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

Independence was established in 1835 on 78 acres (32 ha) in Stephen F. Austin's colony by J. G. W. Pierson, Robert Stevenson, Colbert Baker, and Amasa F. Burchard. This land was a portion of a land concession made by the Mexican government to Thomas S. Saul, who then gave it to Pierson and Baker. The community flourished and developed into an important center for education and religion in the Republic of Texas. The Independence Baptist Church was founded in 1839 by elders Thomas W. Cox and Thomas Spraggins. Cox served as the church's first pastor. The second-oldest church connected to the Baptist General Convention of Texas was still a thriving congregation in the 1990s. In 1854, the church in which Sam Houston belonged baptized him in Little Rocky Creek, located two miles southeast of the community. In Independence, a post office was founded in 1846. The town also had a jail, a Masonic lodge, a cemetery, a hotel, a stagecoach depot, and a minor business center by the 1850s. Independence was formed in 1852, and T. T. Clay served as its first mayor. Despite their desire to assist Independence, the Baylor officials and city fathers refused to provide the Santa Fe train the right of way. Most of the local railway lines had bypassed Independence by the 1880s, and a large portion of trade was moving to rival towns. 200 people were living there in 1966, and the post office was no longer in operation. Independence had 140 residents in 1990 and was a small rural community. In 2000, that number stayed the same. The Independence Baptist Church, the Texas Baptist Historical Center, Judge Coles' house, and Baylor College Park were just a few of the many historical sites there. Other noteworthy locations include the Old Independence Cemetery, which has the burial places of Judge Coles, Sam Houston Jr., Moses Austin Bryan, T. T. Clay, and other notable Texans, as well as the Margaret Houston House and Houston-Lea Family Cemetery, which contains the graves of Margaret Lea Houston and her mother. Its population was reported as 140 in 2010.

Milam Lodge No. 11, of the Grand Lodge of Texas, was located in the community.

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.

In the 1838 Republic of Texas presidential election, Mirabeau B. Lamar claimed that he had moved to Texas in 1835 to become a citizen and purchased land rights from the community's land surveyor from which he could produce a receipt as evidence.

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.

Education

The Union Baptist Association obtained a charter to construct a university through the Texas Baptist Educational Society in 1845. Several cities submitted bids, but Independence—at the time Texas' richest community—won the right to keep the institution. With 24 students, Baylor University opened its doors as a coeducational institution in Independence in 1846. The school was split into male and female sections in 1851, and in 1866 it was given the official names Baylor Female College and Baylor University. Due to transportation issues, officials moved Baylor Female College (now the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor) and Baylor University to Belton and Waco in 1885. This decision signaled the start of Independence's century-long decline. Today, the community is served by the Brenham Independent School District.

Notable people

In popular culture

American western TV series Walker: Independence takes place in Independence.

Gallery

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  Site of Home of General Sam Houston and Family
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  Original Site of Baylor University