Methodism among African American Texans predates the Civil War with the first church being established in 1848. The earliest known African American minister in Brazos county was Reverend Emmanuel Hammitt who served under Reverend W.S. South. After emancipation African Americans were free to establish their own churches. Allen chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.) Is named after Reverend Richard Allen, the founder of the A.M.E. in 1787. The first meeting of the Allen Chapel congregation was before 1870. Church services were held in brush arbors and Reverend Hammitt became the first minister in 1866. Reverend Charles B. Foster replaced Hammitt as pastor of the Allen Chapel congregation in 1868. The congregation purchased land in July of 1870 to build the first chapel located on North Houston and East 22nd Street. Allen Chapel also served as a school for African American children in 1914 when their school was destroyed by fire. The second church was built in 1920 and the current church in 1961. The congregation has supported many organizations including the N.A.A.C.P., Bryan Charity Fund, Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation, Bethune Women’s Club and the Gideons. The church continues to fellowship with local churches with proceeds going to those in need. Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church is among the oldest continuing churches in Brazos County. If the formation of a church is measured by the presence of a minister and congregation then Allen Chapel would be one of the earliest organized African Methodist Episcopal congregations in Texas.

Built for Onah (Ward) Astin (d. 1944), the wife of cotton planter James H. Astin (d. 1897), this house was designed by the Waco firm of Howard Messer and S. Wemyss Smith. Construction began in 1901 and was completed two years later. The exterior of the Classical Revival residence features a two-story gallery with Corinthian columns. Holland Porter, a planter, purchased the home in 1946, and additions were made to the structure during his ownership. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980

On March 30, 1885, the City of Bryan purchased seven lots in this area as a site for a public school to provide separate but equal and impartial instruction for black children of the community, as prescribed by the Texas State Constitution of 1876. The "Bryan Public School for Colored" was the first educational institution established for blacks in Brazos County. When school opened in the fall of 1885, its principal was A.H. Colwell, who later became a prominent leader of black Republicans, and was named as a presidential elector from Texas in 1896. The original faculty included Mrs. Anne Alberson, Misses Mamie Burrows and Beatrice Calhoun, Mrs. Ada Scott Hall, and Mrs. Lenora Green, a classmate of Dr. William E.B. Dubois. The first school building of this site was a two-story frame structure, furnished with planks supported by kegs for seating. After the school burned in 1914, a brick edifice was constructed. In 1930, when the Kemp Junior-Senior High School was built across town, this facility became Washington Elementary School. After its destruction by fire in Sept. 1971, Washington Elementary was not rebuilt and the black students were integrated into the Bryan Public School System. Washington Park occupies most of the original site.

1936 text: Created from Robertson and Washington Counties in 1841. First called Navasota, changed 1842 to Brazos after two rivers on county's boundaries. Organized in 1843, with Boonville as county seat; Bryan county seat since 1866. Area originally included in Stephen F. Austin's Second Colony, 1828. Became a part of the Washington municipality, 1837, under the Mexican government. First railroad reached Millican in 1860. A. & M. University opened, 1876. Economy based on agricultural, industrial and educational activities. Replacement text, 2000: Brazos County, part of Stephen F. Austin's colony, was created from Washington County in 1841. It was first named Navasota County, with Boonville as the county seat. In 1842 the name was changed to Brazos County. Through the Civil War, Millican, located at the end of the railroad from Houston, was a major town. When the railroad was continued through the county, Bryan became the county seat in 1866. The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M) opened in 1876 and College Station grew around it, incorporating in 1938.

Furnished horses, equipment and clothing for county men in the Civil War. Levied war taxes on property, exempting lands or estates of Confederate soldiers. After surveying to determine needs of the families of Brazos soldiers, appropriated funds to care for them. Gave credits for contributions made by citizens to soldiers' dependents. Issued county warrants for 25 (cents), 50 (cents), $1, $2, $3 and $5 that passed as legal tender. Obtained for resale to the citizens scarce powder, lead, gun caps, medicines, shoes, cotton cards, cloth, shoe makers' tools.