West Columbia, TX West Columbia,

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3 1. . Veterans Dr., First Capitol of the Republic of Texas, replica of where the first congress of the republic met and created a new government.

2. Varner Hogg Plantation . FM 2852. Historic home open for tours, Candlelight Christmas celebration and Fall Festival. A great place for photography or rent the grounds for a special touch for your wedding or party. 3. Capitol of Texas Park . 100 E. Brazos Ave. Original 4 site of the capitol that housed the first lawmakers of the Republic of Texas. Interpretive trail highlights important people and events in Texas. 4. First Capitol Park . FM 2852. Public swimming pool, stocked fishing pond, sports fields, rentable pavilion and gazebo, walking trails, and RV sites. 5. Columbia Historical Museum . 247 E. Brazos. 5 6 Hours Thu – Sat, 10 am-2 pm. A wonderful place to visit the days of yesteryear brimming with treasures. It is an amazing place to just meander through. 6. East Columbia . Historic town site where every road leads to another interesting story. A place where time seems to have stood still. Brazos Belle paddle boat now open. 7. Columbia Cemetery . E. Jackson St. Site given by 7 Josiah H. Bell family out of their grant, the first deeded to one of "Old 300" in colony of Stephen F. Austin. Has graves of many heroes of of 1836. 8. Rosenwald School . 247 E. Brazos. Built between

1913-1932 by Sears, Roebuck & Co President, Julius Rosenwald and black educator Booker T. Washington. 8 9 9.Veteran’s Memorial . N. 14 th St. Statuesque memorial dedicated to the men and women that have served their country from all branches of the military.

For more information, visit www.westcolumbiatx.org

Welcome to Varner-Hogg Plantation who lived and worked on this property, VARNER-HOGG VISITORS GUIDE State Historic Site, founded in 1824 by from the prosperous landowners to PLANTATION one of Texas’ first colonizers, Martin the enslaved people and oil field state historic site Varner and later owned by Texas workers whose labor was essential 1702 N. 13th St. • West Columbia, TX 77486 VARNER-HOGG Gov. James S. Hogg. Visitors can to the economic viability of the site. 979-345-4656 explore the real stories of the people visitvhp.com PLANTATION Preserve the Future state historic site VARNER-HOGG PLANTATION of them former slaves, leased through state prisons. In Help the Texas Historical Commission preserve The Karankawa tribe inhabited the land along Varner 1875, however, state investigators found “particular the past while touring this historic site. Please be Creek long before European contact, but the first cruelty” toward convicts at Patton Place. This unfavorable mindful of fragile historic artifacts and respectful recorded settlement of Varner-Hogg Plantation State attention, combined with the rising cost of convict labor, of historic structures. We want to ensure their Historic Site began in 1824 with the Varner family. ended the use of prisoners, and the plantation turned to a preservation for the enjoyment of future generations. Martin Varner, a Virginia native, purchased a 4,428- sharecropping system. acre Mexican land grant as a part of Stephen F. Austin’s In 1876, the Texas Land Company purchased See the Sites colony in present-day Brazoria County. The Varners the plantation and gradually shifted the site’s focus to From western forts and adobe structures to Victorian and at least two enslaved men farmed and raised livestock ranching. The majority of laborers living and working on mansions and pivotal battlegrounds, the Texas on a small scale. They also established a rum distillery the property were still African American. The plantation Historical Commission’s state historic sites exemplify in 1829, possibly the first in the state of Texas. sustained major damage in several 1900s hurricanes. a breadth of Texas history. Come explore the real Many of the original buildings, including the sugar mill, stories at the real places. were destroyed. History of the Plantation In 1901, former Texas Gov. James Stephen Hogg In 1834, Varner sold the property to Columbus R. purchased the property, convinced that large amounts of Plan your next trip at Patton of Kentucky. The extended Patton family moved texashistoricsites.com oil lay beneath the surface. Large quantities of oil were to Brazoria County with 40–60 enslaved people, and never found during his lifetime. When Gov. Hogg died with their labor, Columbus Patton built a successful in 1906, his will recommended his children not sell the sugarcane enterprise complete with a two-story mill. The mineral rights for at least 15 years. Within that time slaves constructed the plantation house, smokehouse, period, the Hogg heirs struck oil and became very wealthy. sugar mill, and their own quarters with handmade bricks While none of the Hogg children lived in the made from Brazos River mud. The lives of some of the plantation home, they each spent time at the site. Long enslaved people on the plantation are relatively well weekends with visitors, dinner parties, and outings to the documented, partly in court records of Patton’s contested country brought them to the house. In 1919, the Hoggs will in which he made special provisions for four of the made several modifications to the house, including the slaves: Rachael, Marie, Jacob Steel, and Solomon. relocation of the main entrance, which resulted in its Patton and two of his brothers became active in poli- current appearance. thc.texas.gov tics prior to the Texas Revolution and served in the Texian Ima Hogg, the governor’s only daughter and last sur- army. Patton successfully managed the plantation until viving child, was a great collector and lover of decorative November 1854, when his family had him declared in- arts, and she furnished the home to reflect her father’s love sane, possibly as a result of a brain tumor. He was placed of history and her own admiration for George Washing- in an asylum in South Carolina, where he died of typhoid ton and other early Americans. The house now contains fever in 1856. The Patton family sold the estate in 1869. her extensive collection of 19th-century furnishings and Between 1869 and 1901, the site changed ownership ornamental arts, which she began amassing in 1925. She TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION several times. At one point, owners used convicts, many donated the plantation to the State of Texas in 1958. 25K 06/17 Walking Guide 1 THE PLANTATION HOUSE 10 GOVERNOR HOGG’S BATH The plantation house, built for Columbus Patton in the When Gov. Hogg purchased the site, there was no indoor 1830s, originally faced the Varner Creek. A free-standing plumbing in the house. The governor, who was 6’3” and weighed kitchen structure was located just to the northwest. The more than 300 pounds, did not current appearance and orientation of the house is the comfortably fit in the galvanized result of remodeling done by the Hogg Family in the 1920s. metal bathtubs of the time, so he had this outdoor tub constructed. 2 SUGAR MILL RUINS The brick foundation and 11 THE BARN chimney are the only remains The Pattons built this barn of the large two-story sugar in the 1840s, and it was later mill that once was the heart Gov. Hogg’s outdoor bathtub. moved to its current location. of the plantation. The mill was Today it is used to display farming equipment, wagons, built by the Pattons in the carriages, and items used in sugar cane processing. 1840s and was destroyed, like many of the buildings on site, Visitors view sugar mill ruins. 12 BUNKHOUSE by the 1900 hurricane. The Built in the 1920s, this building was used for the oil field raw sugar cane was cleaned and crushed on the second business and workers’ sleeping quarters and is now the floor of the mill and then boiled and refined into usable sugar museum and gift shop for the site. Sugarcane wagon in the 1840s barn. in the large metal kettles on the ground floor. Today, visitors can observe 19th-century kettles near the building ruins. 13 THE PECAN ORCHARD 14 COLLECTIONS RESOURCE CENTER** Antique furnishings and portraits in the plantation house. Pecans were a favorite of Gov. Hogg, and the orchard has been The Collections Resource Center is home to Miss Ima 3 OIL WELL maintained since his time. In the fall, visitors are allowed to pick Hogg’s historic decorative arts collection, as well as a Gov. Hogg originally purchased the property in 1901 for the 7 HAL’S HOUSE up fallen nuts with the permission of site staff. conservation lab and the plantation’s archives. oil he speculated the ground held. In 1918, 12 years after This tin-roofed building was the last residence constructed on his death, profitable wells and oil derricks were finally the plantation in 1921. For many years it was home to Mary and established and covered the area. The Hogg children’s Hal Fields. Hal worked as the ranch foreman before the Hoggs fortune came from this oil. purchased the site and lived here as property manager for the Hogg family until his death in 1968. 4 SLAVE QUARTERS The slave quarters were constructed around the same time 8 THE PATTON CEMETERY as the main plantation house out of slave-made bricks and This is the final resting place of at least four members of local materials. After slavery was abolished these small the Patton family. The 1900 hurricane destroyed most of cabins were used to house convict laborers and later by the cemetery’s decorative brick work. None of the original sharecroppers working the land. Like so many other site headstones remain, but the buildings they were destroyed in the 1900 hurricane. Only obelisk commemorates those the outlines of the cabins are visible due to brick foundations buried here. A separate slave that remain below ground level. cemetery is also said to have existed elsewhere on site, but 5 RANGER COTTAGE* no trace of it has been located. This small house was built in the 1920s during the site’s oil boom and used by oil field workers. 9 THE SWIMMING HOLE Gov. Hogg constructed this 6 MISS IMA’S COTTAGE pool to give his children a Built in the 1920s, this small house was home and office for place to swim other than the oil field manager that oversaw the fields and employees. Varner Creek, which is home Inside this house, visitors may explore exhibits about the to several species of snakes site’s history. and alligators. * The Ranger Cottage is available for guests to rent. See site staff in the museum and gift shop or visit thc.texas.gov/historic-sites/varner-hogg-plantation/rental-cottages. ** See site staff in the museum and gift shop to learn more. Patton family cemetery. Page 5 Points of Interes

Home Page Points of Interest Calendar Tourism & Visitors Directory Area Historic Sites Services Contact Old Site given by Josiah H. Bell family out of their grant- the first grants deeded to one of Columbia "old 300" in colony of Stephen F. Austin. Has a grave of many heroes of Texas Newsletter Cemetery Revolution of 1836. Located at 16th and Jackson St. Ghosts Along the Brazos Columbia This congregation traces its history to early Methodist missionary activity during United Texas' years as a Republic. In 1839 the Rev. Isaac L.G. Strickland was assigned to the Methodist Brazoria circuit and organized a Methodist church in Columbia (now West Columbia), Church an early capital of the Republic. Located at 315 S. 16th Street.

Josiah Hughes Bell, Brazoria County planter, founder of East and West Columbia, Josiah H. Texas. Also one of Stephen F. Austin's colonists was born on Bell Home August 22, 1791, in South Carolina. Bell moved to what became known as Bell's Creek Site in January 1824. On this tract of 6,642 acres, was built the town of Columbia, first capital of the Republic of Texas.

Stephen F. Austin died at 12:30 p.m., December 27, 1856, at age 45, of pneumonia. A George memorial service was held at Judge George McKinstry’s home site, place of Austin’s McKinstry death. George McKinstry served as a member of Austin’s Colony in 1829. Served as a Home Site soldier in the battle of Velasco. Served as a chief of justice of Brazoria County in 1836. As well as delegate to the General Convention of 1832.

The plantation is named for its first and last owners - Martin and Elizabeth Varner and Varner- Ima Hogg and features a refurbished two-story Greek revival plantation house built Hogg around 1835. Varner farmed sugar cane, corn and raised livestock. On April 4, 1834, Plantation Varner sold his holdings in Brazoria County to Columbus R. Patton, who developed the site into a successful sugar plantation. The Galveston hurricane of 1900 blew down State the sugarhouse and many other buildings at the plantation, but the house survived, Historic Site and in 1901 the property was sold to former Governor Hogg. visit: http://www.visitvarnerhoggplantation.com Located at FM 2852.

East Columbia- East Columbia was founded by Josiah Hughes Bell in 1823. Originally named Bell's Main Street Landing, this site on the Brazos served as a supply depot for settlements on the river above. In 1824 Bell laid out the new town and named it Marion. In 1842, when Bell's National settlement on the prairie became known as West Columbia, Marion was renamed East Historic Columbia. District

A. Ayock-Crews Bed & Breakfast - The Aycock-Crews House was built in the late 1870's by a riverboat captain named Aycock. It is of Victorian architectural style and is currently operated as a Bed & Breakfast. www.AycockCrews.com Located at 520 CR 703.

B. Aldridge-Smith Home- The Aldridge-Dance-Smith House is associated with several families who played important roles in the development of East Columbia as a regional trade center during the late 19th and 20th centuries.

C. Travis-Smith House- Travis Logan Smith Sr. played a pivotal role in East Columbia's

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economic development during the late 19th century. Smith recognized the importance of the Brazos River to East Columbia's growth and prosperity. With his brother, John, and his brother-in-law, Branch T. Masterson, he organized the Columbia Transportation Company in 1885 to provide shipping services to the region. The firm owned a fleet of six steamboats used to transport cattle, cotton, and produce from East Columbia to markets in Galveston. Another ship, the Hiawatha, was a luxury steamer run by the company as a passenger liner.

D. Tyler-Bryan-Weems Home- While the construction date of this house is unknown, it is estimated to date to the 1870's as it so closely resembles the T.L. Smith House, built in 1878 on an adjacent lot. According to oral history, a two-story house and a smaller one-story house stood at this site prior to 1900.

E. ML Weems Home- Built on Front Street overlooking the Brazos about 1847 by Dr. Mason Locke Weems. This house is unusual because a raised cottage was built above a six-room basement that was used as a dispensary for Confederate troops during the Civil War. In addition to being a physician, Weems was a successful planter who was quite knowledgeable on a variety of agricultural subjects. Historically associated with the Weems family.

F. Ammon Underwood Home- One of the oldest frame houses still standing in Texas. Built in 1835 the Ammon Underwood House is best known as the 50-year residences of Texas pioneer Ammon Underwood. Underwood came to East Columbia in 1834 from Massachusetts. While Underwood lived in East Columbia, he amassed a considerable fortune through the operation of two large cotton plantations in Brazoria County. Underwood family occupied the house for over 100 years. In the 1860's Underwood's plantation hands labored to move the house away from the eroding banks of the Brazos River. www.AmmonUnderwood.com

G. Sweeny- Waddy Cabin- Originally erected about 1850, this building historically served as a home of an enslaved African American family that worked on Sweeny's plantation. Mark and Larkin Waddy remained on the plantation after the abolition of slavery in Texas in 1865. The cabin continued to be occupied by members of the Waddy family until 1953.

H. Dance Gun Shop- James H. Dance and his sons, George and David, moved to East Columbia in 1848 and established the only manufacturing operation in the community. The firm was most famous for manufacturing guns patterned after the Colt revolver that were praised by the Confederate Army for their accuracy. While George and David Dance operated the machine shop, James H. Dance was better known for his carpentry skills. The Dance machine shop was destroyed in the 1900 hurricane.

Bell's A. Bell's Marker- By 1829 a community known as Bell's Landing or Marion, which became an important inland port, grew up around a landing Bell constructed near his Landing home. Bell developed a sugar plantation along the creek's banks and subsequently Business laid out the two towns that came to be known as East Columbia and West Columbia. District He built the area's first hotel in 1832, constructed a school, and as an innovative town planner provided garden plots for new residents.

B. Carry A. Nation Hotel Site- Carry Nation, prohibitionist, daughter of George and Mary (Campbell) Moore, was born on November 25, 1846 and settled on a cotton plantation on the San Bernard River near Houston. Failing to make the plantation a success, Carry supported the family by managing a hotel in Columbia. The eventual Sale of the plantation enabled them to buy a hotel in Richmond, which Carry ran with sporadic assistance from her husband, who practiced law and corresponded for the Houston Post.

Bethel Established in 1840, Bethel is the third oldest Presbyterian Church in Texas. The Presbyterian present building was built in 1913 and is famous for it’s beautiful, locally made stained Church glass windows. P.O. BOX 817 ; East Columbia, TX 77486 ; (979) 345-3717

Nash- One of the oldest houses surviving in Stephen F. Austin colony town of Bell's Landing Wright (East Columbia). Early part of this house was built about 1847 on cedar pole framing House by George Lewis Nash.

Sugar Mill The Mills brothers were among the most successful cotton and sugar producers in

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at Byrnum- Texas. Their four Brazoria County plantations (Lowwood, Bynum, Palo Alto and Mills Warren) are now the site of the Bar X land development. Remnants of the old Byrnum Plantation sugar mill remain.

Established in 1818 as an individual claim by James Briton Bailey, a later member of Bailey's Austin's colony. Born in 1779, Bailey was tall, fearless, and of Irish stock. Pioneer Texas noted for his courage, integrity, and eccentric behavior. At his request he was Prairie buried standing up, facing west, his gun at his side so no one could look down on him, even in death. His restless ghost is said to walk this prairie.

About 1833 Leman Kelsey built a story and a half clapboard structure near this location. When Columbia became capital of the Republic of Texas in 1836, the building Replica was one of two, which housed the newly formed government. The first Republic of of the First Texas Congress convened in Columbia. Here Sam Houston took office as president Capitol and Stephen F. Austin as secretary of state. In 1837 the government moved to Houston. The 1900 storm destroyed the original capital. The replica at this site was built in 1976-77.

It is only fitting that a historical museum be located at the site of the First Capitol of the Republic of Texas, established in Columbia 1836. The mission of the museum is to Columbia bring better understanding and appreciation of the rich history of West and East Columbia to Brazoria County. The museum's goals are to collect, preserve, and Historical interpret the history of the area through the collection and display of artifacts of the Museum area's earliest beginnings. Exhibits begin with the period when the city was the First Capitol and extend to the present day. Numerous groups and individuals have given or loaned artifacts for exhibition. Located at 247 E. Brazos Ave

One of 5,300 built in 15 southern states between 1917 and 1932 as part of an initiative by Sears, Roebuck & Co. President Julius Rosenwald and black educator Booker T. Washington to build schools in the rural south for black students.

Rosenwald Rosenwald Schools were hubs of rural African American life in the 1930s and 40s throughout the South. So few have survived that in 2002 the National Trust for School Historic Preservation put them on the list of the country's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places and soon after launched the Rosenwald Initiative to establish a unified effort to uncover and restore the forgotten buildings.

The Rosenwald School is open to the public as a permanent, walk-in exhibit at the Columbia Historical Museum. Located at 247 E. Brazos Ave

On 300 acres of pristine coastal prairie grow almost 300 identified plant species, with Nash Prairie three being condidered rare, and one thought to have been extinct in Texas! It is located not far from where Santa Anna was kept prisoner after his capture at the .

“The Capitol This is a unique park dedicated to the period in history – The Republic of Texas. of Texas Congress met in Columbia, Texas on October 2, 1836 to 1837 and elected Sam Park – A Houston President of the Republic of Texas . The park has 21 historical monuments that depict the time from after the Battle of San Jacinto to 1837 when the capitol Walk moved to Houston . There is a cistern that has been dated to the period of the through the Republic of Texas and the Seal of Texas. Texas Native Plants are blooming and Birth of each is marked with its name. Please visit: www.capitoloftexaspark.org Texas” Located at 100 E. Brazos Ave

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