Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
Montgomery County was the third county formed in Texas. In the 1820's Stephen F. Austin brought 4 colonies to Texas. The 4th & last colony came to Montgomery County. The settlers received Mexican land grants. They shared their land, built log cabins . . . — — Map (db m180121) HM
On North Thompson Street, on the right when traveling south.
Established in the forest in 1881 as Isaac Conroe's sawmill, 2-1/2 mi. east of present site, at juncture of two railroads, first named Conroe's Switch; then Conroe's; in 1890, Conroe.
Lumbering brought prosperity. Chosen county seat in 1889. . . . — — Map (db m117345) HM
On North Main Street, on the right when traveling south.
On February 21, 1911 around 1:30 in the morning, a fire broke out in the Capitol Drug Store on Chambers (today North Main) Street. The blaze was well underway before it was discovered and northerly winds began sweeping the flames southeastward . . . — — Map (db m117347) HM
On Farm to Market Road 3083 at Albert Moorehead Road, on the left when traveling north on Road 3083.
One of the great petroleum areas of the Texas coastal region. Opened December 13, 1931, by the discovery well of George Strake (No. 1 South Texas Development Company), about 1.4 miles west of here. Initial daily flow: 15,000,000 cubic feet of gas, . . . — — Map (db m173797) HM
On Simonton Street at North Main Street, on the right when traveling east on Simonton Street.
A long distance telephone line ran from Houston to Gilbert's Drug Store in Conroe before Mr. Gilbert and Albert Madeley began a local telephone exchange in the store in 1899. Soon after, George Madeley purchased the exchange, naming it Conroe . . . — — Map (db m117348) HM
On Saddlewood Drive, 0.1 miles east of Old Conroe Road.
Born at Trittiford in Hall Green, near Birmingham, England, in 1815, George Bell Madeley emigrated to Texas about 1845. In Harrisburg he met and wed Helen Adeline Grant (b.1821), a native of Yardley, England. The following year they established . . . — — Map (db m213630) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
The Texas Lone Star flag was designed by Montgomery County resident, Dr. Charles B. Stewart. Dr. Stewart signed the Texas Declaration of Independence as well as designing the Texas flag. The flag was officially designated in 1839. On May 30, 1997 . . . — — Map (db m180188) HM
On North Thompson Street, on the right when traveling north.
The Montgomery County Courthouse in the center of downtown Conroe memorializes the remarkable history of one of the oldest counties in the state of Texas. Montgomery County is the third county created by the Republic of Texas, originally part of the . . . — — Map (db m117350) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
Whispers of oil discovery started in the early 1900's in Montgomery County. Gas and oil seeps had been noticed near the center of the present oil field. Local men formed several oil companies and started exploration in 1919 through 1924 but were . . . — — Map (db m180106) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
Was on top of their Mobil Gas Service Station dating from the early 1930's at the corner of Frazier and Phillips Streets. This thoroughfare, Frazier or US 75, was the Main Highway between Houston and Dallas. — — Map (db m180183) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
This 1904 printing press was the first used at the Conroe Courier. Mr. Wm. Perey McComb was the original owner. It was operated for a short time to produce an agriculture publication. McComb then sold the press to the Courier. The first newspaper . . . — — Map (db m180118) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
The railroad was built in the early 1870's through Montgomery County. The first line crossed the county on a north/south route, it was the International & Great Northern (now Missouri Pacific). A short while later the Gulf Colorado RR took an east / . . . — — Map (db m180184) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
These types of mills were used by farmers to make rough lumber to build their barns, stock pens and fences. They usually had a co-op ownership of several farmers and moved around from farm to farm, as were needed..
Early settlers started an . . . — — Map (db m180115) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
The Strake-Gray Oilfield House was purchased by George Strake, Sr. for his first oilfield superintendent in 1938. The house was originally located at 11585 Duffey Road off FM 1314. It represents the typical front gable single story bungalow-style . . . — — Map (db m180101) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West demands Street.
The Strake-Gray Roughneck Bunkhouse was relocated from 11585 Duffey Lane, Conroe, Tx on August 23, 2015 and placed near the Strake-Gray Oilfield House in the Museum Complex of the Heritage Museum of Montgomery County. Clyde Thomas "Dolly" Gray's . . . — — Map (db m180099) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
The Grogan-Cochran house was built in 1924 by James G. Grogan, Sr., who was prominent in the lumber industry at that time. This single-story frame house was built for his family in the Texas Bungalow architectural style that was common during the . . . — — Map (db m180124) HM
On Avenue A at North 1st Street, on the right when traveling west on Avenue A.
A native of New Jersey, Isaac Conroe (1834-1897) served with the Union army during the Civil War. Moving to Southeast Texas with his wife Margaret (Richardson) (1846-1896) in 1866, he lived at Lynchburg and Houston. In 1878 he built a sawmill at . . . — — Map (db m117363) HM
Near North Freeway Service Road, 0.1 miles south of West Semands Street.
This trough represents a short lived industry. In the late 1800s, the US Government placed an embargo on Cuban tobacco cigars. Some innovative farmers took advantage of this and began growing tobacco. The grade of tobacco grown in Montgomery County . . . — — Map (db m180111) HM
On Mount Mariah Road, 0.1 miles north of Mock Lane, on the right when traveling north.
Born in Georgia, Jacob Montgomery Shannon (1804-1878) came to Texas at the age of 17, while the region was under Mexican rule. He married Catherine "Kittie" Yoakum in 1823, and in 1831 Shannon received a league of land in this vicinity, where he . . . — — Map (db m207379) HM
Near Farm to Market Road 1463, 0.5 miles south of Jackson Road.
Members of Stephen F. Austin's second colony, Noah Griffith (1786-1853) and his wife Esther (Wightman) (1788-1863) came to Texas in 1829 from New York. They lived in the port community of Matagorda before moving here in 1831. This site is part of . . . — — Map (db m155617) HM
On Alternate Farm to Market Road 1486, 0.5 miles south of Jackson Road, on the right when traveling north.
Elias R. Wightman, a surveyor in Stephen F. Austin's first colony, returned to the United States in 1828 to recruit additional settlers. Two colonists who joined him in New York were his sister Esther (1788-1863) and her husband Noah Griffith . . . — — Map (db m155615) HM
On North 6th Street at Acker Street, on the left when traveling north on North 6th Street.
This burial ground was in use for decades before Tom J. Goodson (1858-1913) and wife Winnie May (1867-1911), deeded it to the Baptist Church on May 3, 1909. Land gifts in 1945 by their son, Lester (1898-1978), and by C.H. Daniel, a local land and . . . — — Map (db m169119) HM
On Melton Street at Buddy Riley Boulevard, on the left when traveling east on Melton Street.
Built in 1902 by the International and Great Northern Railroad, this depot served as a major shipping point for cotton, sweet potatoes and other produce, cattle and lumber from area farms and sawmills. The depot closed in 1963 and was auctioned . . . — — Map (db m169116) HM
On Commerce Street at RL Butler Street, on the left when traveling west on Commerce Street.
The Dean family were one of the prominent mercantile and community leaders of Magnolia in the early 1900's. In 1919, W.A. (Willie) Dean constructed this house and completed it a year later in time for his wedding to Gertrude Crook. They lived in . . . — — Map (db m207364) HM
On Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149) at College Street, on the right when traveling north on Liberty Street.
Came to Texas 1830. Secretary of State, Nov. 1835-Feb. 1836. Signed Declaration of Independence; helped to write Constitution of the Republic in 1836 and the State in 1845; served Montgomery County as District Attorney and three terms as State . . . — — Map (db m128592) HM
On Clepper Drive at Bessie Price Owen Drive, on the left when traveling east on Clepper Drive.
Nickolas Crane (b.1830) came to Texas from Alabama, 1848, and in 1850s married Mary Ann Havard. A Confederate veteran of the Civil War, he built this large cabin on the Angelina County land claim that he occupied in 1867. Walls were of pine logs . . . — — Map (db m186667) HM
On Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149), on the right when traveling north.
Built in 1845, this frame structure was first used for the law office and living quarters of Judge Nat Hart Davis. Many young attorneys read law here under Judge Davis' supervision. From 1848 to 1854 the structure was the meeting place for the Mayor . . . — — Map (db m128598) HM
On Rabon Chapel Road, 0.4 miles west of South Pine Lake Road, on the left when traveling east.
In 1832, Elizabeth Ann Shaw Cartwright (1783-1857) and her husband, Thomas Peter Cartwright Jr. (1776-1845), moved their family of eleven children from Alabama to the Lake Creek settlement of Stephen F. Austin's second colony in the Mexican state of . . . — — Map (db m207408) HM
On Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149), on the left when traveling north.
One of first state banks in Texas. Chartered Dec. 11, 1906, it began operations in a frame building on lot south of here. Present building was finished 1908 and is now oldest existing commercial building in this once-thriving trade center. As the . . . — — Map (db m128597) HM
On State Highway 105 at Cape Conroe Drive, on the right when traveling west on State Highway 105.
Joseph L. Bennett, who came to Texas in 1834 and settled in this area, joined the Texas army in early 1836. As captain of a company of local volunteers, he left this area about March 1, 1836, to lead his troops to aid Texan forces at the Alamo. . . . — — Map (db m56760) HM
On Clepper Drive at Bessie Price Owen Drive, on the left when traveling east on Clepper Drive.
With classic porch. Oldest house in Montgomery, built 1845 by settler from Connecticut, Dr. E.J. Arnold. Earlier home log cabin built on this lot in 1835, continued in use as doctor's office. For several generations home of Simonton family, . . . — — Map (db m186665) HM
Near Clepper Drive at Bessie Price Owen Drive, on the left.
Born in Ireland about 1790, James Jordan (also spelled "Jardine") came to Texas in 1826 as part of Jose Vehlein's colony. He built this cabin about 1830 on land obtained from the Mexican government in present Walker County. The hand hewn pine logs . . . — — Map (db m186669) HM
On Eva Street (State Highway 105) at Pond Street, on the right when traveling west on Eva Street.
Born in New York City, John Marshall Wade left his home as a youth. On the advice of Sam Houston, he came to Texas in 1835 from the Western Creek Nation in present-day Oklahoma. He joined the Texas army during the War for Independence. At the Battle . . . — — Map (db m128624) HM
On Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149), on the right when traveling north.
Long before the arrival of Stephen F. Austin's colonists, the Coushatta Indians traveled through the lands that would become the Lake Creek Settlement upon the Coushatta Trace, a trade road from Louisiana into Texas. Located in Austin's second . . . — — Map (db m128602) HM
On Pond Street north of Eva Street (State Highway 105), on the right when traveling south.
West Face:
Site of
Methodist Church
Organized by
Littleton Fowler
1838
Isaac L.G. Strickland
1st Pastor
South Face:
1839 - 1840
Moses Speer
Born in Maryland
Sept. 29, 1768
Died Robinson Settlement
July 11, . . . — — Map (db m128625) HM
On Pond Street at Caroline Street, on the right when traveling south on Pond Street.
Baptists in Montgomery organized a fellowship in 1850 and purchased land at this site the same year. In 1853, the Rev. Thomas Chilton became the church's first full-time pastor. This vernacular Gothic revival sanctuary was constructed in 1902, . . . — — Map (db m128603) HM
On Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149) at Clepper Drive, on the right when traveling north on Liberty Street.
The jail was built by Pauly Jail Company in St. Louis, Missouri. The cells were in a wooden-one room building that sat next to the courthouse which was located on this lot. The cells were moved down to the railroad depot after the courthouse was . . . — — Map (db m129009) HM
On Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149) at Clepper Drive, on the right when traveling north on Liberty Street.
A wealthy farm area in 1861. In Civil War, supported Texas with goods, funds and men. 2 companies from here were in famed Hood's Texas Brigade; one company had only 9 men living by 1865. Young boys, old men and the partially disabled formed 5 home . . . — — Map (db m128595) HM
On Lake Mount Pleasant Road, 2.3 miles north of Farm to Market Road 1097, on the left when traveling west.
Pioneers who settled this area as early as the 1850s are buried in this community cemetery. The oldest of 113 marked graves are those of Clara B. Fridge (d.1870) and her husband William D. Fridge (d.1872). Trustees of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, . . . — — Map (db m207434) HM
On Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149), on the right when traveling north.
Home of Judge N. H. Davis and wife, Sarah E. White. Built 1851, from 1831 log house received as legal fee. Kitchen area attached 1880.
Texanna Snow's school here 1881-1891. J. F. Davis added south wing in 1895.
Still in family. . . . — — Map (db m128600) HM
On Pond Street, on the right when traveling south.
Born in Appomattox County, Va., son of Reuben DeJarnette and Martha P. (Christian) Palmer; he was educated at Randolph-Macon College. Moved to Texas in 1856.
A Montgomery lawyer; served in 9th Legislature, State of Texas, and in Secession . . . — — Map (db m128620) HM
On Lone Star Parkway (Farm to Market Road 2854) at State Highway 105, on the right when traveling west on Lone Star Parkway.
Sam McCulloch, Jr. was a hero who fought in many capacities for freedoms modern Texans take for granted. He was born in South Carolina and reared with three sisters, Jane, Harriet, and Mahaly, in Alabama by his father, Sam McCulloch, Sr., a white . . . — — Map (db m207413) HM
On Pond Street, on the right when traveling south.
Isaac L.G. Strickland established a Methodist congregation in Montgomery in 1838, under the direction of Elder Littleton Fowler of the Mississippi Methodist Conference. The church was one of the first in the Republic of Texas; Strickland was . . . — — Map (db m128605) HM
On Farm to Market 149 (State Highway 149) 1 mile north of Bailey Grove Road, on the right when traveling north.
A pioneer trail connecting the towns of Montgomery, Houston, and Huntsville, in use as early as 1845, became an important transportation and freighting route for early settlers. After the Texas and Red River Telegraph Company was established in . . . — — Map (db m155629) HM
On College Street at Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149), on the left when traveling east on College Street.
On a hot, dusty day in 1906, a goat wandered into town-whether it belonged to someone or was on the loose, is not known for sure. The goat soon realized that if it hung around the town well long enough, some kind soul would haul up a bucket of water . . . — — Map (db m186663) HM
On Pond Street north of Eva Street (State Highway 105), on the right when traveling south.
In Jan. 1839, the Rev. Isaac Strickland organized a Methodist Church whose members soon built a log meetinghouse on this site donated by founders of the town of Montgomery. The churchyard came into use for burials during the 1840s. When Pastor G. W. . . . — — Map (db m128618) HM
On South Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149) at Pond Street, on the right when traveling south on South Liberty Street.
Problems with transporting farm crops to market, along with the growing importance of rail transportation were major factors that prompted area businessmen to organize the Central and Montgomery (C&M) Railroad in 1877. Completed by 1880, the C&M . . . — — Map (db m128627) HM
On Caroline Street at Eugenia Road, on the left when traveling west on Caroline Street.
A part of this house may have existed as early as 1855, when site and improvements were sold to John E. Shelton. He was a master craftsman who built other fine houses prior to 1860. Shelton built the main portion about 1858 for his friend and . . . — — Map (db m207380) HM
On Liberty Street (Farm to Market Road 149) north of College Street, on the right when traveling north.
Founded in July, 1837 by
W. W. Shepherd
Incorporated in 1848
Montgomery County was created
December 14, 1837
James Mitchell, Pleasant Gray,
William Robinson, Elijah Collard
Charles Barnett, Joseph L. Bennet
Dr. B. B. Goodrich, D. D. . . . — — Map (db m128594) HM
Permanent settlement in what is now New Caney began in the 1860s. The area was first called Presswood for the pioneer family of Austin and Sarah (Waters) Presswood. The Presswoods came to Texas in 1862, purchased land in the area, and raised cattle . . . — — Map (db m117349) HM
On Hufsmith Conroe Road at Standard Road, on the left when traveling north on Hufsmith Conroe Road.
Oral tradition says that when a Mr. Sanders told a Mr. Leslie he was moving to Oklahoma, but moved near here instead, the settlement was named "Oklahoma." George W. Snook (1849-1939) and Bonnie Jerome Goodson Snook (1863-1939) were the first to . . . — — Map (db m170807) HM
On Hufsmith Conroe Road at Carraway Lane, on the right when traveling north on Hufsmith Conroe Road.
Early residents of what would become the Oklahoma settlement moved into the area in the middle to late 19th century. Families farmed, raised livestock and used the rail station at nearby Hufsmith for shipment of local products. Because early . . . — — Map (db m170804) HM
Near County Highway 209, 0.2 miles east of Bays Chapel Road.
Algernon Alexander is internationally recognized as a father of Texas Blues. Born into abject poverty on September 12, 1900 in Jewett, Leon County, Texas, Algernon was raised in Richards, Texas, by his grandmother, Sally Beavers. While working in . . . — — Map (db m207436) HM
On Bays Cemetery Road, 0.6 miles Bays Chapel Road, on the right when traveling east.
This burial ground is named for Thomas and Mary Bay, who settled here in 1850. Along with other area pioneers, the Bays established a community, whose focal point was a building that was used as a church and school. The Bay family also deeded this . . . — — Map (db m207509) HM
On Bays Chapel Road at Bays Cemetery Road, on the left when traveling north on Bays Chapel Road.
Founded by settlers from Tennessee, the Thomas Bay family. First log church (also used as school) was built 1851 across road site donated by A.F. Bay. This building, on land given by W.H. Bay, was dedicated 1899. Recorded Texas Historic . . . — — Map (db m207505) HM
On Farm to Market Road 149, 0.1 miles south of Grissom Road, on the left when traveling north.
Among 1850s settlers here were John W. Pool (1823-1901) and his wife, Joannah (1825-1910). Thier son, William J. Pool (1855-1936), deeded about two acres in the Hezekiah Farris Survey to the Union Grove Baptist and Methodist churches in 1885. The . . . — — Map (db m207435) HM
On Shepard Hill Road, 1.5 miles west of Interstate 45, on the left when traveling west.
Founded before 1840 as trade center, rich plantation area. Many prominent families had Texas beginnings here. At peak, town had 15 businesses, several churches, good schools; refusing right-of-way to Houston & Great Northern Railway in 1870s, lost . . . — — Map (db m155630) HM
On North Bell Street at Waverly Street, on the left when traveling north on North Bell Street.
Following the Civil War, area farmers found the climate and soil conditions of Montgomery County were ideal for the production of tobacco. The varieties grown here were of the highest quality, winning international awards in Chicago and Paris. At . . . — — Map (db m127478) HM
On North Danville Street (State Highway 75) at East Stewart Street, on the right when traveling north on North Danville Street.
Founded in 1870. Named for P. J. and R. S. Willis (large land and timber owners who formerly were merchants in area). They gave townsite, on the Houston & Great Northern Railroad. With the line came prosperity, and in 1874 Willis and Montgomery . . . — — Map (db m127477) HM
