Independence, Texas

Independence
Unincorporated community
Independence Location within the state of Texas Show map of Texas Independence Independence (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 30°19′10″N96°20′48″W / 30.31944°N 96.34667°W / 30.31944; -96.34667
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Washington
Elevation [1]	358 ft (109 m)
GNIS feature ID	1338384 [1]

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

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

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Independence, Texas
2. Gilmartin, John A. "Independence, Texas". Texas Escapes Online Magazine. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
3. Directory of Constituent Lodges in Texas. (2005–2006) Waco, Tx: The Grand Lodge of Texas.
4. "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. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
5. Benner, Judith, "Ross, Lawrence Sullivan", The Handbook of Texas, Texas State Historical Association, retrieved March 3, 2015
6. Ross Family Papers, Inclusive: 1846-1931, undated, Bulk: 1861-1864, 1870-1894, undated, Baylor University, December 22, 2014, retrieved January 30, 2022
7. Texas Heritage Foundation, Texas Heritage, Volume 1, 1959, page 100
8. "Varner, Martin". The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Retrieved March 14, 2008.
9. Summerlin, Travis L. (June 12, 2010). "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Association.
10. "Collection: Hosea Garrett, Jr. Civil war letters | Kenan Research Center Finding Aids".
11. Hazelwood, Claudia. "Henry Arthur McArdle". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
12. 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.
13. "History". Baylor Law School . Retrieved November 22, 2015.
14. 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.
15. Hesler, Samuel B. "Lea, Nancy Moffette". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
16. "Bringhurst, Antoinette Power Houston". Handbook of Texs Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
17. Daniell 1887, p. 105.
18. 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

• Texas State Highway 211
• The Texas Collection