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Rogers Was Treasure Trove of Historical Knowledge
By Tracy Gupton Board members of the Columbia Historical Museum are struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss...
Viola Funeral Home in Business for Nearly 90 Years
By Tracy Gupton Columbia Historical Museum Snow’s Cleaners opened for business in West Columbia in 1920, a few years...
Dixon Was Brazoria County’s First Black Mayor
By Tracy Gupton Robert Dixon would have celebrated his 78th birthday last month. The former longtime West Columbia...
Rogers Was Treasure Trove of Historical Knowledge
By Tracy Gupton Board members of the Columbia Historical Museum are struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss of our friend and fellow board member Flem Rogers. His absence from our lives, his presence at our monthly meetings, and his guidance in all matters...
Viola Funeral Home in Business for Nearly 90 Years
By Tracy Gupton Columbia Historical Museum Snow’s Cleaners opened for business in West Columbia in 1920, a few years before Chesney’s began selling jewelry on main street in 1924 in the Brazoria County town that was once the first capitol of the Republic of Texas in...
Dixon Was Brazoria County’s First Black Mayor
By Tracy Gupton Robert Dixon would have celebrated his 78th birthday last month. The former longtime West Columbia city councilman passed away at the age of 62 September 29, 2009, at Cornerstone Hospital in Houston surrounded by his loving family. But what a unique...
Tuskegee Pilot’s Career Highlighted at Museum
By Tracy Gupton When author Ben Vinson III was making routine visits to Brooks Manor Apartments in 1999, it is a good bet most West Columbians had no idea a celebrity was living among them. But the man Vinson, an associate professor of Latin American History at Penn...
Holy Trinity Choir to Perform Saturday at Museum
The Reverend Anthony Hall will be bringing his Holy Trinity Church Choir to the Rosenwald School at the Columbia Historical Museum Saturday, February 15th. The public is invited to attend this free program sponsored by your local museum. The choir will be singing...
Former Slave Represented Brazoria County in Austin
FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH By Tracy Gupton Nathan H. Haller was living in Brazoria not too far from West Columbia when he won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives to represent Brazoria and Matagorda counties, thus becoming one of the few Black Texans to...
Upcoming Events at State Historic Sites
There are many scheduled events at state historic sites across the State of Texas many of you may be interested in taking part in. These unique places honor Texas history and inspire an understanding of what it means to be a Texan. Embark on a journey through Texas...
Public Invited to Local Museum’s Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the Columbia Historical Museum's Board of Directors will be held Monday, January 13, 2025, at the museum located at 247 East Brazos Avenue in downtown West Columbia. The annual meeting, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday, is open to the public...
Rosenwald School Student Left Legacy of Love
By Tracy Gupton There was not a single seat left vacant at this past Saturday's funeral service at Blue Run Baptist Church in West Columbia. Some mourners stood along the walls to experience the memorial for lifetime East Columbia resident Essie Mae Diggs Tolbert. Her...
Where Were You When JFK Was Assassinated?
By Tracy Gupton Where were you? What were you doing when you first heard? My father told me he was watching a movie in a theater in California when the projectionist stopped the film, the lights came up in the movie house, and someone notified everyone there that the...
Stafford Among Quintet of Doctors Featured at Saturday Night Annual Columbia Cemetery ‘Meet Your Ancestors’ Event
By Tracy Gupton Two-time Oscar winning screenwriter Horton Foote writes about his childhood in his 1999 autobiography Farewell: A Memoir of a Texas Childhood where he recalls with fondness the annual summer visits he would spend with relatives in East Columbia. Foote,...
Dr. Queen Among Medical Professionals Being Portrayed in Saturday Meet Your Ancestors Event at Columbia Cemetery
By Tracy Gupton He was born in West Virginia and was a resident of West Columbia at the end of his life. Dr. Robert Louis Queen, a local optometrist for many years, will be among five doctors being featured in this year's Meet Your Ancestors program at historic...