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Brewer’s 1927 Senior Year Scrapbook Sparks Memories of West Columbia High School’s Forgotten ‘Magic Years’
By Tracy Gupton Babe Ruth set a new Major League Baseball record by mashing 60 home runs. Gutzon Borglum began work on...
Learn About Texas Flags Saturday at the Museum
The Columbia Historical Museum's "First Saturday of the Month" programs at the Rosenwald School are primarily directed...
WC Vietnam Vet Remembered Decade After His Death
By Tracy Gupton He was born in the middle of World War II in a small home in the old oil fields near West Columbia. He...
Parkinson’s Claims Former Roughneck Standout Farquhar, Funeral Services in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Pitching duels with the great Nolan Ryan in high school left Mark Farquhar with a lifetime of fond memories that included not only growing up in West Columbia but playing college baseball at Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Sul Ross University in Alpine and...
McKinney and King were rare breed of sheriffs
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has instructed state flags to be lowered to half-staff today across Texas in honor of former Brazoria County Sheriff and County Judge Joe King. Emory Joseph "Joe" King passed away at the age of 79 a week ago on Tuesday, August 1, 2023,...
SRT members address West Columbia Rotarians
Photo by Tracy Gupton The West Columbia Rotary Club was treated to a program by area members of the Sons of the Republic of Texas at Wednesday's luncheon meeting at the West Columbia Civic Center. WC Rotarian Chris Gilbert invited the SRT members to attend this week's...
WC Museum Hosts Discovery Days Kids
Children from Discovery Days Learning Center of West Columbia visited the Rosenwald School and the Columbia Historical Museum Thursday, August 3rd. The kids and their instructors were educated by Museum volunteers who guided them through the many historical displays...
Majestic Oaks of Munson Cemetery Mask Many Stories That Deserve to See the Light of Day
By Tracy Gupton When family and friends of Joseph Underwood Munson Jr. gather at the historic Munson Family Cemetery in Bailey’s Prairie next month to lay the 85-year-old former Texas Aggies football player and Army captain to rest, they will be standing on hallowed...
Roughnecks Hall of Honor Awaits Induction of Record Setting Speedster, Grid Star Carl Williams
By Tracy Gupton Forty-six years have passed since Columbia High School speedster Carl Williams broke state records in the 100 and 220-yard dashes at the 1977 high school state track meet in Austin. On October 6, 2023, Carl will be among the members of the newest class...
West Columbia-born suffragist left her mark on society and Houston’s renowned museum and library
By Tracy Gupton When her life ended in 1940 on this day 83 years ago, Annette Finnigan was the age I am now. She was in her 66th year when cancer cut short the life of the renowned philanthropist, suffragette and patron of the arts. Annette was born in West...
Explosion Rocked Texas City 76 Years Ago
By Tracy Gupton The Texas City disaster on April 16, 1947, killed over 580 people including Frank Strzinek, a Purple Heart recipient during World War II. He was interred at Old Columbia Cemetery in West Columbia, Texas, after being one of the hundreds of casualties...
Bailey Set to Take Helm of Museum Thursday
By Tracy Gupton The addition of Michael Bailey to the Columbia Historical Museum management team is being heralded by museum board president Naomi Smith as an important move in bringing improvements to West Columbia’s downtown museum. The hiring of Bailey as the...
Juneteenth Celebration Started in Texas
By Tracy Gupton Juneteenth is celebrated annually across the great state of Texas and beyond, but many are unaware of the event’s origins. Famed West Columbia resident Charlie Brown, the wealthiest Black man in Texas in the early 20th Century, was instrumental in...
Birth of Father’s Day Traced to West Columbia
By Tracy Gupton 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 on West Columbia, Texas. The nascent...
D-Day Turned the Tide Allies Way in WWII
By Tracy Gupton and Ben Tumlinson Columbia Historical Museum It was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. More than 156,000 brave young soldiers from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada stormed the nearly 50 miles of beaches of...