texas coastal plain in the late…
El Campo · Historical Marker
Begun as a camp on the New York, Texas, and Mexican Railroad in 1882, El Campo initially was known as Prairie Switch and served as a supply and shipping center for area ranchers. By the 1890s the town had grown to…
Krueger, Culp · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site where Texas's Capitol briefly stood! On September 8th, 1962, El Campo played host to Governor Culp Krueger as part of the Operation Home Town Program. This initiative aimed to foster…
El Campo Library Building · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the El Campo Library Building. This distinctive structure, completed in 1940, showcases the Art Moderne style with its unique entryway, lighting, and signage. It began as a branch of the Wharton…
First National Bank of El Campo · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker
The First National Bank of El Campo traces its history to the Koch and Poole Mercantile Company. In 1890 El Campo was an exciting new railroad town. Customers left their money in the Koch and Poole safe for protection,…
El Campo, TX · 0.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
El Campo is on U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 71, thirteen miles southwest of Wharton in south central Wharton County. The Lower Colorado River Authority provides water, and several creeks flow near the city limits.…
Greer, Ennis Adolphus · 0.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Ennis Adolphus Greer, educator and namesake for the pre-integration African-American high school in El Campo, Texas, was born on July 10, 1896, on a farm in Wharton County, Texas, to Lee and Margareth (also known as…
The Czech Heart of the Prairie · 0.4 mi
If you feel a unique European influence in El Campo, you're picking up on its deep Czech roots. This corner of Wharton County sits in the 'Czech Belt' of Texas. When you see a sign for a bakery selling kolaches, you're…
The Engineering of a Rice Field · 0.4 mi
As you look out at the farmland surrounding El Campo, you might think it’s naturally flat. But the perfect, table-top level of a rice field is a marvel of modern engineering. To grow rice, farmers have to create a…
El Campo, TX · 0.4 mi
El Campo, a small town nestled in the heart of rice country, holds a quiet pride. The name itself, 'The Country' or 'The Field,' speaks to the strong agricultural roots that still define the area. You can almost smell…

Show all 176 nearby places

The Macaroni Line and the Pearl of the Prairie · 0.4 mi
The railroad tracks that parallel the highway here are the reason El Campo exists. But this wasn't just any railroad. It was the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway, financed in the 1880s by an Italian count named…
The Gun Sale on a February Evening · 0.4 mi
On the evening of the twenty third of February, 2021, a twenty one year old named Shane Singleton drove to a house in El Campo to buy a firearm. The man selling it got into the front passenger seat of Singleton's car.…
The Story of the Rice Bird · 0.4 mi
El Campo calls itself the Pearl of the Prairies, a name it got from railroad lights that could be seen for miles across the flat country at night. But what actually built the place was water on dirt. The El Campo Rice…
El Campo Independent School District · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
El Campo's first permanent school building was a simple wooden structure built near this site about 1891. El Campo Independent School District was organized in 1895. Early schools were financed through local taxes,…
St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Parish · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past El Campo, where Catholic families, many of Irish and Czech descent, settled in the late 1800s. The bishop purchased land in 1897 to start a parish, which saw its first mass in 1898. The congregation…
Prasek's: A Grocery That Became a Landmark · 4.7 mi
On October 1, 1974, Mike and Betty Jo Prasek bought the Hillje Grocery, a small-town store southwest of El Campo that came with a meat market, a saloon, and a feed store. Quality mattered to the family, so before long…
The Game Warden Who Died on His Birthday · 4.8 mi
State Highway Seventy One in Wharton County, from Farm to Market Road Twenty Seven Sixty Five to the Matagorda County line, is the Game Warden Justin Hurst Memorial Highway. Justin Hurst started with Texas Parks and…
Pierce Hotel, Site of · 5.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Pierce, Texas, and right here is the site of a hotel that never quite was. In the 1890s, legendary cattleman A. H. 'Shanghai' Pierce platted this town, hoping it'd be the county seat. He designed…
Pierce, Shanghai, Ranch House · 5.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Shanghai Pierce Ranch House, built in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1886</say-as> in a style that was truly lavish for its time. This wasn't just a home; the first floor…
Pierce, Shanghai, Ranch · 5.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton County, passing the former home of Abel H. Pierce, a man who truly embodied the Texas spirit of grit and determination. Born in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1834</say-as>, Pierce…
Egypt, TX (Wharton County) · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Egypt, on Farm Road 102 eleven miles northwest of Wharton, is the oldest community in Wharton County. John C. Clark was there in 1822, and Egypt is located on his league. Robert Kuykendall 's land was below Egypt, and…
Kuykendall, Robert H., Sr. · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, near the Colorado River, a place Robert Kuykendall helped settle back in 1821. He was chosen as captain of the militia and alcalde, basically the lawman, for this early Austin…
Mercer, Eli · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what's now Wharton County, and right here is where Eli Mercer carved out a life in the Texas wilderness. Arriving in 1829, he established a ferry crossing on the Colorado River, and the area soon…
Norris, John Alexander · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, not far from Alleyton, where John Alexander Norris was born. He wasn't just any engineer; Norris was a pioneer in Texas water resources. As chairman of the Texas State Board of…
Pierce, Abel Head [Shanghai] · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, and right here is the land that Abel Head 'Shanghai' Pierce made his own. He arrived in Texas in 1854, a stowaway on a schooner, and started by splitting rails on a ranch. But…
Glen Flora, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Glen Flora is at the junction of Farm Roads 102 and 960, on the east bank of the Colorado River six miles northwest of Wharton in Wharton County. The area's first settlers, members of Stephen F. Austin 's Old Three…
Lane City, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Lane City is on State Highway 60 and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line three miles east of the Colorado River and ten miles southeast of Wharton in southeastern Wharton County. The town was named for Jonathan Lane…
Williams, Napoleon Bonaparte · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Napoleon Bonaparte Williams, soldier in the Texas Revolution , was born in 1809 to George F. and Lavinia (Hobbs) Williams. The family moved to Texas from Connecticut. George Williams, as a member of the Old Three…
Clark, John C. · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, not far from the town of Egypt. Right here, in the early 1820s, John C. Clark, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred, was carving out a life in Texas. He wasn't just a…
Danes · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, and right here is the site of Danevang, the largest Danish settlement in Texas. Established in 1894, this community was founded by the Dansk Folkesamfund with the goal of…
Hudgins, Rachel Ann Northington McKenzie · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, Texas, where Rachel Northington McKenzie Hudgins carved out a remarkable life. Imagine a fifteen-year-old girl, fleeing Santa Anna's army during the Runaway Scrape. She was tasked…
Mercer, Elijah G. · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, and right here is the area once known as Mercer's Crossing, or Mercer's Ferry, later called Egypt. This is where Elijah Mercer and his father joined Captain Rabb's company of…
Newman, Joseph · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, near Egypt, where Joseph Newman settled in the early 1820s. He was one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, granted land in what was then Mexican Texas. Newman was a…
Singleton, George Washington · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what is now Wharton County, a land that George Washington Singleton helped settle in the 1820s. He was one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred, arriving with his wife, Sally, and seven…
Bonus, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Bonus, near the junction of Farm roads 102 and 2614, fifteen miles north of Wharton in northern Wharton County, was established in the mid-1890s, when the construction of the Cane Belt Railroad (chartered by William…
Danevang, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Danevang, on State Highway 71 in south Wharton County, started as a colonial effort in 1894. It is the most coherent, and only colonial, area of Danish settlement in the state. The first settlers, Danes who for the most…
Lissie, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Lissie is on the Southern Pacific Railroad and State Highway 90A in northern Wharton County. Though the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway was completed through the vicinity in 1859, it was not until 1878 that a…
Mackay, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Mackay, on U.S. Highway 59 four miles west of Wharton in central Wharton County, was established in 1881 as a station on the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway and named after one of the investors, John W. Mackay, who…
Newgulf, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Newgulf (New Gulf) is on top of the Boling Dome , reputed to be the largest known inland deposit of sulfur in the world, in the extreme eastern corner of Wharton County between the San Bernard River and Caney Creek in…
Rabb, Thomas J. · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Thomas J. Rabb, soldier and member of Stephen F. Austin 's Old Three Hundred , was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, about 1801, the son of Mary (Smalley) and William Rabb . He was the brother of Andrew and John…
Spanish Camp, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Spanish Camp is just north of the junction of Farm roads 640 and 1161, eight miles northwest of Wharton on a mail route from Glen Flora in northeastern Wharton County. Settlers established the community during the early…
Castleman, Sylvanus · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through land that was once the frontier, where settlers like Sylvanus Castleman carved out a life. Castleman was one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists, arriving in Texas likely in 1821 or 1822.…
Jackson, Alexander, Sr. · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once a vast frontier, and right here, in what is now Wharton County, lived Alexander Jackson, Sr. He was one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists, arriving from Ireland in 1808. His…
McKinsey, Hugh · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, right where Hugh McKinsey staked his claim. Born in Scotland, McKinsey was an early settler, one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred." He and his partner, John Smith,…
Wharton County · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, a land first explored by Europeans way back in the late 1600s. In 1687, the famous French explorer La Salle traversed this very area on his final expedition before his death.…
White Man's Union Associations · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through parts of Texas where, for decades, your voice in local politics might have been silenced before you even cast a ballot. In the late 1800s, as Reconstruction ended, groups called White Man's Union…
Burr, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Burr, also known as Lawson and Kriegel, on Farm Road 1301 four miles southeast of Wharton in southeastern Wharton County, began when Burr Albert Harrison and a family named Callaway established plantations in the area.…
Dinsmore, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Dinsmore is on Farm Road 1301 and the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway two miles east of Wharton in Wharton County. It was established in John Dinsmore's quarter league by a Black man, E. W. Roberts, for…
Phillips, Isham B. · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Isham B. Phillips, a member of Stephen F. Austin 's Old Three Hundred , received title on May 9, 1827, to a league of land in an area that ultimately became part of Wharton County. He had arrived in Texas after the 1826…
Pierce, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Pierce is on U.S. Highway 59 five miles northeast of El Campo and eight miles west of Wharton in central Wharton County. It was originally named Pierce's Station in 1881. The New York, Texas and Mexican Railway built a…
Parker, Joshua · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once the wild frontier of Mexican Texas. Right here, in what is now Wharton County, Joshua Parker, one of Stephen F. Austin's original Old Three Hundred colonists, settled his land grant…
Hillje, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Hillje is on State Highway 59 and Farm Road 441, eighteen miles west of Wharton in western Wharton County. It was named for Fred Hillje, who with his partners bought part of the West Ranch in 1888 and brought in German…
Magnet, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Magnet, east of State Highway 60 and twelve miles south of Wharton in southeastern Wharton County, was established about 1907 when the Taylor-Fowler Land Company of Oklahoma laid out and promoted a townsite on the Gulf,…
Nottawa, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Nottawa was at what is now the intersection of State Highway 90A with Farm Road 1164, five miles west of East Bernard and one mile east of West Bernard Creek in northeastern Wharton County. The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and…
Peach Creek, TX (Wharton County) · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
The town of Peach Creek was between the Colorado River and West Bernard Creek on Peach Creek. It spanned the Colorado-Matagorda county line until 1846, when Wharton County was established, and the entire township was…
Taiton, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Taiton, also known as Tait, is on State Highway 71 eighteen miles northwest of Wharton in northwestern Wharton County. It was first settled in 1886 and named Tait, probably for Charles William Tait of Colorado County, a…
You Are No Jack Kennedy: The Bentsen Highway · 6.7 mi
U.S. Highway Fifty Nine, from Interstate Forty Five to Interstate Thirty Five, is the Senator Lloyd Bentsen Highway, named by the Legislature in nineteen ninety five. Bentsen was born in Mission in nineteen twenty one…
The Sergeant Who Volunteered to Go In · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker
State Highway Seventy One in Wharton County, from the Colorado County line to Farm to Market Road Twenty Seven Sixty Five, is the Roy P. Benavidez Memorial Highway. Benavidez was born in Cuero in nineteen thirty five.…
Louise, TX · 10.0 mi
Louise, Texas was named after Louise Hungerford Mackay, the wife of silver mine co-owner John William Mackay. In 1881-82, Mackay constructed the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway between Rosenberg and Victoria, and…
Crowell, Marion Wesley (Baldy) · 10.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the area where Marion Wesley 'Baldy' Crowell lived after his military service. Born in DeSoto, Baldy served with distinction in World War I, fighting with the 111th Engineers in France. After the…
Louise Methodist Church · 10.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Louise, a town that sprang up along the railroad back in 1881. Just ten years later, in 1891, a missionary gathered local Methodists to form their own congregation. They built their first church…
Louise, TX · 10.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Louise, Texas, a town with a name that sounds like it belongs to a grand dame, and in a way, it does. This place owes its existence to a railroad, the "Macaroni Line," built in the early 1880s. It…
Louise State Bank · 10.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Louise State Bank, chartered in 1909. This two-story brick building served the growing town until 1927, when it was bought out. Interestingly, this very building also housed the…
Ansgar Evangelical Lutheran Church and Cemetery · 11.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Danevang, a community founded by Danish immigrants. In the early 1890s, the Danish Folk Society helped 93 families establish this cooperative settlement. These settlers, devoted Lutherans,…
Danevang · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Danevang, the first successful Danish community in Texas. Back in 1894, Danish immigrants bought up thousands of acres here, choosing Texas over northern settlements. Why? They wanted to keep their…
Glen Flora · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Glen Flora, a town that owes its start to a land grant from Stephen F. Austin himself. But it was C.H. Waterhouse who really put this place on the map around 1890, bringing in German farmers and…
Danevang Community Hall (Danevang Forsamlingshus) · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Danevang, Texas, a town founded in 1894 by Danish immigrants. Look for the Community Hall, or Danevang Forsamlingshus. This building, finished in 1895, was the heart of the community. It served as…
Magnet, TX: A Sales Pitch That Fizzled · 11.9 mi
A Texas town called Magnet, and you'd swear it sits on a deposit of magnetite or iron ore, something pulling a compass needle off true. But there's no ore here. The name was a sales pitch. Promoters trying to sell land…
Glen Flora Plantation · 12.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Glen Flora Plantation, a home built by Mr. Sanford between 1860 and 1866. Fast forward to 1881, and W. H. Hood takes up residence here. Hood was the man who went on to found this very…
Williamson, Robert McAlpin, Site of the Home of · 12.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the home of Robert McAlpin Williamson, a true Texas pioneer. Born in Georgia in 1806, he came to Texas and became the editor of early newspapers like 'The Texas Gazette.' Williamson was…
Wharton Training School · 12.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Wharton Training School, a beacon of education for African Americans in Wharton County for nearly eighty years. Established in 1896 as the Wharton Colored School, it grew from a…
Wharton · 12.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Wharton, a town with roots stretching back to the earliest days of Texas settlement. Look around – this area was first home to William Kincheloe, one of Stephen F. Austin's original "Old Three…
The Shootout on the Colorado River Bridge · 12.7 mi
The highway crosses the Colorado River right here, and in the fall of 1932 this bridge put Wharton into the Bonnie and Clyde story. Clyde Barrow had robbed the Piggly Wiggly in town in broad daylight, and the warrant…
Wharton County · 12.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton County, formed way back on April 3rd, 1846. It was carved out of Matagorda and Jackson counties and organized the very same year. The county is named for brothers William H. and John A.…
Williamson, Judge Robert McAlpin, Home · 12.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past where Judge Robert McAlpin's home once stood, a block and a half east of here. The marker you see today was moved to this location in 1976.
Site of Plaza Hotel and Plaza Theater · 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton, and right here, on the courthouse square, stood the Plaza Hotel and Theater. It started around 1904 as a two-story hotel, owned by R.B. and Lula Huston. It wasn't just rooms; it hosted…
Wharton County Courthouse · 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Wharton County Courthouse, a building with a dramatic history. Litigation and landowner disputes delayed its construction in the late 1880s, but when it was finished in 1889, it stood as a grand…
Security Bank and Trust Company · 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton, and right here is the site of the Security Bank and Trust Company. Its story starts back in 1902 with the Wharton National Bank, the city's second-ever bank. That first bank closed in…
Quinan, Judge George E. · 12.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Judge George E. Quinan's law office in Wharton. He wasn't just any lawyer; Quinan was a true Texas pioneer, arriving from Dublin, Ireland, back in the 1830s. By the 1840s, he'd set up…
Taylor, Hobart T., Sr. · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Hobart T. Taylor, Sr., entrepreneur, millionaire, and political and civic leader, was born in 1890 in Wharton, Texas, to Millie (Wright) and Jack Taylor. After finishing high school in Wharton in 1913, Hobart furthered…
Hamilton, Joseph A., House · 13.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising past the Joseph A. Hamilton House in Wharton. Hamilton, a Union Army veteran from Ohio, settled here after the Civil War and got involved in local politics. He bought this property back in 1885, moving…
Dawson, Charles Washington · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton, and right here is a community that owes a lot to Charles Washington Dawson. For 46 years, he dedicated himself to educating the children of Wharton. Starting as a math and science teacher…
Post West Bernard Station · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, not far from Hungerford. Right here, in the summer of 1837, was Post West Bernard Station. It was a vital supply and repair depot for the Republic of Texas military, handing out…
Thatcher, Thomas · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, Texas, and right here, in what was then Mississippi, Thomas Thatcher shot and killed his own cousin on Christmas Day, 1835. He did it because his cousin wouldn't hand over a dirk…
Wharton, TX · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton, a town named for two brothers who fought for Texas independence: John and William Wharton. Settled in 1846 by colonists, it quickly became a hub. The first lieutenant governor of Texas,…
Bolton, John Thomas · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, the same ground where John Thomas Bolton served as a Confederate assistant surgeon during the Civil War. He enlisted in 1861, serving in Texas and even campaigning in Louisiana.…
Dennis, Isaac N. · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton, Texas, a town that became home to Isaac N. Dennis in 1853. Dennis was a lawyer and planter, but his real claim to fame was his long career in the Texas Legislature. He served in the…
Quinan, George E. · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, Texas, and right here is the area where George E. Quinan lived. Born in Ireland in 1819, Quinan came to Texas around 1840. He studied law, became a district attorney, and served as…
Wharton County Junior College · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton, and right here is the site of Wharton County Junior College. Back in 1944, community leaders had a vision for postwar education. By August 7, 1945, a committee was formed, and in 1946,…
Whitten, James D · 13.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton, Texas, a town that played a role in the rebuilding after the Civil War. Right here, in 1866, James D. Whitten, a local farmer and lawyer, was tasked by the county commissioners to find a…
Wharton Cemetery · 13.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton, and just a few blocks from here sits the Wharton Cemetery. It was officially established in 1866, but people were already buried here. The oldest marked grave belongs to Barbara Betts,…
Wharton County Abstract Company · 13.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton, and right here is the story of the Wharton County Abstract Company. It all started back in 1890, founded by attorney William S. Brooks, also known as 'Billie.' He got a helping hand from…
St. Paul Lutheran Church · 13.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton, and right here is the story of St. Paul Lutheran Church. It all started back in 1893 with German settlers near Waterhouse. They loved to worship together, but storms just wouldn't leave…
First Baptist Church of Wharton · 13.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the First Baptist Church of Wharton, but its story starts even earlier, back in 1822. Imagine, worship services held in the home of William Kincheloe, one of Stephen F. Austin's original…
Hawes, Judge Edwin, House · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former home of Judge Edwin Hawes, a key figure in Wharton County's early days. This double-galleried house was built in 1896 by Rosa F. McCamly. The very next year, it was purchased by Edwin…
Wharton Hispanic Cemetery · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Wharton Hispanic Cemetery, a final resting place for many of the city's early Hispanic citizens. This land was officially conveyed in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1925</say-as>, but the…
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church · 13.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton, and right here is St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. It all started in the late 1890s, when a German missionary named Ernst August Wenzel began visiting German immigrant families…
The Name That Means Hope · 13.6 mi
You are standing in Nada, Texas, and if your high school Spanish is kicking in, you are already sure this place is named nothing. It is a fair guess. It is also wrong. Nada is not Spanish here. Before it was Nada, the…
So Let's Talk About Spanish Nada · 13.6 mi
Here in Nada, Texas, the name begs one obvious question, so let's actually talk about the Spanish word nada for a minute, because nearly everyone who drives through here assumes that is the source. In Spanish, nada does…
How Nothing Became a Number · 13.6 mi
You are driving through Nada, Texas, a town whose name only sounds like the Spanish word for nothing. Since that name keeps circling the idea of nothing, here is a genuine tangent worth the detour, and it happens far…
From Voice of the People to Hope · 13.6 mi
Before the post office stamped Nada on the map, folks here answered to a much grander name. This settlement was first called Vox Populi, straight out of Latin, meaning the voice of the people. It comes from an old…
The Nothing That Isn't Empty · 13.6 mi
You are still rolling through Nada, Texas, a town that only sounds like it is named for nothing. One more lane on that idea of nothing, then we get back to the road. Ask a physicist for true empty space and you will…
One Small Sign, Everything But Nothing · 13.6 mi
So here is everything a four-letter sign can hold. You rolled into Nada braced for a joke, a town named nothing. Instead the name is Czech, an Americanized spelling of najda, hope, chosen by farm families who had…
Frelsburg Families and a Prairie Church · 13.6 mi
Right here in Nada, Texas, the obvious question is where the town itself came from. Pull the thread and you land on a handful of families. According to the historical marker out front of the Catholic church, John…
The Czech Belt of Texas · 13.6 mi
Nada does not stand alone. It sits inside what you might call the Czech belt of Texas, a scatter of communities settled by immigrants who left the old Austro-Hungarian lands in the eighteen hundreds. Nearby Frelsburg,…
Coastal Prairie and the Highway Shuffle · 13.6 mi
Look around at where you actually are. Nada sits in southern Colorado County, out on the flat coastal prairie that rolls down toward the Gulf. This is farm country, cotton land in the old days and rice country as you…
Albert Clinton Horton · 13.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Sycamore Grove, the plantation home of Albert Clinton Horton. Horton was a man of many firsts in early Texas. A Georgia native, he arrived in Texas in 1834 and quickly became involved in…
Horton Foote's 'Harrison, Texas' · 14.0 mi
As you look at the old brick buildings and quiet streets of downtown Wharton, you're seeing the real-life stage for some of America's most celebrated plays and films. This is 'Harrison, Texas,' the fictional town…
The Hometown of Dan Rather · 14.0 mi
For decades, the steady, authoritative voice of Dan Rather anchored the CBS Evening News, bringing world events into American living rooms. That voice was shaped right here in Wharton. Dan Rather was born in Wharton in…
The 'Pink Palace' Courthouse · 14.0 mi
If you head toward the center of town, you can't miss it: the Wharton County Courthouse. In 1888 the commissioners court hired Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner, and by August 1889 the building was finished, Second…
The Hydrology of a Record Flood · 14.0 mi
Wharton's existence is tied to the Colorado River, and in 2017 that relationship was tested. During Hurricane Harvey, an almost unbelievable amount of rain fell into the river's watershed upstream, and all of that water…
Wharton, TX · 14.0 mi
Wharton wasn't always the quiet town it is today. Before the Whartons even dreamed of settling here, the Karankawa people knew these bottomland forests and fished these waterways, sharing the space with the alligators…
I.A. Victor and the Plaza Theatre · 14.0 mi
On the courthouse square, look for the Plaza Theatre, and know that it started life as a hotel. The Plaza Hotel was built and run by R. B. Huston and his wife, Lula Merriwether Huston, and stood on this lot for decades.…
World War II Prisoner of War Camp, Site of · 14.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Camp Wharton, a World War II prisoner of war camp. This land has a long history, originally part of a grant to an Old Three Hundred colonist in 1824, and later owned by Albert Clinton…
Egypt, Community of · 14.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Egypt, Texas, a town with a name that goes way back. It wasn't named for the pyramids, but for a biblical drought back in 1827. Pioneers from Stephen F. Austin's colony were struggling to find…
First United Methodist Church of Wharton · 14.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton, and right here, you're passing the site of the First United Methodist Church. While this building is from 1972, the congregation's roots go way back. They officially organized right here…
Egypt Plantation Cemetery · 14.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton County, near the tiny town of Egypt. Back in 1838, William Jones Elliot Heard bought over 2,000 acres and started the Egypt Plantation. He set aside three acres right here for a family…
Shearith Israel Synagogue · 14.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton, and right here is the story of Shearith Israel Synagogue. Jewish families started gathering for services around 1899, and by 1913, they had their official charter. They built their first…
Why This Spot Got Called Egypt · 14.5 mi
Here is the honest story behind the name on the sign. This little community started out as Mercer's Crossing, named for Eli Mercer, who came to Texas around eighteen twenty-nine and set up a home and a ferry across the…
The Flood That Grew a Civilization · 14.5 mi
Since the name here comes from ancient Egypt, let me tell you the trick that made that faraway Egypt so rich in grain in the first place. It was a flood, and it was the best thing that could happen every year. Every…
Cracking a Lost Language · 14.5 mi
Ancient Egypt left behind walls covered in those beautiful little pictures we call hieroglyphs, and for a very long time nobody alive could read a single one. The knowledge had simply died out. What broke it open was a…
Egypt Wasn't Called Egypt · 14.5 mi
Here is a surprising twist for a town named Egypt. The ancient Egyptians did not actually call their own country Egypt. That name came later, from the Greeks. They said Aegyptos, which most scholars trace back to an old…
Two Point Three Million Stones · 14.5 mi
That road sign for Egypt might get you picturing pyramids, but the town actually earned the name back in the eighteen twenties. During a drought that wrecked the crops, this fertile spot on the Colorado River still had…
Texas Egypt Versus The Nile · 14.5 mi
Let us play a little game of Texas versus the original, because this town truly did borrow its name from the ancient land by the Nile. Start with size. The Egypt over in Africa is a nation of well over one hundred…
The Oldest Corner of the County · 14.5 mi
Do not let the small size fool you. This Egypt is the oldest surviving community in all of Wharton County, and it goes right back to the earliest days of Anglo settlement in Texas, when this was still part of Stephen F.…
Heard, William Jones Elliot, and Egypt Plantation · 14.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Egypt Plantation, named for the rich soil that reminded early settlers of the Nile Valley. This land was first settled by William Jones Elliot Heard, who arrived here in 1832, acquiring…
Texas Gulf Sulphur Company-Newgulf · 14.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Newgulf, Texas, a company town built by the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company. It all started back in 1909 in Matagorda County, but by 1918, it was officially the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company.…
First East Bernard School · 14.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the first East Bernard School. Built in 1888 a mile north of town, it was moved into Wharton in 1892. By 1895, it was sold again and moved to become a gristmill, blacksmith shop, and…
Clemville · 15.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the Markham vicinity, passing through what was once the oil boomtown of Clemville. It started as farmland, but in 1908, oil was discovered, and by 1911, it was renamed for F. J. Clemenger, who…
Nada · 16.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Nada, a community with roots stretching back to Stephen F. Austin's original colony. But the town as we know it really began in the 1880s, thanks to German and Czech immigrants. John William…
Nada Post Office · 16.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Nada, Texas, a community that got its start with a post office back in 1894. William Engbrock, Jr. was the first postmaster, and his dad's general store was the first home for the mail. But this…
Master Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez Memorial Highway · 16.2 mi · Historical Marker
Honors Master Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez, US Army Special Forces, Medal of Honor recipient for May 2, 1968 rescue of a 12-man recon team in Cambodia despite 37 wounds. Born and raised in El Campo.
Shanghai Pierce - Cattle Baron · 16.6 mi · Historical Marker
Abel Head 'Shanghai' Pierce was one of the most colorful cattle barons in Texas history, building a ranching empire in Matagorda and Wharton counties and commissioning a life-size statue of himself.
Joseph and Rachel Rabb Newman · 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Egypt, Texas, a place named for a biblical land, but this area's history is rooted in the Texas frontier. Look around – this land was first granted to Joseph and Rachel Rabb Newman, pioneers who…
The F. Cornelius House · 17.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the F. Cornelius House. Friedrich Cornelius arrived from Germany in 1870, shortening his name and learning the ranching trade. By 1875, he had his own cattle and bought land here in 1882.…
Midfield Cemetery · 17.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Midfield Cemetery, the community's burial ground since the early 1900s. The first recorded burial was Iva Nell Hale in 1913, who died of appendicitis. Her father's request led to the land being…
Ganado High School — State Softball 2026 · 18.0 mi
Ganado High School in Ganado, Texas qualified for the 2026 UIL state softball championships, reaching the state tournament (final four) in Class two A, Division One.
2024 UIL 2A Division 1 Football State Champions · 18.0 mi
Ganado High School (Ganado, TX): Most recent: 30-28 3OT over Stamford · 2024 2A Division 1 final.
New York, Texas & Mexican Railroad and The Community of Hungerford · 18.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Hungerford, Texas, a town born from a railroad with a funny nickname. Back in 1880, John W. Mackay, a silver baron, and Count Joseph Telfener, an Italian nobleman, started building the New York,…
Post West Bernard Station, Site of · 18.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Post West Bernard Station, established in the summer of 1837. This was an important ordnance depot for the Republic of Texas army, strategically placed on the West Bernard River to guard…
Quinan Community, Site of · 18.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Quinan, a Texas community founded around 1872. It was named for Judge George E. Quinan, an Irish immigrant who became a Texas Senator and served on the state Court of Civil Appeals. He…
Midfield, TX · 18.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Matagorda County, heading northwest of Bay City. Right here is Midfield, a town that got its name because it was perfectly situated, equidistant from four other Texas towns: El Campo, Palacios,…
Midfield Methodist Church · 18.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midfield, Matagorda County. Methodists here first worshiped at Hawley Methodist Church before chartering their own congregation in Midfield in 1907. They met at the Keller Hotel, then built a…
The Barber Who Waited · 18.1 mi
On February twenty-eighth, nineteen fifty seven, Ed Kacer opened a barber shop in Ganado, and his life as a Ganado Indians fan began. Kacer's Barber Shop became football headquarters. On Saturday mornings after a game,…
The Guitar Player Hungerford Sent to New York · 18.1 mi
A man named Ennis Lowery was born in Hungerford in 1923 and learned guitar from the bluesmen around here, playing juke joints in Wharton County. Around 1949 he went to New York, changed his name to Larry Dale, and…
J. D. Hudgins Ranch · 18.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, not far from Hungerford, where you're passing the J.D. Hudgins Ranch. Established in 1882, this ranch has been family-run for over a century, a rarity in the cattle industry.…
Little School of the 400 · 18.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through South Texas, maybe near Ganado, where a groundbreaking idea took root in the summer of 1957. It was called the Little School of the 400, a bold initiative by Felix Tijerina and the League of…
Steinke, Gilbert Ervin [Gil] · 18.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through South Texas, maybe near Ganado, and you're passing through country that shaped a Texas legend: Gil Steinke. Born in 1919, Steinke wasn't just a football player—he was a trailblazer. After playing…
Tijerina, Felix · 18.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Jackson County, maybe near Ganado. Right here, in the summer of 1957, an experiment began that would change education for thousands of Texas children. Felix Tijerina, a successful Houston…
Flores, Patricio Férnandez [Patrick] · 18.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
Patricio "Patrick" Férnandez Flores, the first Mexican American bishop and archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, and activist for the Mexican American community, was born to migrant farmworkers…
Rogers, Samuel C. A. · 18.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Jackson County, and right here is the area where Samuel C. A. Rogers made his mark. He arrived in Texas in 1831, a soldier and a preacher who would face down Native American tribes like the Lipan…
Midfield, TX · 18.1 mi
Midfield, Texas, sits squarely on the coastal plain, land built slowly by the Colorado River over millennia. This whole region, really, is young in geological terms. You can feel it in the flat, open landscape, the…
Ganado, TX · 18.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Ganado, a town with a name that means 'herd' in Spanish. It all started back in the early 1880s when the railroad came through. An official, looking out his train window at a large group of…
Hungerford, TX · 18.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, and right here is Hungerford. It wasn't always called Hungerford, though. Back in the 1870s, this farming community was known as Quinan. It had a post office, a school, even a…
The 'Macaroni Line' · 18.2 mi
The railroad that gave Ganado its start had one of the best nicknames in Texas history: the 'Macaroni Line.' Officially, it was the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway, but its story is distinctly Italian. The project…
The Wrath of Hurricane Carla · 18.2 mi
In September 1961, Ganado faced one of its greatest tests. Hurricane Carla, one of the most powerful storms in U.S. history, slammed into the Texas coast just 40 miles away at Port O'Connor. Though Ganado was inland, it…
Engineering the Perfect Flood · 18.2 mi
The vast, flat rice fields around Ganado look natural, but they are actually a marvel of agricultural engineering. The secret to growing rice here lies in a unique combination of geology and technology. The local soil…
Ganado, TX · 18.2 mi
Ganado, originally known as Mustang Settlement, was a ranching community when it was first settled. The name Ganado, meaning 'cattle' in Spanish, was given in 1882 by a railroad official who saw a large herd of cattle.…
Josiah Dawson Hudgins · 18.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Josiah Dawson Hudgins. Josiah Dawson “J.D.” Hudgins, born in 1852, was one of four sons of Joel and Rachel Northington McKenzie Hudgins to survive to adulthood. Hudgins’…
Building a New Bohemia · 18.2 mi
Ganado started as a cattle stop - a railroad man looked out his car window at a big herd and named the place with the Spanish word for it. But the town that grew here was built by immigrants. A second wave of settlement…
Ganado, TX · 18.2 mi
The name Ganado has an interesting origin. It was not chosen by the city's early settlers but by a railroad official who, in 1882, looked out the window of a train car and saw a large herd of cattle. Inspired by the…
J. D. Hudgins Ranch · 18.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton County, passing the historic J. D. Hudgins Ranch. It all started back in 1839 when Joel Hudgins arrived in the Republic of Texas. After his death, his wife Rachel and their sons took over,…
Ganado · 18.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Ganado, a town that owes its very existence to the railroad. Back in 1882, the New York, Texas & Mexican Railroad needed a stop, and this spot became its shipping point. A railroad official,…
Gas Well in Colorado County, First Producing · 18.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Garwood, Colorado County, where you're passing the site of a major milestone in Texas industry. <break time="400ms"/> On July 17th, <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1932</say-as>, the Nelson…
First United Methodist Church of Ganado · 18.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Ganado's First United Methodist Church. Methodists began meeting in the area as early as 1880, with services held in brush arbors and log chapels that also served as schools. The…
The Sergeant Who Held the Line Until Morning · 18.6 mi
Farm to Market Road Thirteen Oh One in Wharton County is the Master Sergeant Mike C. Pena Memorial Highway. A Texas House resolution says Mike Pena was from Newgulf, the son of Mexican immigrants. In nineteen forty, two…
Garwood, TX · 19.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Garwood, Texas, a town that owes its beginnings to both irrigation and a bit of shady land dealing. Back in 1896, a big irrigation project was built to bring rice farmers here. By 1901, the…
Garwood · 19.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Garwood, a town born from a big idea in rice farming. The land here was first acquired way back in 1827 by Preston Gilbert, one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists. But it wasn't until 1896…
Hudgins Family Cemetery · 19.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Wharton County, near Hungerford, and you're passing the Hudgins Family Cemetery. This burial ground began in 1851, serving generations of Joel and Rachel Hudgins's family. They had thirteen…
Iago, TX · 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Iago, Texas, a community named after a villain. Right here, settlers first cleared the dense native bamboo, called 'cane,' to build plantations for sugarcane and cotton. After the Civil War and a…
Rogers, Samuel C. A. · 19.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Ganado, and right here is the resting place of Samuel C. A. Rogers. He was a soldier in the Texas army, fighting in the Siege of San Antonio back in 1835. That was a pivotal moment in the Texas…
G. C. and Clara Mick Home, 1909 · 19.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the oldest home still standing in Boling, built in 1909. G.C. Mick, a wheat and stock farmer from Missouri, arrived in Texas on a special "Rice Special" train back in 1903. His first home on this…
Boling Dome · 20.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wharton County, near the San Bernard River, and you're passing over one of Texas's most productive geological treasures: the Boling Dome. This massive underground salt dome has been a powerhouse…
Boling, TX · 20.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Boling, Texas, a town that owes its existence to a railroad and a little girl's name. Back in 1900, the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway pushed through this area. Robert E. Vineyard surveyed a…

Explore El Campo on the Map

All music from Texas → Find another town Vote on city songs

El Campo, Texas

Music in El Campo

Songs About El Campo

Artists From El Campo

Rivers & Roads in Song near El Campo

History of El Campo

From Prairie Switch to El Campo RoadyGoat

Watering the Rice Prairie RoadyGoat

Czech and German Roots on the Prairie RoadyGoat

El Campo, TX

Greer, Ennis Adolphus

El Campo

First National Bank of El Campo

El Campo Independent School District

Egypt, TX (Wharton County)

Sports in El Campo

El Campo — El Campo — a college & pro athletic pipeline

Everything Near El Campo

Sign up for the free newsletter