Founded Jan. 1, 1866, as weekly "Southern Banner", by Dan McGary and John C. Rankin, Confederate veterans. For his independent policies, editor McGary was jailed that year. Shop and nearby businesses burned, but paper survived. Became a daily in . . . — — Map (db m151327) HM
Benjamin H. and Thomas J. Bassett opened their newly-created bank and located their law office in this building soon after its completion in 1873. Built with bricks manufactured by the local Wild & Co. Brickyard, the Italianate structure housed the . . . — — Map (db m74420) HM
Located on land granted to Josiah Lester by the Mexican government prior to Texas independence, this cemetery began in the 1850s after subsequent landowner Erwin Brown set aside land for a school and church. The site also served as a community . . . — — Map (db m165382) HM
Founded as "Mission Institute", March 28, 1883. Methodist affiliated. 1887 gift of Rev. Christian Blinn of New York built main hall. Name was changed 1889 to Blinn Memorial. This main building erected 1906. Became Junior College, 1927. . . . — — Map (db m165238) HM
In August 1907, the Brenham Creamery Company formed to purchase excess dairy products from farmers and produce butter for local sales. In 1911, the creamery began making ice cream, producing a maximum of two gallons each day. E.F. Kruse, who managed . . . — — Map (db m74449) HM
This property is the former site of the B'Nai Abraham Synagogue, which was built in 1893 for one of the first orthodox congregations in Texas, founded in 1885. The Synagogue served the community of Brenham, observing strict Hebrew worship with . . . — — Map (db m201808) HM
Two volunteer organizations, Brenham Hook and Ladder Co. and the Fire Protection Co., were started May 28, 1867, ostensibly to fight fires. In reality they were also military companies to suppress lawlessness until in 1874 Reconstruction ended. . . . — — Map (db m164473) HM
Numerous gravestones dating from the early 1840s indicate that this burial ground was in use well before December of 1847, when it was formally deeded to the Graham Masonic Lodge #20 by Chauncey B. Shepard (1812-1892). Brenham's citizens buried . . . — — Map (db m164537) HM
Brenham’s African American and Anglo community leaders first discussed the Brenham Normal and Industrial College (BNIC) in a public meeting in March 1905, when Daniel Porter (1863-1916) came to the area seeking land and a building to create a . . . — — Map (db m131045) HM
This fellowship was founded in 1877 by the Rev. Warner B. Riggs and a small group of charter members. Within three years there were more than fifty names on the church roll, and a sanctuary had been erected on West Main Street. Despite financial . . . — — Map (db m165237) HM
First in county. Founded 1901 and still maintained by Fortnightly Literary Club, with county and city support. All housing has been donated. First call for books brought 1,000 volumes. In 1934 occupied present quarters built by the city. — — Map (db m195680) HM
This burial ground is the oldest predominantly African American cemetery in Brenham. It dates from the 1860s and historically has been associated with the nearby Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church. After the Civil War former Washington County . . . — — Map (db m164470) HM
Established in 1844 Named in honor of Dr. Richard Fox Brenham 1810 - 1843 Surgeon in the Army of the Republic of Texas Member of the Mier Expedition Killed at Salado, Mexico February 11, 1843 — — Map (db m165120) HM
"This Carousel represents a time and place we can never go back to. And, to have something like this to hand down through the years is phenomenal."
Gail Baker, Brenham Banner Press, 1986
Since its purchase, many . . . — — Map (db m177347) HM
River-shipping efforts in pioneer Texas by steamboat were centered primarily on the Brazos (about 2 mi. E.), and Washington-on-the-Brazos (about 15 mi. N.) was an important distribution point for commercial interests. The Brazos flowed through most . . . — — Map (db m71622) HM
Spiritual center of the Berlin community, which was settled by Germans in 1847. On a missionary visit, Dec. 24, 1854, The Rev. Johann Ebinger (1828-1908) of Harris County held earliest Lutheran service in Washington County. On July 1, 1855, he . . . — — Map (db m151369) HM
The first Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Texas was organized in 1851 by eight pastors who would gather fellow-immigrants from Europe in congregations. Synod bought an existing campus at Rutersville in 1872 and operated her German-American College . . . — — Map (db m165131) HM
Historic Beginnings
A heated exchange between Union soldiers and local citizens in September 1866 led to the eventual development of the City of Brenham's flagship park. The soldiers, part of an infantry company, took issue with comments . . . — — Map (db m171633) HM
Organized Dec. 20, 1846, as New Year's Creek Church, at a school house in Allcorn area. Founders were Judge R.E.B. Baylor, W.W. Buster, and Hosea Garrett. Rev. A.D. Fisher was chosen as the church's first pastor in 1847. In 1848, the year Texas . . . — — Map (db m165255) HM
Organized with 18 members in 1877, this congregation grew out of the early missionary efforts of A.J. Bush and W.J. Jones. Many prominent Washington County settlers were among its earliest members. The fellowship worshiped at various locations . . . — — Map (db m165254) HM
Brenham's first church; was established year Brenham founded, 1844. Early member R.B. Wells wrote and published "Christian Advocate", church magazine of Texas Methodists here in 1846. By 1868 church had reached such stature that the Texas . . . — — Map (db m165241) HM
"It turned out that a traveling carnival had set up there several years earlier and then didn't make enough money to pay the rent for the pasture. So they just left their 24-horse Carousel there. We got those hobby horses for a very reasonable . . . — — Map (db m177280) HM
A private firm; Brenham's first bank, founded 1866 by lawyer-brothers J. D. and D. C. Giddings. This building was erected 1872 for bank, with Brenham Chapter No. 5, Royal Arch Masons, owning third floor. Bank closed in 1945. — — Map (db m118662) HM
In 1894 Bartlett, Texas, merchant L. A. Niebuhr presented Waco attorney E. W. Hander with a plan to establish a farm mutual aid association to provide farmers insurance against losses due to fire, lightning, and storms. Hander initially dismissed . . . — — Map (db m151297) HM
This grand structure is one of the top ten examples of Greek Revival residential architecture in Texas. This was the second home of Honorable J.D. Giddings, Brenham's most prominent forefather, and his wife, Ann. An architectural feat, the . . . — — Map (db m165119) HM
This is the oldest standing structure in Brenham. It was the second house built in Hickory Grove, as Brenham was called in those days. This was the first home built by Honorable J.D. Giddings, Brenham's most prominent forefather. It was a . . . — — Map (db m165317) HM
This house was completed in 1870 for prominent Brenham banker, lawyer, and landowner Jabez Giddings (1814-1878) (for whom Giddings, Texas, is named) and his wife Ann (1822-1902). It was later owned by their daughter, Mary Louise, and her husband, . . . — — Map (db m165118) HM
Jabez Deming Giddings (1814-1878) of Pennsylvania bought this land in 1837. A lawyer, businessman, and civic leader, he built this residence of hand-hewn cypress boards before his marriage in 1843 to Ann Tarver (1822-1907). An unusual rooftop . . . — — Map (db m165316) HM
In the 19th century, one of the world's foremost researcher-writers on agriculture and horticulture lived 1858-1868 on his 3,500-acre plantation 2 mi. S of here, developing famous "central Texas nurseries" and experimental fields for new plant . . . — — Map (db m131025) HM
In 1860, at the age of 20, Gustav Dentzel arrived in America and settled in Philadelphia.
After learning the craft from his father in Germany, Dentzel built his first Carousel in 1867, and took it from town to town selling tickets for rides. . . . — — Map (db m177291) HM
In 1914, noted Texas educator Columbus H. Hogan became a founding partner in the Washington County Undertaking Co. on South Park Street in Brenham. It was then the only funeral home in the county for African Americans. Hogan later became sole . . . — — Map (db m165377) HM
Philadelphia Style
Realistic looking horses/animals, which normally were carved with very lifelike poses and expressions.
Types of Horses
• Jumper: describes a horse/figure that has all four feet off the platform.
• . . . — — Map (db m177308) HM
Since its construction in 1920, this building has been in continuous use housing news and entertainment media. It was designed by Architect M.M. Gin and constructed by Contractor Alex Griffin to be the new home of the Brenham Banner Publishing . . . — — Map (db m201807) HM
One of the first overland routes used by European explorers of Texas, La Bahia Road was originally an east-west Indian trail in southeastern Texas and Louisiana. Earlier it may have been an animal trail. Although not as famous, or long, as El Camino . . . — — Map (db m27787) HM
In 1963 the United States started sending military observer and advisers to South Vietnam to augment their conflict with communist North Vietnam. By 1967 the U.S. was fully engaged in the conflict with ultimately 500,000 U.S. troops engaged in . . . — — Map (db m164631) HM WM
This pioneer Berlin community home dates from the 1870s. German native Louis Lehmann, Sr. built the house for his wife Friederike (Clausmeier) and their children. Louis was a leader in Ebenezer Lutheran Church, swerved in the Confederate Army and . . . — — Map (db m165381) HM
A native Texan and the grandson of a pioneer Nueces County Sheriff, Milas Roberson "Burney" Parker grew up in Lee and Washington counties. He served as Washington County Road Superintendent for fourteen years before he was elected county treasurer . . . — — Map (db m165379) HM
Born in Liverpool of Scots parents, Alexander Douglas Milroy immigrated to Houston in 1877 to work in a cotton exporting business. After amassing wealth in the cotton trade, Milroy settled with his family in Brenham in 1893. There he fulfilled his . . . — — Map (db m151346) HM
A native of Ireland, Moses Baine came to the United States in 1819. In 1830 Baine and his wife, Cecilia (Inglesby), joined Stephen F. Austin's colony at San Felipe. A veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, Baine established a permanent home near . . . — — Map (db m165380) HM
This historic church, the oldest African American Baptist congregation in Brenham and one of the first in Washington County, has its origins in secret meetings held by runaway slaves and freedmen in the 1850s. After the Civil War, federal troops . . . — — Map (db m164472) HM
After emancipation in 1865, African American families settled on the westside of Brenham and established Watersville. In 1877, Reverend J.R. Smith conducted services under a brush arbor and the congregation became known as Mt. Zion Colored . . . — — Map (db m165240) HM
The Rev. Hugh Wilson (1794-1868) organized Prospect Presbyterian Church at this site in February 1839. Located on land included in a Mexican land grant to James F. and Emily Perry, it was the second Presbyterian church founded in Texas. Worship . . . — — Map (db m164561) HM
Graves in this historic cemetery date from the 1840s, although trustees of the Brenham Cemetery Association did not formally set aside the property until 1871. It came into operation following concern the earlier Masonic Cemetery would soon reach . . . — — Map (db m118661) HM
A native of North Carolina, Robert Starke Armistead moved with his family to Alabama in 1818. He married Ann Sylvesta Carney in 1826 and they came to Texas in 1835. Armistead served in the Republic of Texas army in 1836 and with forces defending San . . . — — Map (db m125651) HM
About 1899, Mary (Dwyer) Ross built this house on land she inherited from her father, Thomas Dwyer. Built of cypress, the Queen Anne style house features Victorian ornamentation in its open tower, a second level porch with horseshoe arches, and . . . — — Map (db m164475) HM
This church was organized in the Salem community on Nov. 22, 1856, by the Rev. Johann G. Ebinger and 17 charter members. Worship services were first held in a log cabin on land deeded by Wilhelm Bohne (.3 mi. SW). In 1913 the church moved to the . . . — — Map (db m202531) HM
Swiss immigrant Josef Schmid began a mercantile business in Brenham in 1880. He was joined by his brothers Benjamin and Sigmund to form Schmid Bros. in 1889, and in 1899-1900 they erected this building to house their business enterprises. Built in . . . — — Map (db m74422) HM
Home of Dr. Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor (1791-1873) • Here he resided for many years and here he died • Baylor University bears his name — — Map (db m164558) HM
Replaced Hickory Grove School, organized 1840. Land was given to Graham Lodge No. 20, A.F. & A.M.; lodge built Masonic Academy in 1849, only school in the area. Texas Public School Act of 1875 caused academy to close, and property sale proceeds . . . — — Map (db m166033) HM
In 1889 residents of the Mound Area formed their first school at a nearby Baptist church. By 1891 the Mound School District was organized and forty students were enrolled. The school moved in 1902 to the Live Oak Female Seminary located on the . . . — — Map (db m164556) HM
Center of Brenham hospitality for 122 years. Originally a two-story log stage depot adjoined by a log cabin complex called the Washington County Hotel.
Changed owners several times through the years. General Sam Houston once stayed here while . . . — — Map (db m131015) HM
Esteemed Texas School established about 1875 by Brenham Public School System for Black pupils of elementary through high school levels and called Camptown School. It was renamed East End School and later, in 1936 Pickard High School in honor of . . . — — Map (db m164480) HM
Brenham's first hospital. Dr. H. Clay Rees (1864-1914), president of a Waco medical and surgical clinic, built (1897) a 2-story sanitarium on this site. Dispensary and surgery were in a detached building. By 19th century standards, this was an . . . — — Map (db m165133) HM
In the early 1860s, local residents built a county rail line to connect to the Houston & Texas Central Railway, which bought the line in 1869. Brenham became a regional distribution center, and its population grew dramatically. Circa 1916, the . . . — — Map (db m165269) HM
German immigrants began settling in Washington County in the 1840s. The first German Lutheran congregation began in 1855 in the community of Berlin. The growing German Lutheran community in Brenham organized this congregation, first known as the . . . — — Map (db m165132) HM
Founded among Austin colony settlers. Parish, fourth oldest in Texas, organized May 2, 1848, by missionary Bishop Geo. W. Freeman, of Arkansas. Rebuilt. Dedicated June 29, 1965, by Bishop J.M. Richardson. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - . . . — — Map (db m165116) HM
Composed of a chief justice (now county judge) and four county commissioners, these elected governing boards directed vital Civil War programs. Provided arms, clothing, horses and saddles for troops from county. Gave aid to wartime factories. . . . — — Map (db m125649) HM
The Brenham Maifest has evolved from the German Volksfest, a spring festival carried to this area by German Texans who settled near Brenham. When the Brenham Fire Department assumed the duties of the Volksfest Association in 1880, the exclusively . . . — — Map (db m164477) HM
The Brenham Maifest has evolved from the German Volksfest, a spring festival carried to this area by German Texans who settled near Brenham. When the Brenham Fire Department assumed the duties of the Volksfest Association in 1880, the exclusively . . . — — Map (db m165375) HM
The Century Tree is a Texas A&M campus landmark, beloved by Aggies. It is believed to be one of the first trees planted on the campus of the state's first public institution of higher learning, which opened in 1876.
In recent years, the Century . . . — — Map (db m164420) HM
Born and educated in Scotland, Thomas Affleck (1812-1868) emigrated in 1832 to the United States, where he became one of the most well-known agriculturalists of his time. A prolific writer, Affleck was associated with several agricultural and . . . — — Map (db m28316) HM
Thomas Deye Owings was born to John Cockey and Colegate Dye Owings on March 7, 1776 at Cockeysville, a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. The family had met with success as colonial tobacco planters and as partners in the Bourbon Iron Furnace in . . . — — Map (db m164484) HM
Built in 1940 with funds granted by the Public Works Administration, this is the fourth courthouse to serve Washington County since its formation in 1835. Constructed during the tenure of County Judge Sam Low, the massive white limestone . . . — — Map (db m111920) HM
Washington County was the most populous in the state during the Civil War. It served as a center for production, warehousing, transportation, communications, and had a large quartermaster depot. Local wartime factories made spinning jennies, lumber, . . . — — Map (db m125650) HM
In the spring of 1862 Thomas N. Waul (1813-1903) recruited men from Washington and the surrounding counties to form a legion for Confederate service. Composed of twelve infantry companies, six cavalry companies, and two artillery companies, the . . . — — Map (db m28314) HM
One of the most influential horticulturists in Texas, William H. Watson was born in Ireland in 1837. He migrated to America in 1853 and moved to Texas by 1859. He and his wife, Sarah Warren, settled in Brenham, where he established Rosedale Nursery . . . — — Map (db m151367) HM
