HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistoric Map of Bryan, CS & Brazos County
HISTORIC MAP
Of
Bryan
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for Preservation
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Bryan. Later the campus was connected by the Interurban'
Trolley (1910-1918). NORTHGATE and Southgate shops
were built after the turn of the century, as well as a gracious
residential area to the south.
Post-Civil War political controversies delayed the con-
struction of the fust building for several years. Old Main, a
four story brick building and Gathright Hall, adormitoryand
mess hall served the fust students in 1876. The original build-
ings have all disappeared. The following are of special interes'
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ZONE 2
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(1) ACADEMIC BUILDING (1914) was built on the
site of Old Main, which burned In 1912. (2) GOODWIN
HALL (1908). The oldest remaining structure and the last
one built with load bearing walls. (3) NAGLE HALL (1909).
The first "fireproof" structure' built of steel and concrete.
(4) OLD BOARD OF DIRECTORS BUILDING (1912).
This early Texas ranch style house sheltered many families
that enjoyed its shady porches. Now the TAMU Press. Other
1910-30 buildings are scattered over the inner campus (see
green squares). Five later ones, designed during the Great De-
pression by a group of college staff under leadership of F.
Giesecke, professor of architecture, are most Interesting. You
are encouraged to take a close look at the Art-Deco and other
exterior and interior ornamentation. (5) SYSTEM (admini-
stration) BUILDING (1932): Beautiful bronze doors and
grilles in portico, sculptured back facade. (6) ANIMAL IN-
DUSTRIES (1932): Exterior Is covered with animal heads.
(7) SCOATES HALL (1932): Agricultural Engineering; owl
sculptures. (8) CHEMISTRY BUILDING (1931): Beautiful
black marble entrance hall. (9) GEOSCIENCES (1932): Note
the pebble mosaics on walls of porticos.
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RANDCLPH
LOGAN
STErlLING
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ZONES 2 & 3 Sections
In Zone 2 you will see the tracks of the Missouri & Pa-
cific Railroad running through this residential section. In
1900 Bryan businessmen, anxious to attract more trade, sign-
ed a contract with the railroad company to locate the new
line through Bryan. They overlooked the fme print, however,
and discovered that the engineers showed poor judgment a-
bout the location of the tracks. The siltners of the contract
were assessed the expense of relocating two buildings.
sections
Old Residential
with
V-Victorian (1885.1905): irregular form, extensive single
and/or double porches; Gothic, ltalianate, Stick and/or
Queen Anne (tower) features.
N-Neo-Clallllical Revival (1898.1912): symmetrical, two-
story front porch with high round or sq uare pillars.
D-Dutch Colonial (1900-1912): gambrel (barn type) roof Is
most distinctive feature.
T -Transitional (1902.1912): squarish, two-story with one.
story front porch, some Victorian ornamentation.
E-Eclectic Brick'-f1920s): rectangular, two-5tory, a combi-
nation of exterior and, especially, interior styles.
We recommeml you visit these tree shaded
fine old homes in the following styles
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ST A nON
College Station received its name from the post office
started in 1877 to serve the students and faculty of the AG-
RICULTURAL & MECHANICAL COLLEGE established in
1871. Bryan businessmen, lead by Harvey Mitchell, BoonviIle
pioneer, pledged over 2400 acres to the state commission
;harged with selecting a location for the Land Grant college.
rhe commissioners chose a site five miles from the immoral
nfluence of Bryan's saloons and gambling halls. The campus
vas projected on a bald prairie, the traditional roundup area
or cattle to be driven to northern markets.
Transportation was provided by the Houston & Texas
entral Railroad; at fust a flagstop, later a station was built.
{ule carts and buggies traveled over the unpaved road to
HISTORY OF COLLEGE
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Churches were built to bring a more Christian influ-
ence into the Wild-West society of gambling halls, saloons,
dance halls, horseracing, lynchings and shoot-outs.
The fust train arrived in 1867 and for a year and a half
the track ended in Bryan. Oxteam wagon-trains left and ar-
rived daily to transport goods from as far awav as DalIa~.
Education was important to the pioneers. Private
schools were held in rented quarters. The Bryan Male (up-
stairs) and Female (downstairs) Seminary was started, and in
1870 the Odd Fellows University. Refmed cultural enter-
tainment was provided when the second floor of the City
Hall was made into the Grand Opera House in 1889.
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1 CARNEGIE L1BRAR Y. Built in 1903 with funds from
the Carnegie Foundation. Designed in Neo-Classlcal style by
F. Giesecke, professor of Architecture. It served as a civic and
cultural center for many years and was the place of reunion
for the survivors of Hood's Brigade, a famous fighting unit of
the Civil War. Historical marker, medallion and memorial pla-
que. Building listed on National Register of Historic places.
Future Historical Museum of Brazos County.
2 HOWELL BUILDING. Built in 1906 of solid brick
walls and interior cast iron columns supporting the two up-
per stories. Note the old sign on the facade!
3 TEMPLE FREDA, built in 1912 In Greek temple style.
The Jewish synagogue was named after Mrs. Ethel Freda
Kaezer. It is used on Sundays by the Bryan Gospel Church.
4 ST. ANDREW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, built in 1914
In Gothic style. Historical marker on corner of Parker and
26th streets.
5 JAMES
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After the War many Southerners came to Brazos Coun-
ty, as well as Italians, Czechs, Poles and more Negroes and
Mexicans.
Cotton, general trade, the railroad and the proximity of
the Texas A&M College brought great prosperity to Bryan
and fine mansions were built. We recommend that you visit
three historic zones to see the old structures still in existence
as well as several historic sites with markers.
1 BR Y AN CEMETER Y, started In 1868, has many inter-
esting old gravestones, among them a wooden grave marker.
2 ALLEN ACADEMY. started In Madlsonvl1le by two
Allen brothers, moved to Bryan in 1899. The first boys' pre-
peratory school in Texas still in existence. The main building
is of 1914.
3 SITE OF VILLA MARIA URSULINE ACADEMY, a
girls' school moved from Galveston after the hurricane of
1900. The Ursuline sisters taught for twenty.eight years; the
property was sold to Will Howell in 1935. He tore down the
school and used the bricks for the two houses you see now.
Allen Academy used the buildings for many years.
4 FANNIN SCHOOL of 1918 stands on the oriJtinal site
of Bryan's First Public School erected in 1880. Marker on
30th Street.
5 FIRST METHODIST CHURCH. Read the historical
marker on Houston Street.
6 ST. JOSEPH CA THOLIC CHURCH. Historical marker
on corner of 25th Street and Preston.
7 SITE OF BR Y AN SCHOOL '[or COLORED The f'trst
school for black people in Brazos County started in 1885.
Historical marker on 20th Street.
S FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The f'trst church
was erected in 1869. Historical marker on Carter Creek Park-
way and Gordon Street.
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DR UGSTORE of 1906. Recently restored.
6 ASTIN OFFICE BUILDING of 1915. It housed the
lust telephone exchange, above a saloon.
7 FIRST NATIONAL STATE BANK. Founded in 1873
by Guy Bryan, son of W. J. Bryan. Present building erected in
1919, the back section housed a saloon until prohibition.
S FIRST STATE BANK & TRUST CO" founded in
1909. Note the handsome ornate stone decoration in Art.
Deco style, so popular around 1930.
9 VARISCO BUILDING of 1948 In Art Deco style. Erec-
ted by Brazos Varisco, an Italian Immigrant.
10 OLD WOOLWORTH BUILDING of 1918.
11 SMALL OLD STORES, built around 1885.
12 ICE HOUSE built in 1912. Note the interesting south
and east exterior; the heavy beamed roof construction.
13 OLD POST OFFICE. Built In 1915, Bryan's lust Fed-
eral building.
14 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. founded in 1866. Read
the historical marker on corner of' 28th and Washington Sts.
15 HOWELL APARTMENTS of 1924. Built by W. S.
Howell In red patterned brick, fashionable at that time.
16 BRAZOS COUNTY COURTHOUSE. Site of two pre-
vious courthouses. Several historical markers.
17 MASONIC TEMPLE built in 1910. Six remaining mem-
bers of Hood's Brigade met here in 1926. (continued)
ZONE The Old Commercial Center
Here in 1867 the fust wooden stores were built. Cover-
ed porches allowed customers to escape the mud of the un-
paved streets and the manure of the oxen, horses and mules
used in transportation to and from the railroad. MAIN
STREET was made wide enough to turn a five-yoke oxteam
around.
o Highway
* Cemetery
C Church
Historic Marker
HISTORY OF DRY AN
Bry; rl was named after William Joel Bryan, of Brazoria
County, lephew of Stephen F. Austin. He sold land for the
railroad I ght-of-way for $1 in 1859 and a one mile square
townsite ~r $ 3 200 in 1860 to two surveyors of the Houston
& Texas :entral Railroad. Lots were given for a courthouse,
school al i Methodist church. Speculators asked exorbitant
prices fo] lots around the courthouse. The high cost did not
suit the I ,cal businessmen, so the stores were built along the
railroad tacks and the usual public square never developed.
The outbreak of the the Civil War stopped all develop-
ment. Ml rl joined the Confederate army; many families .Ieft
destitute eceived payments from the county.
Aftf the war railroad construction was resumed from
Millican 1 ) Bryan and in 1866 a county election decided in
favor of noving the county seat from Boonville to Bryan.
Harvey h< itchell was awarded the contract to build a brick
courthou ~.
Railroad
Historic
Zones
Small Homes
1885-1935
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Post-war reconstruction with its Federal troops, carpet-
baggers and freed slaves in addition to rowdy railroad work-
ers brought turbulant times to Bryan. A sturdy jail became a
necessity and a wooden structure, on 15 ft. high poles, called
the Bryan Sky Parlor, was erected in 1867.
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HISTORIC MAP
OF
BRAZOS COUNTY
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HISTORY OF BRAZOS COUNTY
This gently rolling landscape of prairies and woods was for cen-
turies the hunting grounds of semi-nomadic Indians. Spanish explor-
ers traveled over EI Camino Real or The King's Highway, now called
O. S.R., as early as the seventeenth century. This old San Antonio
Road was the direct route between the East Texas missions and
Mexico and is now the N.W. boundary of Brazos County.
In 1821 Stephen F. Austin signed a contract with the Mexican
government to establish a colony in Texas and entered with 30.0
families. Only one, the Millicans, settled in this area, near the con-
fluence of the Brazos and Navasota Rivers. In the next twenty years
the population increased rapidly, and in 1841 Brazos County was es-
tablished by the Texas Legislature. Boonville was chosen as the loca-
tion of the county seat and the first of three courthouses, a log cab-
in, was built.
Horses, oxcarts, stagecoaches and an' occasional steamboat on
the Brazos River were the modes of transportation until the Hous-
ton and Texas Central Railroad reached Millican in 1860.
Many small self-sufficient farm communities developed near
water sources, each with its own store, mill, church and school The
introduction of farm machinery and the automobill:l meant a decline
for many of them; often only the cemetery remains. Cotton, cattle
and the railroad, as well as the founding of the Agricultural & Me-
chanical College of Texas brought great prosperity to Bryan.
1 START YOUR HISTORIC TOUR OF BRAZOS COUNTY
at the south courtyard of the Brazos County Courthouse in Bryan,
located on Texas Ave. and 26th Street. Several historical markers
will introduce you to the history of the county. Drive west (see in-
sert map) towards the railroad, follow the tracks to College Station,
and drive over 2154 to:
2 WELLBORN. This community was born around a well to sup-
ply a construction camp for railroad workers of the Houston & Tex-
as Central Railroad in 1866. Drive to:
3 MILLICAN. Stop on the right side of the road at the crossing.
A historical marker will tell you of the birth and decline of Millican;
founded by Elliot Millican, one of ten children of Robert and Nancy
Millican, Irish immigrants. These pioneers arrived in 1821 with the
S.F. Austin colony. Take a walk around and see a few old houses,
the tiny post-office (1935), the church and school, all that is left of
a town once inhabited by 1500 people. Further on, across the tracks
(see insert map) is the Methodist church (1917) and the cemetery.
Turn north on 159 to:
4 PEACH CREEK, COMMUNITY. You will drive through beau-
tiful Navasota river bottom land, where once the Tonkawa Indians
and other tribes hunted the abundant wildlife with bow and arrow.
Buffalo grazed here during the winter months; prairie chickens, tur-
keys, bears and deer provided meat for the pioneers.
5 DOGTROT iOG CABIN. Built around 1850. Handhewn logs
with notches were stacked without nails, the cracks in between once
filled with mud. The space between the two sections provided breez-
es and shade for dogs and human beings. You are close to the Nava-
sota River, to the east, where once a sulphur spring bubbled up in
the river bed and pioneers came from miles around to obtain the wa-
ter. Drive west, turn right on Bird Pond road to Hwy. 30. You are
now on the old stagecoach road from Anderson in Grimes County
io BoonViIIe and the Brazos River. Drive N.W. to:
'6 HAR VEY. Once a community of farmers, with post-office,
sawmill, cotton gin, general store and school Started in 1879, it was
named after Harvey Mitchell, BoonviIle pioneer. Bethel Academy
(150. students) stood where you now see the Harvey Community
Center, built in 1935. Drive on 158, cross Carter Creek bridge and
come to:
7 BOONVlLLE CEMETERY. All that is left of the pioneer
town built in 1841 as the fust county seat of Brazos County. Read
the historical marker and wander among the graves of the pioneers,
one or-them the grave of Harvey Mitchell, the "Father of Brazos
County". Go back over the bridge and turn left to:
8 STEEP HOLLOW. Named after the valley of Steep Hollow
Creek and Wick son Creek; once a self-sufficient community. with
stores and mills. ~he cemetery is to the right of the crossing.
9 NA VASOTA RIVER. The pioneers crossed by ferry until
1871, when the fust bridge was built.
10 RELIANCE. Founded by immigrants from Georgia, once call-
ed Little Georgia. Drive beyond the Baptist church and the old cem-
etery and turn left o~ 20.38 to:
11 K1.tQ.TEN. HenrY K.urten, a German soldier on leave in Gal-
veston, decided to remain in Texas. He became a cotton trader and
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farmer, founding Kurten in 1852. He encouraged German immigra-
tion by letting countrymen work on his farm for the payment of
steamship passage. He built a school and donated land for the cem-
etery and a church. Drive past the United Zion church built in 1940.,
1 mile on 20.38 to the:
12 KURTEN CEMETER Y, half a mile off the road on the hill
Here under the lovely old trees the Kurtens and other pioneers are
buried; it is worth a visit. It has a restroom-outhouse facility. Drive
to 974, turn north to:
13 EDGE. Founded by Dr. John Edge around 1870.. One of a clus-
ter of small communities, like Manning and Macy, that sprang up
close to the O.S.R. and several creeks flowing into the Navasota
River. Drive N.W. to the:
14 OLD SAN ANTONIO ROAD. Historical marker at Benchley
(18) will tell the history of this highway. Turn south to Hwy. 6.
SHORT TOUR
From Steep Hollow take a left turn on Merka Road, before the
crossing. After a mile you will see the old Buchanan farm house on
the right, built in 1910. Take a right turn on Poor Farm Road and
you will drive through a beautiful landscape of hills and valleys. On
the hill beyond the turn-off on Andert Road is the:
15 MACEDONIA CEMETER Y. This peaceful place is all that is
left of a small settlement; across the road was the church. Drive.on
Andert Road, cross Hwy. 21 to:
16 TABOR. Founded by J. and M. Tabor, two Confederate sol-
diers. John Tabor was the postmaster. Turn left and after several
curves in the road following old property lines, make a right turn-
off to:
17 ALEXANDER CEMETERY AND CHURCH. Read the his-
torical marker and rest awhile under the stately cedar trees, tradi-
tionally planted in cemeteries by early pioneers. Two right turns on
Colette Lane and 2223 will bring you to O.S.R.
18 BENCHLEY. Two historical markers to the right at the cross-
ing will tell you about the history of the area and the O.S.R.
19 BRAZOS RIVER. Named by the Spanish: Brazos de Dios,
Arms of God. This crossing was the site of Moseley's ferry, started
in 1856, a craft made of logs. Occasionally, steamships carried
freight as far north as Waco; sandbars caused many problems how-
ever.
20 FORT TENOXTITLAN. Site of a log fortificationbullt in -
1830 near the O.S.R. crossing of the Brazos river in Burleson
County, constructed by order of the Mexican government to pre-
vent Anglo-American settlement of Texas. Some 170 convict-sol-
diers under command of Lt. Col F. Ruiz were called back to San
Antonio after a year and Ruiz joined the settlers in the area, be-
coming a signer of the Declaration of Texas Independence, in 1836.
The fort then housed newly arrived pioneers and served a few
years as protection against Indian attacks. Several small commun-
ities developed in the Brazos River valley cotton producing area
such as: Steele Store, Smetana, Stone City and Rye; some still exist
today. See reverse side of map for the history of Bryan and:
21 TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY in College Station.
Fill in below and mail to the Treasurer: Travis Bryan, First National Bank, Bryan, Texas 7780.1
Name
This first edition has been made pOllllible by financial
allllistance from the Arts Council of Brazos County,
the City of Bryan and the Bryan.College Station
Chamber of Commerce.
Help us preserve our cultural heri tage by becoming a
member of
CITIZENS for HISTORIC PRESER VA TION
Donations to the non.profit organization are tax-
deductible.
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STUDENT MEMBERSHIPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.00
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