HomeMy WebLinkAboutBrazos County 165th Birthday~ ~ Brazos County's first documentec
/~ it a ~"; -settlers arrived it
N' ~ r a ~` 1821, but the
~~1~~ ~ ~ county was no
.' ~,~ established
razos ou~ ~.~ . until Jan. 30
~F ~~#~ ~, 1841. Thi
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Historians
By ARENA WELCH
Eagle Staff Writer
recall pat 165 years - was named
the Congress
As the 165th anniversary of
the founding of Brazos Coun-
ty comes and goes Monday,
local historians said they'll
reminisce about the people
and events that forged the
area into the thriving com-
munity it is today.
Even though the birthday
does not fall on a year that
typically is celebrated, 165
years still is a significant time
during which much has hap-
pened, said Charles Schultz,
ty Historical Commission.
"It's important that people
know when the county was
created and be aware of just a
few highlights of the history
and accomplishments in the
county," he said.
Some history lessons he
hopes many residents gobble
up: The land that now consti-
tutes Brazos County was part
of the territory granted to
Stephen F. Austin by the
Spanish government. When
Robert Millican, his wife,
Nancy, and their nine chil-
dren arrived in 1821 in what
nnw is Milligan thPV hP[`ama
industry came to town. In
1970, the county's population
was 57,978, according to the
Texas Almanac. By 1980, the
county had added 35,610 resi-
dents. The county's popula-
All area historians know tion in 2005 was estimated at
that the first county seat was 161,380, according to the Texas
Boonville, and the first court- State Data Center.
house was built out of logs in "Brazos County was an agri-
1841. By 1850, 614 residents cultural county for many
called Brazos County home. years," he said. "Then indus-
The county seat was moved to try started moving in, and oil
Bryan in 1866 -six years came in. There's just a lot of
after the Houston and Texas businesses associated with the
Central Railroad arrived in oil business."
town. Other historical highlights
The most significant event include:
in the county's history is ^ The incorporating of the
somewhat easy to guess: Texas city of Bryan in 1872.
A&M opening its doors. The ^ The founding of the
rest of the story isn't as com- Carnegie Library in Bryan
monly known: In 1871, Brazos with a $10,000 gift from philan-
County residents donated thropist Andrew Carnegie in
2,000 acres of land and $50,000 1902.
to build A&M, formerly ^ The formal incorporating
known as the Agricultural and of the city of College Station in
Mechanical College of Texas. 1938.
The university's founding ^ The admission of women
in 1876 was critical in shaping to Texas A&M in 1963.
Brazos County because of its ^ President George H.W.
economic impact, said Walter Bush selecting Texas A&M
Wilcox, a Brazos County resi- University as the home of his
dent whose ancestry dates presidential library in 1991.
back to the beginning of the
county and who served on the ^ Arena Welch's e-mail address
historical commission for is arena.welch@theeagle.com.
any years.
He cites another noteworthy
gent as the following: The
aunty experienced an eco-
~mic and population growth
curt in the 1980s when the oil
the Republic of Texas after 1
Navasota River, but was renarr
after the Brazos River a year lai
the first documented sett]
of Brazos County. But
would be another ~
decades before a county ~
established. On Jan. 30, 1
it was named Navasota Cc
ty by the Congress of
Republic of Texas. It origv
ly was named for the Nav<
to River, but was renar
the following year after
Brazos River.
1