Brazos County Historic Markers
Use the page numbers at the bottom of the page to navigate the historical markers listed below. Click on the thumbnail images to see a larger size image, and click the title of each historic marker to see more information about it. Also available online is an interactive Google map of historic markers in Brazos County.
List of historical markers
Largest river between the Red and the Rio Grande, the 840-mile Brazos rises in 3 forks: the Salt, Clear and Double Mountain forks. According to legend, this river saved Coronado's Expedition of 1540-1542 from dying of thirst, so the men thankfully named it "Los Brazos de Dios" (Arms of God). On its banks were founded historic San Felipe, capital of Stephen F. Austin's Colony, and Washington, where in 1836 Texas' Declaration of Independence was signed. Vast plantations thrived in the fertile Brazos Valley, making cotton "king" in Texas until the Civil War.
In a despicable, mangy act unbecoming of a proud citizen of the State of Texas, this marker was stolen from its location along Highway 21, near the Brazos River, around 1998. We want our marker back! If you have any knowledge of its whereabouts, please contact Brazos County Crime Stoppers at 979-775-8477 or return it to the Carnegie Library in Bryan. Reward. No questions asked. The picture is from our 1993 marker survey.
Bryan mayor J.T. Maloney and the city's Retail Merchants Association incorporated the Bryan & College Interurban Railway Company in 1909. The company was created to establish an interurban railway service between Bryan, a town of about 4,000 people, and the Texas Agricultural & Mechanical College (Texas A&M), with a student and faculty population of about 750. Daily service consisting of ten 30-minute trips began in 1910 with passenger trolleys and gasoline-powered rail cars. Along the route landowners built residential subdivisions and small farms, and to provide an attraction the city created Dellwood Park. Freight service began in 1918 to help bolster an operation beset with labor problems and the loss of passengers to automobile ridership. In 1922 the Bryan & College Interurban Railway went into receivership and in 1923 its assets were sold at auction to the S.S. Hunter Estate. The last recorded trip of the Interurban took place on April 13, 1923. During its 15 years of operation the Interurban Railway greatly influenced the course of Bryan's and College Station's urban development. Today the two cities merge indistinguishably at a point on the former Bryan & College Interurban Railway route.
400 block of College Main, near the intersection of Spruce and College Main; College Station. Unfortunately, this marker was stolen by unsavory characters during the late Fall of 2007. We want our marker back! If you have any knowledge of its whereabouts, please contact Brazos County Crime Stoppers at 979-775-8477 or return it to the Carnegie Library in Bryan. Reward offered. No questions asked.
Established on June 13, 1868, three years after the townsite of Bryan was dedicated. Land for the graveyard--20 acres then on the northern edge of Bryan--was sold to the city for $100 by landowner J.C. Hubert. The first addition of land was made June 15, 1915; the area is now 48 acres. Many prominent early citizens are buried here. The City Cemetery Advisory Board and the Bryan Cemetery Association (organized November 30, 1920) serve in an advisory capacity in the operation of the cemetery.
1111 North Texas Ave., Bryan. The marker at this location is the result of a State-approved local project. The marker was cast locally, which is why it does not resemble the more familiar historical markers.
Center of cultural and civic activities in Bryan since 1903. Established through inspiration of the Mutual Improvement Club (renamed the Woman's Club, 1909) under the leadership of Mmes. Lucy Miley Brandon and Rose Fountain Howell, who with modest means had set the library goal in 1899. An appeal to the industrial magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie secured a grant of $10,000 contingent upon the City's giving a site and pledging maintenance funds. In addition, private persons also gave funds and books. Auditorium was site of many gatherings, foremost being the 1919 to 1933 reunions of Hood's Texas Brigade Association. In 1944, the Library Board President, Mrs. Lee J. Rountree, established the Children's Educational Foundation with result that the Rountree Room was opened on converted second floor in 1953.
111 South Main St., Bryan. The text marker at this location is the result of a State-approved local project. The marker was cast locally, which is why it does not resemble the more familiar historical markers. It appears the medallion was obtained at a separate time.
Attorney William R. Cavitt (1849-1924) purchased a city block here in 1875, the year he married Mary Mitchell. Cavitt became Brazos County Attorney in 1878 and about 1880 he and Mary built a brick Italianate residence here. Cavitt later served as a State Legislator and on the Board of Texas A&M University. The Cavitts modified the house in the 1920s to reflect contemporary Colonial Revival influences. The house remained in the Cavitt family until 1978. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1995
713 E. 30th St., Bryan.