Texas Historical Marker #10591
Allen Ranch. This busy commercial area was once part of the Allen Ranch, one of the oldest and largest ranches in southeast Texas. A portion of the land was granted to Morris Callahan in 1824 by Mexico and inherited by his niece Rebecca Jane Thomas (d. 1919), who married Samuel William Allen (1826-1888) in 1844. Allen bought additional land, including a 1300-acre tract belonging to his friend Governor Francis R. Lubbock, and began operation of a prosperous cattle ranch. He helped organize the firm of allen & Poole to ship cattle to eastern and foreign markets. Samuel Ezekiel Allen (1848-1913) took over operation of the ranch from his father in 1881. He and his wife Rosa Lum (d. 1931) built a large home near the junction of Buffalo Bayou and Sims Bayou (1 mi. N). Allen was a leading Houston businessman as well as a cattleman. At the time he died, Allen's property included 13,000 acres in Harris County and 10,000 acres in Brazoria County. In 1917, Rosa Allen sold 700 acres to the Sinclair Oil Company (now Atlantic Richfield Corporation) as a refinery site. The remaining land was later divided for industrial, commercial, and residential use. The ranch house was moved to Galveston Bay, where it became Camp Allen of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. #10591
?, Pasadena, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11956
Pasadena Independent School District. Several Pasadena families met in the home of banker Charles Munger in 1893 to discuss the creation of a school for their children. The group converted Munger's chicken coop into a small one-room schoolhouse. Seventeen-year-old Russel Munger became the first teacher. The community built a new structure the following year. The first school census in 1898 listed 27 school age children. Financially strapped by the gradual loss of county funds, the community wanted to separate from the county system. Voters petitioned for incorporation in 1898, and the Pasadena Independent School District was created in March of that year. It was the first independent school district in Harris County. In December 1904 the schoolhouse was moved to a new location and enlarged to three classrooms for 56 students. Two Swedish immigrants, Oscar and Hanna Kruse, pushed for a modern building to attract more affluent residents to Pasadena, and voters agreed. A two-story structure with six classrooms, an auditorium and a bell tower was completed in August 1910 on this site. Grades one through seven met in this building, and the few students who advanced to high school were sent to the secondary school in Harrisburg. The Pasadena High School program began in 1923. The South Houston and Genoa School districts were absorbed by the Pasadena Independent School District in 1935, and the district grew rapidly. Jackson Junior High was erected in 1937. At the end of World War II the district had more than 3,700 students. Several elementary schools and a junior high were added in the 1950s and 1960s; by 1970 enrollment reached 35,000. The district continues to develop to meet the challenges of the 21st century. (1999) #11956
207 S. Shaver, Pasadena, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #10750
City of Pasadena. This area has progressed from Indian territory to pioneer ranch land to space-age Pasadena. Known at one time for its strawberry patches, it is now acclaimed for its oil and chemical industries. The Vince brothers, members of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 settlers, developed area as ranch land. The armies of both Sam Houston and Santa Anna traveled through what is now Pasadena in 1836, to San Jacinto to decide the future of Texas. "Deaf" Smith destroyed a bridge on the Vince ranch to block possible escape by the Mexican army. After the brief battle, Santa Anna eluded the victorious Texas army on a horse stolen from Allen Vince. He was captured approximately one mile from this marker. Site of the bridge and capture may be seen by following signs to the north. In 1850, surveyors of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad called the area "Land of Flowers." Col. J. H. Burnet, a land developer from Galveston, founded Pasadena in 1895. He said, "Pasadena will be the hub of a vast rich agricultural area." The area fully justified his vision, for by 1908, "delicious strawberries, figs, oranges and vegetables" were the boast of Pasadena. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967 #10750
?, Pasadena, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #10643
Crown Hill Cemetery. Permanent settlement of this area began about 1891. Lot sales in the new town of Pasadena began in 1893, and the town was officially platted three years later. The first recorded burials in this vicinity occurred about 1894, although the exact locations of the graves are unknown. This graveyard, originally known as Pasadena Cemetery and the town's only community burial ground, was established in 1906 on a knoll overlooking Vince's Bayou and Buffalo Bayou. The first person buried here was E. P. Pomeroy, who died on October 24, 1906. Those interred here include many of Pasadena's early settlers and community leaders, and veterans of the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II. The graveyard became known as Crown Hill Cemetery following World War I, possibly as a result of its proximity to the Crown Central Refinery. It has also been referred to as the Mexican Cemetery due to the numbers of Mexican-American farmers who were interred here beginning in the 1920s. Although surrounded by 20th-century industrial development, this cemetery survives as a link to the area's pioneer heritage. #10643
813 N. Richey, Pasadena, TX, United States