Unincorporated community in Texas, United States
Independence is an unincorporated community in Washington County , Texas , United States. According to the Handbook of Texas , the community had a population of 140 in 2000. It is located about an hour northwest of the Greater Houston metropolitan area.
History
Its population was reported as 140 in 2010.[ 2]
Milam Lodge No. 11, of the Grand Lodge of Texas , was located in the community.[ 3] Seward Plantation is listed on the National Register of Historic Places .
A tornado hit Independence in December 1983 . On May 26, 2016, an EF0 tornado struck Independence, in which numerous trees were downed in a convergent pattern.[ 4]
Geography
Independence is located at the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 390 and 50 , 12 mi (19 km) northeast of Brenham and 82 mi (132 km) west of Houston in northeastern Washington County.[ 2]
Education
Today, the community is served by the Brenham Independent School District .
Notable people
George Washington Baines , a co-founder and president of Baylor ; great-grandfather of Lyndon B. Johnson Jerome B. Robertson William Bizzell Sam Houston Jr. Lawrence Sullivan Ross , 19th Governor of Texas , attended Baylor University.[ 5] [ 6] Andrew Jackson Houston , son of Sam and Margaret Lea Houston and politician.[ 7] George W. Littlefield , Confederate Army soldier, attended Baylor University.Thomas Chilton , U.S. Representative from Kentucky , co-founded Baylor University.Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor is buried in the community's cemetery.Martin Varner , Old Three Hundred member[ 8] William Carey Crane , Baptist minister who preached at Independence Baptist Church from 1864 to 1867 and 1869 to 1884.[ 9] Hosea Garrett , clergyman and philanthropist, who served as President Pro tempore at Baylor.[ 10] Henry Arthur McArdle , painter[ 11] Hugh Wilson , Presbyterian minister, who served as an administrator at Independence Female College.[ 12] Royall T. Wheeler , judge who became Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court .[ 13] Edward Taylor, brother of Horace D. Taylor , built a store in Independence in 1838.[ 14]
Nancy Moffette Lea , mother of Margaret Lea Houston, moved here in 1852.[ 15] Antoinette Power Houston Bringhurst , the fifth child of Houston and Lea, got her education at Baylor Female College.[ 16] George Wythe Baylor , Confederate soldier.[ 17] Henry Weidner Baylor , physician and Texas Ranger .
In popular culture
American western TV series Walker: Independence takes place in Independence.[ 18]
Gallery
References
^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Independence, Texas ^ a b Gilmartin, John A. "Independence, Texas" . Texas Escapes Online Magazine. Retrieved June 17, 2023 . ^ Directory of Constituent Lodges in Texas . (2005–2006) Waco, Tx: The Grand Lodge of Texas.^ "Texas Event Report: EF0 Tornado" (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Houston/Galveston, Texas. 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016 .public domain .^ Benner, Judith, "Ross, Lawrence Sullivan" , The Handbook of Texas , Texas State Historical Association, retrieved March 3, 2015 ^ Ross Family Papers, Inclusive: 1846-1931, undated, Bulk: 1861-1864, 1870-1894, undated , retrieved January 30, 2022 ^ Texas Heritage Foundation, Texas Heritage , Volume 1, 1959, page 100
^ "Varner, Martin" . The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Retrieved March 14, 2008 .^ Summerlin, Travis L. (June 12, 2010). "Handbook of Texas Online" . Texas State Historical Association . ^ "Collection: Hosea Garrett, Jr. Civil war letters | Kenan Research Center Finding Aids" .^ Hazelwood, Claudia. "Henry Arthur McArdle" . Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 9, 2014 . ^ Louise Kelly, "WILSON, HUGH," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwi52 ), accessed June 15, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association .
^ "History" . Baylor Law School . Retrieved November 22, 2015 .^ Red, Ellen Robbins (1986). Early Days on the Bayou 1838–1890: The Life and Letters of Horace Dickinson Taylor . Waco, Texas: Texian Press. p. 59. ^ Hesler, Samuel B. "Lea, Nancy Moffette" . Texas State Historical Association . Retrieved July 15, 2021 . ^ "Bringhurst, Antoinette Power Houston" . Handbook of Texs Online . Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved July 30, 2021 .^ Daniell 1887, p. 105.
^ Walker: Independence | Legacy | Season Trailer | The CW archived from the original on August 22, 2022, retrieved May 19, 2022
Further reading
B. D. Augustin, "Independence: The Athens of Early Texas," Texas Highways , March 1984.
T. Lindsay Baker, Ghost Towns of Texas , Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986.
Lois Smith Murray, Baylor at Independence , Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 1972.
Gracey Booker Toland, Austin Knew His Athens , San Antonio, TX: Naylor, 1958.
See also
International National Other
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
