Brazos County

Marker Location: Bryan, 300 E. 26th St.

Marker Location: 300 E. 26th St., Bryan

Marker Text:  Created from Robertson and Washington Counties in 1841. First called Navasota, changed 1842 to Brazos after two rivers on county's boundaries. Organized in 1843, with Booneville as county seat; Bryan county seat since 1866. Area originally included in Stephen F. Austin's Second Colony, 1828. Became a part of the Washington municipality, 1837, under the Mexican government. First railroad reached Millican in 1860. A. & M. University opened, 1876. Economy based on agricultural, industrial and educational activities. Replacement text, 2000: Brazos County, part of Stephen F. Austin's colony, was created from Washington County in 1841. It was first named Navasota County, with Boonville as the county seat. In 1842 the name was changed to Brazos County. Through the Civil War, Millican, located at the end of the railroad from Houston, was a major town. When the railroad was continued through the county, Bryan became the county seat in 1866. The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M) opened in 1876 and College Station grew around it, incorporating in 1938.

Brazos River

Marker Location: Brazos

 Marker Text: Largest river between the Red and the Rio Grande, the 840-mile Brazos rises in 3 forks: the Salt, Clear and Double Mountain forks. According to legend, this river saved Coronado's Expedition of 1540-1542 from dying of thirst, so the men thankfully named it "Los Brazos de Dios" (Arms of God). On its banks were founded historic San Felipe, capital of Stephen F. Austin's Colony, and Washington, where in 1836 Texas' Declaration of Independence was signed. Vast plantations thrived in the fertile Brazos Valley, making cotton "king" in Texas until the Civil War.

 Moravian (Czech) Cemetery

Marker Location: Bryan Knights Bridge, 5911 Street (Copperfield Subdivision)

Marker Text: Land for this cemetery was sold in 1889 by Josef Stasta (1833-1894) to Joseph Mekeska, president of Moravian Brothers Burial Ground. The deed specified the land would be used exclusively for a Moravian cemetery. The cemetery contains eleven grave markers. All but one of the stones are inscribed in Czech. The one English-language stone marks four graves. The earliest known burial is that of Marie Siptak (Jan. 19-Feb. 16, 1885). The last interment took place in 1906. Though only fifteen graves are marked, the cemetery may contain as many as forty-one burials.

Shiloh Community

Marker Location:  College Station, 2604 Texas Avenue at College Station Cemetery

 Marker Text: Settled in the 1860s by Czech, German, and Polish immigrants, the Shiloh community was an area of large family farms. In addition to homes and farms, the settlement at one time boasted a community center, a two-room school, a vineyard, a mill, and a blacksmith shop. The families of Shiloh community maintained a cooperative relationship, often helping each other with planting, harvesting, barn building, and other activities. In 1883, to coordinate assistance efforts and group purchases of farm supplies, they formed the Slavonic Agricultural and Benevolent Society, which still exists in reorganized form as the Shiloh Club. The community later was completely encompassed by the City of College Station. Mrs. William G. Rector deeded land at this site to the local Methodist Church in 1870 for use as a community cemetery. The property later was acquired by the City of College Station, which established a larger city cemetery around the original Shiloh Graveyard. Although little remains of the Shiloh community, this cemetery serves as a reminder of a once-thriving settlement.

Information excerpted from Texas Historic Sites Atlas (on line) located at: http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Atlas/atlas_search_frame.html