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National Register of Historic Places LJ Lfi , Ql Multiple Property NFS Form 10-900-b OMB No. 1024-0018 (Jan. 1987) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service '1 ' ... ^ » u ' iJb National Register of Historic Places LJ lfi , ql Multiple Property Documentation Form b b ] NATIONAL This form is for use in documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instrucffi7rrSr'fH%W§Pnes for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. For additional space use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Type all entries. A. Name of Multiple Property Listing__________________________________________ Historic and Architectural Resources of East Columbia, Texas__________ B. Associated Historic Contexts_____________________________________________ Transportation and Settlement Along the Brazos River (East Columbia and Brazoria County) 1820-1918 C. Geographical Data____ Brazoria County, Texas I I See continuation sheet 0. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth inJi^CFR Part 60 and^thg Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Planning and Evaluation. v signature of certifying[official Date State Historic Preservation Dff-irpr., Texas Historical Commission____ State or Federal agency and bureau I, hereby, certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating related properties for listing in the National Register. 10 fa I* I . (/vxSignature of the Keeper of the National Register Date NPS form 10-900-* OUB APPW* No. 1024-0019 <W») United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet E 1 East Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas Section number ____ Page ____ TRANSPORTATION AND SETTLEMENT ALONG THE BRAZOS RIVER (EAST COLUMBIA AND BRAZORIA COUNTY): 1820-1918 INTRODUCTION This document is one component of a comprehensive survey and nomination of extant historic and architectural properties of East Columbia, Texas. Field investigations were limited to the community of East Columbia; however, the historic context has been defined in much broader terms to allow not only for a better understanding of the role East Columbia played in the county's 19th and early 20th-century development, but also to enable not-yet- identified properties in other parts of the county that, likewise, are representative of the historic context, to be nominated to the National Register. The project was undertaken under the auspices of the Brazoria County Historical Commission, and partial funding came from a federal grant-in-aid that was awarded by the Texas Historical Commission (THC). Because of their financial contributions, the THC requested that the historic context include all of the county to assist in their on-going efforts to develop statewide and regional contexts. Brazoria County was selected because it includes some of the oldest Anglo-American settlements in all of Texas and because it has been a favorite topic of historians for many years. Staff members of the THC felt that the abundance of published information could easily be used to relate the 19th and early 20th- century history to the built environment; thereby minimizing the need for primary research. This nomination, therefore, is not intended to be the definitive history of the area, but instead, provides the basis for learning more about the extant 19th and early 20th-century structures of Brazoria County and how they are representative of broad trends in local history. An obvious bias of the project is the lack of consideration given to non-standing, historic, archeological sites. It is strongly recommended that this component not be overlooked or neglected and that the THC provide additional funding in the future to integrate this kind of information into the nomination. Please note that throughout the history of Brazoria County the town name "Columbia" was alternately used for both East Columbia and West Columbia, usually, but not always, according to the relative fortunes of the communities at a given time. When Josiah Bell first platted the towns in 1824, he mapped out a small town on the west bank of the Brazos River and called it Marion. Bell then carved a two mile road west from the river to a spot on the NPS Form 10-«OO* OUB Afpravtt Ho. 1034-001S United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet E 2 East Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas Section number ___ Page ___ prairie and platted the town he called Columbia. It was this Columbia that served as the first capital of Texas in 1836. Almost immediately after the capital moved to Houston in the following year, Columbia dwindled to a small village but the river landing town of Marion prospered. The river community which was more popularly known as "Bell's Landing" then took on the name "Columbia" which it held for much of the 19th century. The former Columbia became more commonly known as West Columbia, its present name, when referred to at all. Some residents and writers, however, continued to refer to the river town as Marion or Bell's Landing and others refused to relegate the former capital of the Republic to a mere "suburb" by using the designation "West" Columbia. They continued to call it "Columbia." This caused considerable confusion in researching the area. Inconsistency was the general rule throughout the remainder of the 19th and into the 20th century. After oil was discovered near West Columbia in 1918, merchants abandoned the river site and flocked to the boomtown. As West Columbia took on more importance, the riverport town gradually became known as East Columbia to differentiate it from its more prosperous neighbor. In 1924 postal officials formally recognized the town previously known as Marion, Bell's Landing and Columbia, as "East Columbia," by which it is presently known. Because historic documents, letters, maps, newspaper articles, etc. were not consistent in their nomenclature, the words [East] and [West] will be found in brackets within historic quotations to clarify which of the present-day communities was being described. Occasionally, it was not clear which community was intended by the author, and in that case no brackets are used. In such instances, the reference generally describes conditions common to either or both communities. Throughout the remainder of the text, the current town names of East and West Columbia are used even when discussing historic events or conditions. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Brazoria County (see Figure 1), which extends to the east and west of the Brazos River from its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico, was part of Stephen F. Austin's original Texas colony. Austin selected the area for colonization in 1821 because of its access to the Gulf and its rich, river-fed bottom lands. He recognized the potential of the Brazos River as an incoming source of transportation for immigrants and supplies to the new colony and as a means by which its crops could be ferried to market. Soon after Austin's grant was confirmed immigrants began using the water highway to stake their claim to its banks. The plantations developed by the early colonists provided the basis for the regional economy which in turn fostered allied commercial concerns along the river. Within a decade after the establishment of the plantation system, several towns had grown up and flourished along the river which serviced the area plantations. Such riverport towns as Brazoria and Marion (now NPS Form 1040&4 0MB Afprmti Mo. 1024-0018 (M«) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet E 3 East Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas Section number ___ Page ___ East Columbia) provided superior docking and loading facilities for crop transportation. General mercantile stores were established throughout the many river towns to supply planters with goods and services from the United States. Taverns and boarding houses were among the early enterprises in these towns and provided social outlets for the isolated planters. From its pioneer beginnings, Brazoria County became the focus of political activity when West Columbia was selected as the first capital of the Republic of Texas in 1836. Although the capital was moved to Houston the following year, West Columbia's selection is an indication of its importance at the center of a prospering agricultural region at that time. Successful cotton production on the Brazos River plantations made its planters wealthy and resulted in the construction of large brick plantation houses which replaced the log predecessors. The riverports transported the crops to markets and spurred activity and growth in the river towns. Cotton remained Brazoria County's major cash crop until the 1850s when sugar cultivation and processing produced equally profitable exports for its planters. The labor-intensive plantations, particularly those involving sugar production, were dependent upon a slave work force and Brazoria County numbered second among Texas' slave-owning counties. Consequently, the emancipation of
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