Pearland in Brazoria County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Robert L. and Julia Martin Hunter

Photographed By Chris Kneupper, May 27, 2021

1. Robert L. and Julia Martin Hunter Marker

Inscription.

Robert Lee Hunter and Julia Iva Martin had roots in Pearland as early as the the 1890s when the area was known as Mark Belt. Robert Lee Hunter was born to Josephine Bonaparte Estes and Thomas Johnson Hunter on November 16, 1868 in Fort Bend County on a plantation started in the 1820s by his grandfather, Dr. Johnson Calhoun Hunter, one of Austin's Old Three Hundred. Dr. Hunter built a large home for his family. Following the passing of his parents, Robert L. Hunter took up residence in the cabin at Hunter's Plantation. Around 1903, Hunter sold his plantation holdings and moved to Pearland to be near his sister, Eunice, and to start in the cattle business with her husband and successful rancher, William T. “Billy” Magee.

Julia Iva Martin was born in Red Cloud, Nebraska on May 15, 1883 to Elmira Monselle [Munsell] Martin and Samuel Pleasant Martin. The Martins came to Texas in 1894 and settled in Mark Belt (Pearland). In Pearland, Robert Hunter married Julia Martin on September 27, 1905 and, from 1906 to 1919, they had four children. The family resided in a home on Orange Street. The Hunters were well known and respected in Pearland and, according to one of their daughters, regularly offered advice and hospitality to former slaves. Robert Lee Hunter died in the old Hunter house on January 18, 1941 and Julia Iva martin Hunter

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did in Houston on May 6, 1970. Both are buried in South Park Cemetery. In 2008, the city of Pearland changed the name of Orange Street which comprised part of the Hunter homestead to Robert L. and Julia Martin Hunter Park. Descendants of the Martin and Hunter families still live in Pearland.
Marker is property of the State of Texas

Erected 2013 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 17620.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 29° 34.162′ N, 95° 16.981′ W. Marker is in Pearland, Texas, in Brazoria County. Marker is on East Orange Street, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located at the southern end of Hunter Park, alongside East Orange Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3711 E Orange Street, Pearland TX 77581, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Zychlinski Park (approx. ¼ mile away); First United Methodist Church of Pearland (approx. 0.3 miles away); The 1937 Pearland High School (approx. 0.4 miles away); Old Settler's Cemetery (approx. 0.6 miles away); Pearland and the Santa Fe Railroad (approx. 2 miles away); First Home and First Family

Photographed By Chris Kneupper, May 27, 2021

2. Robert L. and Julia Martin Hunter Marker

(approx. 5.4 miles away); Fig Preserving Plant (approx. 5.6 miles away); Cecil and Frances Brown House (approx. 5.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pearland.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 28, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 27, 2021, by Chris Kneupper of Brazoria, Texas. This page has been viewed 415 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 27, 2021, by Chris Kneupper of Brazoria, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.