Historical Markers in Baytown, Texas

Hannah Este Burnet · 1936

Born in Morriston, N. J., December 8, 1800; died in 1858. Wife of David G. Burnet, president ad interim of Texas, March 16 to Oct. 22, 1836.

Lynch's Ferry · 1936

Established before 1824 by Nathaniel Lynch, one of Austin's first colonists on land granted August 19, 1824. Granted exclusive privilege to operate ferry at this point January 1, 1830, by Ayuntamiento of San Felipe. Now…

Near Home Site of John Peter Sjolander · 1968

(1851-1939) A young Swede who came to America in 1871 to earn a living had, before he died, become famous as "The Sage of Cedar Bayou," folk poet for a generation of Texans. Educated by his mother, Sjolander learned…

Cedar Bayou Masonic Lodge No. 321, A. F. & A. M. · 1970

Chartered June 18, 1870, with 13 members. Opened its own hall July 7, 1876, donating quarters (1876-1911) to the first public school in east Harris County. On June 24, 1879, initiated an event that still continues-- the…

Hall of Cedar Bayou Masonic Lodge No. 321, A. F. & A. M. · 1970

Built 1875-1876, largely by labor of members. Lumber, cut to order in Florida, arrived here by schooner in nick of time to escape havoc of 1875 hurricane. The 1883 Worshipful Master, J. H. Kipp, made and gave (1889) the…

Ashbel Smith, M. D. · 1984

(1805-1885) Born in Hartford, Connecticut, this prominent physician, statesman, soldier, and educator received his degree from Yale Medical College in 1828. After a period of study in France, Smith returned to the…

Cedar Bayou United Methodist Church · 1984

This congregation was organized in 1844 at the home of early settler Hance Baker, under the direction of the Rev. robert Alexander, a noted Methodist missionary during Texas' frontier period. with twenty-seven members…

Joseph William Ellender · 1985

(May 25, 1840 - February 24, 1917) British seaman Joseph William Ellender was shipwrecked off the coast of Iceland in 1866 and rescued by a schooner bound for Galveston. He settled in Cedar Bayou and married Nancy…

Baytown Post Office · 1988

Built in 1936-37 as the Goose Creek Post Office, this structure served as the area's main postal facility for almost fifty years. Designed by architect Louis a. Simon, the early international style building features an…

Bell Prairie · 1989

Once located southwest of this site was the home of Henry Falvel Gillette (1816-1896). A native of Connecticut, Gillette came to Texas in 1840 at the urging of his cousin, Ashbel Smith. He became a noted educator in…

Humble Oil & Refining Company · 1989

Ross S. Sterling entered the oil business in 1909, when he invested in the Humble oil file north of Houston. Two years later he formed the Humble Oil Company with five partners: Walter W. Fondren, Charles B. Goddard,…

Homesite (Point Pleasant) of William Scott · 1990

A native of Virginia, William Scott (1784-1837) was a planter, merchant, and stockraiser in his native state and in Kentucky, where he relocated about 1806. He and his family moved briefly to Louisiana in the early…

K'Nesseth Israel Synagogue · 1991

In response to area population growth following the early 20th century Goose Creek oil field boom, twenty incorporating members formed the K'Nesseth Israel congregation in 1928 to serve the area's Jewish residents. They…

St. Emily Methodist Church · 1997

According to oral tradition, the Methodist Episcopal Church of Old River was already located on this site when Mrs. Emily Brown, a midwife and mother of seven who had been born a slave in 1845, inherited the land from…

Tilton Cemetery · 1999

According to family tradition, Charles Nathan Tilton was a cabin boy and boatswain's mate for the pirate Jean Laffite. Records show that Tilton came to Texas about 1829. He married Anna Barber, the 15-year-old daughter…

Confederate Naval Works at Goose Creek · 2007

In 1854, brothers Thomas and John Chubb bought land in the William Scott League on the east bank of Goose Creek at the mouth of Tabbs Bay. On this site, they established the Chubb Shipyard prior to the Civil War. At the…

Bayland Guards · 2009

On April 27, 1861, Dr. Ashbel Smith organized a group of volunteers from Bayland (now Baytown) and Cedar Bayou in Harris County, and Barbers Hill in Chambers County. The group, known as the Bayland Guards, drilled on…

George Washington Carver High School · 2010

The first public school for African American children of this area was Goose Creek School for Coloreds. Founded in 1921 as a grade school, it served the children of the Baytown area, as well as those in La Porte, Cedar…

Lee College · 2011

In 1934, during the Great Depression and after several years of planning, the residents of the Goose Creek Independent School District voted to establish Lee Junior College, stressing the importance of higher education…

Robert E. Lee High School · 2011

After a population increase due to the discovery of oil in 1908, local residents realized the need for permanent school facilities and formed the Goose Creek Independent School District in 1919, encompassing the cities…

Bayland Orphans Home · 2012

The Civil War shattered many families, leaving orphans, destitute widows, and children whose stepfathers were unable or unwilling to support them. Motivated by such conditions, Henry Gillette led a group who met in 1866…

Wooster Common School No. 38 · 2012

In 1891, Quincy Adams Wooster visited Texas from Iowa. He was so impressed with this area that he sold his farm and moved his family here. With his business partner, Willard D. Crow, Wooster bought thousands of acres…

Baytown Mexican School · 2014

Established in 1923 by the Goose Creek Independent School District, Baytown Mexican School was the first educational facility for Mexican American children in the community. The very modest beginning of the school in…

Wooster Community · 2015

Wooster was founded by Quincy Adams Wooster and Willard D. Crow, who came here from Mapleton, Iowa, with their families late in 1892 and purchased more than 1,000 acres in the Nathaniel Lynch league. Junius Brown, also…

The Baytown Sun · 2016

The Baytown Sun can trace its roots to the weekly newspaper the Goose Creek Gasser, established by Frank Boyer in 1919, two months before construction began on the humble Oil & Refining Company’s Baytown Refinery. The…

The Lynchburg Volunteers · 2017

In the 1820s, most area residents were loyal citizens of Mexico until Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna Abrogated the constitution of 1824. As hostilities between Mexico City and newly-arrived Texian…

City of Baytown · 2018

Located in the Gulf Coast region and situated mostly within Harris County plus a small portion of Chambers County, the city of Baytown is bordered by eight bays: Burnet, Crystal, Scott, Mitchell, Black Duck, San…

Memorial Baptist Church · 2019

Victoria Taylor Walker · 2020

Cedar Bayou native Victoria Taylor Walker began school at age four at Mt. Olive Baptist Church, which supported African American students up to eighth grade. With financial help from her family and church and with her…

Lynchburg Cemetery