Grimes County, Texas
Navasota is home to 29 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
A faithful Negro slave. Came to nearby Courtney, Grimes County in 1851 with his master, John W. S. West from North Carolina. West was a prominent and wealthy pioneer planter and landowner. At the outbreak of the Civil…
View on map ↗Jesse Youens home built 1871 in style of Youens' home, "Tower Cottage", Dartford, Kent, England, occupied by his family continuously. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967
View on map ↗Originally an Indian trail through Southern Texas and Louisiana; known to Spanish explorers as early as 1690, when the De Leon Expedition passed this site on the way from Mexico to East Texas. With 115 men, 721 horses,…
View on map ↗Early Texas plantation home in architectural style of the Atlantic states. Malcolm Camp, wealthy cotton planter, built this structure in 1859, with lumber hauled from East Texas sawmills. High-ceilinged rooms are very…
View on map ↗Built by Ira M. Freeman, 1856; way station and hotel for passengers on several stage lines through city. Two-story pine building housed many travelers, among them, Sam Houston. Important visitors, officers stayed here…
View on map ↗Organized in 1866, drawing members from old church at Washington, Texas. First building, erected in 1876, was replaced in 1894 by this Victorian edifice finely crafted in the taste of its English builders. Recorded…
View on map ↗(Oct. 7, 1853 - July 13, 1916) Born in Amelia County, Va. The Neal Family moved to Washington County, Texas, in 1866. Neal, after attending Baylor University, was admitted to the Bar in 1876. He married Fannie C. Brooks…
View on map ↗Built in 1902 by Robert Andrew "Buck" Sangster (1878-1957), with part of the proceeds from a winning lottery ticket. Constructed in the Queen Anne revival style with classic revival elements on the exterior. Curly red…
View on map ↗In the late 1800s, two brothers named Steele had large cotton operations near Navasota, at Allen Farm, and residences diagonally across this corner from each other. A. G. Steele (1853-1900) and wife Etta had this late…
View on map ↗In the spring of 1860, six men formed this church, one of the first of any faith in the railroad town of Navasota. By fall there were 52 members, and growth continued. Services were held in the town's schoolhouse, and…
View on map ↗Situated near the Houston & Texas Central Railroad Depot, this three-story stone building was erected in 1860 by R. H. Giesel (1833-1872) and his German-born wife Fannie (1828-1881) to house a restaurant and hotel. A…
View on map ↗Originally a one-story frame business house built in 1873 by Walter J. and Julia C. Peterson, this structure was enlarged in 1885. Native sandstone walls and a second story were added. John Wesley Leake (1852-1940), a…
View on map ↗Soon after John Moore McGinty (1823-1888) and his wife Mary Loretta Brown settled in Stoneham in 1853, they organized the Grimes Prairie Baptist Church. About 1859 the congregation moved to a schoolhouse in this area…
View on map ↗A native of Connecticut, Lewis J. Wilson (1832-1895) moved with his parents to Grimes County in 1851. His father Samuel opened a general merchandise business in Anderson. Lewis managed the store until 1861 when he left…
View on map ↗Eliza Johnson (d. 1876) had this building constructed in 1874 following a fire which destroyed several structures on the block. It was made of limestone rubble to comply with a city ordinance requiring all new…
View on map ↗A native of England, Joseph Brooks (1831-89) migrated to Texas with his wife Mary Ann (Farrer) (1833-1900) in 1853. After serving in the Civil War, Brooks moved to Navasota, where he survived an 1867 yellow fever…
View on map ↗Local architect, contractor and stonemason James Davern and his brother-in-law C. C. Camp built this commercial edifice in the 1880s. Constructed of cement-covered stone rubble, it was remodeled with Renaissance Revival…
View on map ↗In 1897 Elizabeth Owen had this two-story residence constructed for her daughter Emmeline B. Terrell (b. 1849), the widow of local pharmacist Joel W. Terrell, II, who had died the previous year. In 1899 the home was…
View on map ↗Mattie Brigance Foster, daughter of Grimes County settler Franklin Brigance, had this home built in 1900 shortly after the death of her husband. Incorporating elements of the colonial revival and shingle styles, the…
View on map ↗The first worship services of the Methodist church in Navasota were held in 1853 in the community schoolhouse. The Rev. T. W. Blake served as part-time pastor for most of the antebellum and Civil War years. In 1866 the…
View on map ↗Built to serve as the first residence of Ewing and Mattie (Brosig) Norwood, this house was completed in 1898, while Ewing Norwood was president of the First National Bank of Navasota. Designed and built by local…
View on map ↗Alabama native Robert Augustus Horlock (1849-1926) came to Navasota in 1871. Here he became a prominent businessman and civic leader. He and his wife, Agnes (White), had this home built in the early 1890s. The house,…
View on map ↗Built in the mid-1890s for newlyweds Ward B. and Annie Foster Templeman, this home is reminiscent of Navasota's early cotton boom era. Originally a Queen Anne design, the house was bricked and modified in the early…
View on map ↗Located on land which is adjacent to the 1873 subdivision of Courtney known as McAlpine Town, this cemetery was established by developer Dugald McAlpine (1795-1876). The oldest documented grave in the cemetery is that…
View on map ↗Newlyweds John Thomas and Maude Martin Evans built this house in 1894 on land given to them by his mother. A ticket agent for the International and Great Northern Railway Company, Evans also served the city of Navasota…
View on map ↗In 1864, Bishop Alexander Gregg organized an Episcopal mission in Navasota that became a parish in 1866. Originally known as the Church of the Holy Comforter, it was renamed in 1870, when the church building from St.…
View on map ↗This Methodist congregation was founded in 1860, and worshipped with the Baptist church in shared facilities in Navasota. A church building was erected in 1866 in what was called "Freeman's Town." The Methodist group…
View on map ↗Around 1865, reverend J.J. Reinhart established the Navasota Colored School for African American students. After several buildings were destroyed by fire, a brick building was built in 1942. A few years later, the…
View on map ↗Following emancipation in 1865, freed slaves purchased lots from Ira Malcolm Camp on land known as Camp Canaan. They established a community that they renamed Freedman Town. Citizens quickly erected homes and…
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