Historical Small Town by Megan Buro

by Megan Buro
November 2012   

There are many sleepy, little communities across Texas that if you blink you might just miss them, but these communities are filled with history.  If you have ever driven down FM 50 from Brenham to College Station you would have driven through one of these small communities, Independence.

Independence was settled in 1824 by John P. Coles and was first called Coles Settlement.  It was not until 1836 that its name was changed to “Independence” to commemorate Texas’ independence from Mexico.  Today this small community located in Washington County boasts the Antique Rose Emporium and the Texas Baptist Historical Center.  Even though it may seem small, Independence is rich in history. 

Independence is the birthplace of present-day Baylor University in Waco and Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton.  Today only four large stone pillars remain marking the original site of Old Baylor.

Independence also has ties to Sam Houston and the Houston family.  Several historical markers that pertain to the Houston’s, dot the Independence community.  These markers include: the site of the Houston family home that they first occupied in 1854; another to mark the bell that Nancy Lea, Sam’s mother-in-law, gave to the Independence Baptist church in 1856 in thanks for Sam’s baptism; and then there is a marker at the Houston-Lea Family Cemetery, where Sam’s wife Margaret and mother-in-law Nancy Lea are buried.  Margaret moved to Independence after Sam’s death, but in 1867 she died of yellow fever.  Due to the contagious nature of the yellow fever, it was impossible to take her back to Huntsville to be buried with her husband, so she was buried immediately in Independence near the church.

There is another marker that stands about two miles outside Independence along Rocky Creek, to mark the location where Sam Houston was baptized 158 years ago on November 19, 1854. 

It took time for Sam to come to the point of baptism.  Past experiences in his life, his youth and then his first marriage to Eliza, which failed only after a couple months, all affected the way Sam viewed the church.  Sam married Margaret in 1840, and she was devoted to her faith and hoped that Sam would accept the church.  Sam told his friend George Washington Baines, “My wife and other friends seem anxious for me to join the church, and I would do so if I could.  But with my present convictions, which I received when a boy, it is impossible.”

Eventually, fourteen years after they married and much guidance from Margaret and friends, Margaret got what she was so hoping for.  Sam was baptized.  On that chilly day in November, a crowd was there to see Sam’s baptism at the “Baptizing Hole” at Rocky Creek by Reverend Rufus Burleson.  Afterwards a friend said to Sam, “I hear your sins were washed away,” Sam responded “I hope so, but if they were all washed away, the Lord help the fish down below.”

There are numerous historical markers in Independence, but I only mentioned several that relate to Sam Houston and his family. Independence is a great day trip from Huntsville where you can visit the Independence Baptist Church and the Texas Baptist Historical Center, Old Baylor Park, and the Antique Rose Emporium.  The next time you are driving through these small communities and towns in Texas, like Independence, remember these places are probably rich in Texas history, the story just needs to be told.

(References include Sam Houston by James L. Haley, “State Travel Guide of Texas” and “Historical Markers of Washington County,” a 2012 publication by the Banner-Press in Brenham, Texas.)