Friendswood in Galveston County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Main Street Fig Orchards
Early 1900s
Photographed By Jim Evans, October 18, 2016
1. Main Street Fig Orchards Marker
Inscription.
Main Street Fig Orchards. Early 1900s. Beginning about 1910 figs were grown on thousands of acres in a nine-county area 150 miles along the Gulf Coast from Winnie to Bay City and 50 miles inland. That included Friendswood where fig orchards, 5 acres to 500 acres lined the main street and occupied large tracts of adjacent acreage. The area that is now Stevenson Park was formerly Vincent Stevenson's home and home site and fig orchard., This present day 900 block of S. FM 518 was the site of of a typical main street orchard. It was owned by Quakers Edie and Zue Stevenson Bales. The entire block back to the creek was the Bales and Glines family farm into the 1940s, and the whole family, including grandchildren helped with the orchard work.
Beginning about 1910 figs were grown on thousands of acres in a nine-county area 150 miles along the Gulf Coast from Winnie to Bay City and 50 miles inland. That included Friendswood where fig orchards, 5 acres to 500 acres lined the main street and occupied large tracts of adjacent acreage. The area that is now Stevenson Park was formerly Vincent Stevenson's home and home site and fig orchard.
This present day 900 block of S. FM 518 was the site of of a typical main street orchard. It was owned by Quakers Edie and Zue Stevenson Bales. The entire block back to the creek was the Bales and Glines family farm into the 1940s, and the whole family, including grandchildren helped with the orchard work.
Erected 2012 by Friendswood Historical Society.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Quakerism series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1910.
Location. 29° 31.376′ N, 95° 11.581′ W. Marker is in Friendswood, Texas, in Galveston County. Marker is on South Friendswood Drive (County Route 518) south of East Castlewood Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 907 S Friendswood Dr, Friendswood TX 77546, United States of America. Touch for directions.
2. Copied from the Main Street Fig Orchards Marker
Photographed By Jim Evans, October 18, 2016
3. Main Street Fig Orchards Marker on the Left
Credits. This page was last revised on October 19, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 18, 2016, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas. This page has been viewed 482 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on October 18, 2016, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
