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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...
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...
Veterinarian Loggins Featured in 2024 Museum MYA Event
By Tracy Gupton Longtime West Columbia veterinarian Burch Loggins served as president of the Columbia-Brazoria school...
Storm of 1932 Devastated West Columbia
By Tracy Gupton Columbia Historical Museum Board Member John Garrett Smith’s premonition could not have imagined the scale of devastation that was forthcoming. “Shorty” Smith rode his horse to work that morning 90 years ago at the Texaco oil fields just outside...
Columbia Cemetery site of many Duff burials
By Tracy Gupton Columbia Historical Museum Board Member Now in my third year as president of the Columbia Cemetery Association (CCA), I and other CCA board members take pride in serving as keepers of the flame and caretakers of West Columbia’s historical graveyard. A...
Captain Henry Stevenson Brown, Hero of Velasco
By BENJAMIN TUMLINSON Columbia Historical Museum Board Member Being the son of a construction contractor and serving in the United States Army for the past 30 years, I’ve had the “opportunity” to move about every three years. As the new guy in town, one of the first...
Former bank holds museum treasures
By Susan Avera Holt Columbia Historical Museum Board Member First Capitol State Bank opened its doors at a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 22, 1950. The building was described as “new and luxurious” and “the house which Galloway built,” according to a newspaper...
West Columbia’s Mayors
*** This is the first in an occasional series *** By SUSAN AVERA HOLT Columbia Historical Museum Board Member In March 1938, West Columbia began feeling growing pains again as its 20-year-old oil field began production from new wells. At that time, 11 rigs were...
Weems Family, American Legion Post Histories Intertwine
From playing Hercules in a high school play to achieving Herculean accomplishments as a community leader, Sands “Sandy” Smith Weems III takes pride in achieving the many improvements at the local American Legion Hall. He would be the first to say it has been a group...
Hollywood Starlet Hails from West Columbia
Reflecting on a life well lived, Olive Kathryn Grandstaff Crosby beams with pride knowing her childhood dreams were achieved. The little girl who used to swing in the backyard hammock on East Bernard Street and gaze through the canopy of oak and pecan leaves at the...
Birth of Father’s Day Traced to West Columbian
By Tracy Gupton Columbia Historical Museum Board Member A direct line to the creation of Father’s Day is blurred by history. But when researching the origin of the annual holiday Americans observe in recognition of beloved dads, that line becomes more sharply focused...
Charlie Brown Supported Early Juneteenth Celebrations
Charles Brown. (Photo from A Sure Foundation & A Sketch of Negro Life in Texas by A.W. Jackson) By Susan Avera Holt Columbia Historical Museum Board Member June 19th. Emancipation Day. Freedom Day. Emancipation Day is officially Jan. 1, 1863, but slaves in Texas...
West Columbia’s John B. Hanson was one Tough ‘Ombre
By Benjamin Tumlinson Columbia Historical Museum Board Member Being removed from Memorial Day by less than a week, the sacrifice of those who served is probably fresh in our memories. On the heels of this sacred day of remembrance is the anniversary of a great...
Ferries: The lifeline to early Columbia
By Benjamin Tumlinson Columbia Historical Museum I had the privilege of living in six states and two other countries, not counting the United States. As I traveled in these other states and foreign lands, I would often gaze out at the various landscapes and daydream...
History of Masons in Texas traces back to founders of Republic
The second Masonic Lodge, located on Broad Street. The downstairs was the Q+P Food Store. To the right of the lodge is the First Capitol State Bank. Photo courtesy of Scott Leopold, from his book “Masons in the Early Days of Texas”