On 5th Street at Velasco Street, on the right when traveling east on 5th Street.
Participated in the storming
and capture of Bexar, December
5th to 10th, 1835. A Captain in
the Texas Army, 1836. Born in
Tennessee, 1793. Died Jan. 10, 1853 — — Map (db m145860) HM
On 5th Street at Cooper Street, on the right when traveling west on 5th Street.
A native of Turkey, Paul M. Donigan (1862-1930) came to the United States about 1890 to attend medical school. The presence of relatives in this area brought him to Brookshire upon graduation. In 1910, Dr. Donigan built this home for . . . — — Map (db m145858) HM
On Cooper Street at 7th Street, on the right when traveling south on Cooper Street.
This church traces its origin to the establishment of the Union Chapel Methodist Church by the Rev. Churchill Fulshear in the former community of Pittsville (6 mi. S) in 1844. Union Chapel served settlers in this area and moved to a new location . . . — — Map (db m145857) HM
On South Front Street (U.S. 90) west of Koomey Road (Farm to Market Road 1489), on the right when traveling west.
First town in area. Platted 1893 by John G. Kellner (1846-1933), donor, Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad right of way and station site. Kellner's rich Brazos River watershed farm and ranch lands produced rice, cattle, peanuts, . . . — — Map (db m145859) HM
On Schneider Road, 0.1 miles east of Farm to Market Road 362, on the left when traveling east.
Established during reconstruction period on land given by D.H. Fields, local merchant for whom community and cemetery were named, and by J.W. Day, Confederate Veteran. Burial place of early settlers of area and their descendants, including . . . — — Map (db m169385) HM
On Farm to Market Road 1488 at Farm to Market Road 362, on the right when traveling west on Highway 1488.
Settlers began arriving in this vicinity prior to the Civil War. In the early 1870s Druey Holland Field (1809-72) and his wife Caroline (Perry) (1837-76) opened a general store in the area, and the small agricultural settlement that soon developed . . . — — Map (db m169390) HM
On 13th Street (State Highway 159) at Lafayette Street, on the right when traveling south on 13th Street.
This two-story galleried Greek Revival residence was built about 1872 by German native William Ahrenbeck (1828-1888). A prominent area civic leader and builder, he also served as postmaster and mayor of Hempstead. His daughter Ella Justine Ahrenbeck . . . — — Map (db m117605) HM
On Farm to Market Road 359, 0.8 miles north of Business U.S. 290, on the right when traveling north.
During the Civil War, a Confederate training camp was built on Colonel Leonard W. Groce's Liendo Plantation. Camp Groce was north of the railroad and east of Clear Creek. Later Camp Groce was converted to a prisoners of war camp for Union . . . — — Map (db m158307) HM
On Old Houston Highway (Business U.S. 290) 0.3 miles east of Oak Lane, on the right when traveling west.
Although no physical evidence has been found of the Confederate camp sites in this area, historical accounts have established that this part of Waller County was the location of several Civil War encampments. The close proximity of Clear Creek, the . . . — — Map (db m74263) HM
On 7th Street at Main Street, on the left when traveling south on 7th Street.
Methodism in Hempstead began circa 1857, shortly after the Hempstead town company was founded in December of 1856 to sell lots in the new town. Church histories indicate that an 1859 revival added members to the existing Methodist congregation, . . . — — Map (db m159306) HM
On Wilkins Street, on the right when traveling east.
Before the age of modern communication, the postal system was a vital link between isolated rural settlements. Early Waller County post offices were often located in a residence or general store near the local church, gristmill, cotton gin, or . . . — — Map (db m125606) HM
On Wyatt Chapel Road, 0.3 miles east of Farm to Market Road 1488, on the right when traveling east.
Soon after the Civil War General George Armstrong Custer and his cavalry unit arrived in Texas as part of a large U.S. force sent to establish order and counter the threat posed by French-controlled Mexico. From August to October, 1865, Custer, his . . . — — Map (db m117799) HM
On Old Houston Highway (Business U.S. 290) 0.3 miles Oak Lane, on the right when traveling west.
Pioneers in this Texas area. Had early cotton gin and ferry. Founder of family was Jared E. Groce (1782-1836), who came to Texas in 1822. His large wagon train brought elaborate plantation equipment. Groce built "Bernardo" and "Groce's Retreat." . . . — — Map (db m74265) HM
On 13th Street (State Highway 159) at Kosse Street, on the left when traveling south on 13th Street.
When the town of Hempstead was founded in 1856, a centrally located school site was platted, however, no school building was erected until after the Civil War (1861-65) and ensuing era of economic stress. There were several private schools . . . — — Map (db m159341) HM
On Wilkins Street, on the right when traveling east.
Front:
Major Civil War center in Texas with railroad, troop training, manufacturing, and supply activity. Training camps Groce and Hebert kept troops in readiness to move by rail to Houston and thence to the coast of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas . . . — — Map (db m125608) HM
A plantation home built in 1853 by Leonard W. Groce. The scene for many years of lavish Southern hospitality. Purchased March 4, 1873, by Dr. Edmund Duncan Montgomery (1835-1911), world-famed philosopher, and his wife, Elisabet Ney (1833-1907), . . . — — Map (db m241480) HM
Named for Spanish grandee who was first owner of the 5-league survey here.
Leonard W. Groce, a settler, in 1853 built this 16-room home using slave labor. Bricks for foundation and chimneys were made from Brazos Valley clay.
The kitchen . . . — — Map (db m241481) HM
On 25th Street at Calvit Street, on the right when traveling west on 25th Street.
Came to Waller County as a runaway slave from Alabama before Civil War. Married Betty Bradford, of Woodard Plantation, Hempstead; had 8 children. A talented Blacksmith, he specialized in improving farm implements; became a landowner, Freedmen's . . . — — Map (db m159398) HM
On Farm to Market Road 1736 at Jones Road, on the left when traveling north on Highway 1736.
This burial ground originally served the family of T. B. White. His wife Elizabeth (d. 1857) and her father Henry Kirby (d. 1854) are interred here. White sold ten adjoining acres to the Salem Association in 1853 as a site for construction of a . . . — — Map (db m159406) HM
On Business U.S. 290, 1.3 miles west of Farm to Market Road 359, on the left when traveling west.
Member of the consultation in 1835 • Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence • First mayor of the City of Austin • Member of the Secession Convention in 1861 • On this property, acquired during the Republic, he resided from 1846 for many . . . — — Map (db m159302) HM
On 13th Street (State Highway 159) at Hamilton Street, on the left when traveling south on 13th Street.
Five miles southeast to the camp site of the Texas Army March 31 to April 13, 1836 when it crossed the Brazos on the steamboat Yellow Stone and began its march toward Harrisburg — — Map (db m241020) HM
On Austin Street (U.S. BUs 290) at 9th Street, on the left when traveling east on Austin Street.
The clock tower provides a permanent home for the 1894 bell and clock, both of which at one time were important functional adornments to the Waller County Courthouse
Arthur Osborne Watson designed the 1894 Courthouse and M. Clark of Galveston . . . — — Map (db m159397) HM
On Austin Branch Road at Sorsby Road, on the left when traveling west on Austin Branch Road.
Several Confederate military facilities were positioned near Hempsted (2.5 mi. W), an important railroad junction, during the Civil War. Camp Groce (then about 6 mi. E) was a prisoner-of-war stockade established on the plantation of Leonard . . . — — Map (db m164073) HM
On Austin Street (Business U.S. 290), on the right when traveling west.
Created from Austin and Grimes counties, April 28, and organized Aug. 16, 1873. Named for Edwin Waller (1800-1861), a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836; Postmaster General, Texas Republic; First mayor of Austin.
Site of rich . . . — — Map (db m125605) HM
On Macedonia Road, 0.2 miles north of Magnolia Road, on the left when traveling north.
Organized in 1892 by the Rev. W. C. Bracewell, circuit rider. Early services were held in McPherson School. In 1893 first church was built by men of community. Bill Page donated land. The present structure was erected in 1946, using same plan as . . . — — Map (db m169097) HM
On Springer Cemetery Road, 0.2 miles west of Macedonia Road, on the left when traveling west.
The pioneer Springer family donated the original two acres of this graveyard and gave their name to the community in this area and to a school, also known as McPherson School. Later the cemetery was called Macedonia, for the nearby church founded . . . — — Map (db m169098) HM
On Blinka Road, 0.7 miles south of Rochen Road, on the left when traveling north.
Swiss immigrant John Frey (1857-1925) and his German-born wife Mary (1862-1933) moved to Waller County in late 1889. They built a small two-room house, a barn, and smokehouse, and began a family farm. The couple eventually had fifteen . . . — — Map (db m157645) HM
On Cochran Road, 0.5 miles south of Rochen Road, on the left when traveling north.
John Frey, born Johannes Frei in 1857 in Switzerland, came to America in 1877. He settled in Austin County, Texas, where he married German immigrant Mary Baethe in 1879. They eventually were the parents of fifteen children. They moved to . . . — — Map (db m157644) HM
On Cochran Road at Purvis, on the left when traveling north on Cochran Road.
A small white frame schoolhouse, erected here in the 1890s, served families in this rural area until 1929. Initially called Boyd School for D. R. Boyd, on whose land it was built, it later became known as Highland Home School. Children in . . . — — Map (db m157642) HM
On Farm to Market Road 1887, 0.1 miles west of Farm to Market Road 359, on the right when traveling west.
Monaville, Aurora, and Bracy Island schools opened in this area during the last quarter of the 19th century when many rural schools were established throughout Waller County. Bracy Island School, established nearby sometime prior to 1890, and . . . — — Map (db m157659) HM
On Crump Ferry Road (State Highway 529) 0.4 miles west of Stefka Road, on the left when traveling west.
Born in the slave quarters of Sunnyside Plantation (3.2 mi.SE), Cuney displayed such intelligence as a boy that in 1859 he was sent to Wiley Street School for Negroes in Pittsburgh, PA. On returning to Texas after the Civil War, he studied . . . — — Map (db m157641) HM
On Farm to Market Road 1458, 0.1 miles west of Clemons Switch Road, on the right when traveling east.
One of the "Old 300" settlers of Stephen F. Austin's colony, Isaac Best spent his early life in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, where he built a mill and Best's Fort, a pioneer refuge during the War of 1812. He brought his wife Mary Margaret (Wilkins) . . . — — Map (db m145838) HM
On 2nd Street (Farm to Market Road 359) 0.1 miles east of Avenue B, on the right when traveling east.
Located at important junction of Atascosito Road and the San Felipe Trail, this homesite was established by James Tarrant and Sarah Smith Pattison on their Republic of Texas land grant, and became a stagecoach stop. Their plantation of 5,000 acres . . . — — Map (db m145835) HM
On Farm to Market Road 1458, 0.1 miles east of Buller Road, on the right when traveling west.
Virginia native Edwin Waller migrated to Texas from Missouri in 1831 as part of Stephen F. Austin's third colony. An active participant in the earliest stages of Texas' struggle for independence, Waller participated in the 1832 Battle of Velasco, . . . — — Map (db m145789) HM
On Farm to Market Road 359, 0.5 miles north of North Street, on the right when traveling south.
Survivor of the famous Morgan Massacre; daughter of settler James Marlin. In Falls County, Jan., 1, 1839, Indians killed and scalped several members of the Morgan and Marlin families. Isaac Marlin, 10, ran 7 miles for help. His sister, Stacye Ann, . . . — — Map (db m145837) HM
On 2nd Street (Farm to Market Road 359) at Avenue G, on the right when traveling east on 2nd Street.
Near this site stood the depot of Texas Western Narrow Gauge Railway, chartered August 4, 1870, operated from Houston to Sealy until 1899. Right of way was donated by the Pattison family, founders of the town of Pattison. Waller County . . . — — Map (db m145836) HM
On Brumlow Road at Pine Island Road, on the left when traveling west on Brumlow Road.
Organized in the Hopewell schoolhouse, Aug. 13, 1888, with 13 members. Named for a small grove of pine trees nearby. This building erected in 1900. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965 — — Map (db m159298) HM
On University Drive at U.S. 290, on the right when traveling north on University Drive.
In response to the political, social and economic turmoil in Texas and the South after the Civil War, the federal government enacted the Reconstruction Act on March 2, 1867. Many local and state officials were removed from office and a . . . — — Map (db m136910) HM
On Farm to Market Road 1098 north of Joe Loggins Road, on the right when traveling north.
On Sept. 21, 1871, at nearby Kirby Chapel Methodist Church, thirteen people with letters of transfer from other congregations banded together as the Shiloh Baptist Church. The Rev. Jesse Tubb and Deacon John M, McGinty assisted with the . . . — — Map (db m151532) HM
On Farm to Market Road 1098 north of Joe Loggins Road, on the right when traveling north.
In 1881 Thomas Armer deeded land in the Shiloh Community for a Baptist church. He sold an adjacent acre to the church for this cemetery in 1883, and in later years Armer sold more land to the church and to Pond Creek School. The community continued . . . — — Map (db m151534) HM
On William Street, 0.5 miles south of Wyatt Chapel Road, on the left when traveling south.
This cemetery is located on land that was originally part of Jared E. Kirby's Alta Vista Plantation. According to oral tradition, the Kirby family set aside this land as a burial site for their slaves, as well as slaves from nearby Liendo . . . — — Map (db m155570) HM
On Smith Street at Cherry Street, on the right when traveling north on Smith Street.
The Waller Methodist Episcopal Church, South, traces its history to 1888, the year it was first mentioned in regional Methodist conference records. Early members included Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Brown, Lawton M. and Sallie Bouknight and Simeon P. and . . . — — Map (db m151286) HM
On Waller Avenue west of Farr Street, on the right when traveling west.
An ambitious institution chartered by Baptists who formed South Texas Educational Conference about 1895 and in 1898 secured campus site from a local landowner, C.C. Waller. Trustees serving when college opened in fall of 1898 were J.C. McGaughy, . . . — — Map (db m151262) HM
On Haley Road, 0.1 miles west of Farm to Market Road 362, on the right when traveling west.
The first of many Czech immigrants to settle in this area purchased land from Galveston developer E. H. Fordtran in 1891. Four Czech families founded St. Mary's Catholic Church in 1892. The first recorded burial here, on land donated by Frank . . . — — Map (db m159277) HM
On Farr Street at Cherry Street, on the left when traveling south on Farr Street.
Extension of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad here about 1857 provided the means for a growing number of settlers in this area to market their farm and ranch products. The town was platted by K. H. Faulkner in 1884 and named Waller for . . . — — Map (db m159244) HM
