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Grimes County, Texas

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Contents

Formed From

The county was formed from Montgomery County in 1846 and organized that same year. Anderson is the county seat. The county is named for Jesse Grimes, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and early settler of the county.

Adjacent counties

Northwest
North
"Bedias Creek"
Madison County
Northeast
Walker County
North arrow
West
"Navasota River"
Brazos County
West arrow Grimes County,Texas East arrow East
South arrow
Southwest
"Brazos River"
Washington County
South
Waller County
Southeast
Montgomery County
  • 1853-- Madison County was carved out of northern Grimes County.
  • 1873-- Waller County was formed from territory in the southern part of Grimes County, decreased Grimes co. size.

History/Timeline

The Early Years

The earliest human habitation in the territory of what we know as Grimes County occurred about 5000 B.C., and through early phases of the Archaic period (circa 7000 B.C.-A.D. 500). Excavations near streams, rivers on the western side of the county produced only a handful of artifacts dating to the late Paleo-Indian period (circa 6500 B.C.). The earliest historical inhabitants of the area were the Bidais Indians With customs similar to the Caddoes.

1687 - René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, explored .
March 20, 1687, La Salle was murdered by his own crew near the confluence of the Brazos and Navasota rivers near what is now the town of Navasota.
1690 - Spanish, Alonso De León, the governor of Coahuila, explored eastern Texas. His path was on paths of the Old San Antonio Road near what is now Crockett.
1691, Bidais had little contact with Europeans, according to records of the Spanish.
Late 1700's - Bidais traded with the French
Sesquicentennial Plaque Memory of Jesse Grimes.
Late18th and early 19th centuries, Bidais population decreased due to disease. In 1800's only 100 warriors remained, dwelling in villages along the streams, (Bedias Creek) in N. Grimes and S. Madison counties.
1767 - the Marqués de Rubí traversed what is now Grimes County en route from San Antonio to the Sabine River
1788 - Pedro Vial, in his progress from Natchitoches to to San Antonio, crossed the future county from NE to SW following the path called La Bahía trail.
1820 -other tribes (Kickapoos and Coushattas) enlarged the villages.
Indians hunting in Grimes county used a path to the Brazos River in S. Grimes Co (Coushatta Trace). The Tonkawa Indian who raided for game, may have lived near Navasota River. [1]
1821- Stephen F. Austin's colony between the lower Brazos and Colorado rivers began.
Empresario colonies of Mexican Texas
1821 - Andrew Millican moved into a homestead near Holland Creek west of Anderson.
1824 - Seven of Austin's original colonists (Old Three Hundred) claimed land in Grimes Co.
By 1836 - 164 settlers obtained land grants from the Mexican government. Settlers were attracted to the rich bottomlands along the rivers and major creeks and prairie acreage over timberland. This is due it was easier to till and begin to farm these areas than to have to chop down trees..!!
1822 Jared E. Groce moved from Alabama with 90 slaves, settling on the Brazos River near Hempstead. There he planted what may have been one of the first cotton crops in Austin colony.
'1830 - the territory of the county was incorporated into the new Viesca District.
1835 - part of the newly organized Washington Municipality.
Dec. 1835 - first post office at Fanthorp Inn, (founded 2 years earlier by Englishman, Henry Fanthorp
A well known retreat near Brazos and what is now Grimes County is Jared Ellison Groce II
The Republic of Texas
March 2, 1836 -Jesse Grimes, a settler of this area, signed the Declaration of Texas Independence. and Mathew Caldwell
March, April,1836 - Runawy Scrap -, settlers fled their land and homes to escape from the advancing Mexican army joined the mass eastward
1836 - Mathew Caldwell, settler of Grimes colony and Gonzales Colony, is known as the "Paul Revere of Texas History.
Post April 21, 1836, (after the battle of San Jacinto) The settlers returned.,
1837 - Grimes became part of Montgomery County, approved by the Republic of Texas.
Part of the United States
April 6, 1846, the first state legislature accepted the petition of local residents and established Grimes County,
1850 - Old South pattern of plantation agriculture was evident in the census of 1850
1856 six communities had post offices: Anderson, Bedias, Grimesville, Retreat, Prairie Plains, and Navasota.
1859 - The railroad first reached Grimes County
1860 there were 4,852 whites in the county and 5,468 slaves
1861 - referendum of February 1861 returned a majority of 907 to 9 in favor of secession
Slavery Slavery movement
1861 -munitions factory (small armaments) was built two miles west of Anderson
Second, Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Texas Infantry and the Twenty-first Texas Cavalry.

Land Grants

Government

Grimes co. courthouse, Anderson, Tx

GRIMES COUNTY COURTHOUSES, Fires and the VAULT

1834 1st Courthouse One of the earliest settlers in Grimes County was Englishman Henry Fanthorp who had built a two-room log home. This was enlarged to a hotel, known as Fanthorop Inn and also was used as courthouse. It was still in Montgomery County.[2][3]
1838 2nd Courthouse - Texas Historical Commission lists a log courthouse built there in 1838, which burned shortly afterwards.[2]
1846 2nd courthouse When Grimes county was organized, Fanthorp donated land for the county seat between Alta Mira and Randolph. This was named Anderson after Kenneth Lewis Anderson (vice president of Republic of Texas).[2]
1848 2nd Courthouse burned.[2]
  • 1848 Record Loss - - - County records were destroyed by fire in late 1848.
historical marker.
1850 - 3rd courthouse was built of stone. This burned in 1890, leaving the vault.[2]
1891- 4th Courthouse was built, designed by Wilson in Italianate style of brick and stone- the vault was included. This building burned 1893, leaving the sturdy vault..[2]
1894-5th current courthouse was built, and used the east wall of the 4th courthouse as well as foundation and of course the VAULT. Designer was Mason and Foster. This was 3 story, made of hand molded red bricks, using limestone detailing. It included a steep roof, with 4 chimneys, and wood framed cupola. It had double sided staircase added to the front of the building. This courthouse with the vault was restored by the Texas Historical Commission’s Courthouse Preservation Program and rededicated on March 2, 2002. [4][5][2]

Geography

Wilson clay blackland soils is in the southern part of the county. Grimes County is in a zone between the post oak savannah, covering the northern and western sections of the county. In the south and east, a region of intermixed forest and prairie, which supports dense stands of oak, elm, pecan, and mesquite, as well as grass. Hardwoods, found in stream valleys and lowlands throughout the county, include post oak, blackjack oak, white oak, hickory, and maple. Piney Woods extend into the SE part of the county, and upland areas everywhere are mantled by forests of loblolly, shortleaf, and longleaf pine. Only 1-10% of land is classed as prime farmland... There are reserves of petroleum, natural gas, and lignite coal.  !!

Tektites (formed from meteors) were discovered in Grimes County in 1936.

Buffalo, bear, and wild hogs which once roamed the area disappeared in the 1800s. Current animals found here are white-tailed deer, rabbit, raccoon, and opossum, and wild birds such as the mourning dove and bobwhite quail. Rainfall is about 40.5 inches a year, and the growing season averages 278 days a year.

Airports

Hospitals

Lakes

  • Gibbons Creek Reservoir

Major Highways

  • State Highway 6
  • State Highway 30
  • State Highway 90
  • State Highway 105

Railroads

  • BNSF - Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad
  • UP - Union Pacific Railroad Company

Protected Areas

  • Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site. Anderson
  • Spa, Kellum Springs, ten miles north of Anderson,
  • Piedmont Springs,

Demographics

In 2000 Grimes county had a population of 23,552 people. Density thus was 30 people per square milee. There were 9,490 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.79% White, 19.96% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.93% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races. 16.08% of the population were Hispanic.

Christianity is the number one religion in the county and Hinduism is the second.

There were 7,753 households out of which 34.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 12.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.40% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.18.

There were were higher statistics of males to females. The median income for a household in the county was $32,280, and the median income for a family was $38,008. Males earn more in a given class than females as represented here males median income of $30,138 versus $21,747 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,368. About 16.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.40% of those under age 18 and 18.10% of those age 65 or over are classed as below the poverty level

Cities

Population as of Jan 1, 2014 shown in parenthesis.

Unincorporated Towns

Events/Festivals

  • Go-Texan Weekend in August, Anderson
  • Blues Festival in August, Navasota
  • Renaissance Festival in the fall, Plantersville

National Register of Historic Places

These 5 locations have been designated as Historic Locations.

  • Anderson Hustoric District (aka Fanthorpe & Alta Mira), Anderson
  • Foster H0use (aka as Foster-Wier House), Navasota
  • Navasota Commercial Historic District, Navasota
  • F A Cmith Hotel, Navasota
  • Piedmont Springs Archeological Site (aka Sulphur Springs; 41GM44), Anderson
  • Steele House (aka Steele-van Wagner House), Navasota

Schools

Rockin Schoolhouse.

Colleges/Universities

  • Blinn College.- a 2 year college.[6]
  • A & M University is in nearby Bryan, Texas

Public Schools

GRIMES COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS[7]

  • Anderson-Shiro C.I.S.D.
  • Iola I.S.D.
  • Navasota I.S.D.
  • Richards I.S.D.

Historical Census

1850 -- 4,008 —
1860 -- 10,307 157.2%
1870 -- 13,218 28.2%
1880 -- 18,603 40.7%
1890 -- 21,312 14.6%
1900 -- 26,106 22.5%
1910 -- 21,205 −18.8%
1920 -- 23,101 8.9%
1930 -- 22,642 −2.0%
1940 -- 21,960 −3.0%
1950 -- 15,135 −31.1%
1960 -- 12,709 −16.0%
1970 -- 11,855 −6.7%
1980 -- 13,580 14.6%
1990 -- 18,828 38.6%
2000 -- 23,552 25.1%
2010 -- 26,604 13.0%
Est. 2014 -- 27,172

Notables

County Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries Grimes county, Tx, Gloria Mayfield


Sources

  1. [https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcg11
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Grimes County courthouses by Terry Jeanson
  3. http://www.texasescapes.com/TRIPS/Fanthorp-Inn-State-Historic-Site-Texas.htm
  4. The Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Historic Sites Atlas http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-county.htm
  5. The Courthouses of Texas by Mavis P.Kelsey Sr. and Donald H. Dyal, 2nd edition, 2007.
  6. http://www.txforward.org/images/Grimes_County.pdf
  7. http://navasotagrimeschamber.com/community/schooldistricts

The Courthouses of Texas by Mavis P.Kelsey Sr. and Donald H. Dyal, 2nd edition, 2007

  • TxGen Grimes county
  • TxGen cemeteries
  • Finda Grave Cemeteries, Grimes county
  • Cemeteries Grimes county, Tx, Gloria Mayfield
  • Grimes county Deeds and Land Grants
  • Austin Colony Pioneers: Including History of Bastrop, Fayette, Grimes, Montgomery and Washington Counties, Texas, Worth S. Ray, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., January 1995
  • Baptist Churches of Grimes County, by Joseph Eugene Boulet, 1936-37, Anderson
  • Early History of Grimes County, E. L. Blair, M. A., 1930
  • Grimes County courthouses by Terry Jeanson
  • http://www.texasescapes.com/TRIPS/Fanthorp-Inn-State-Historic-Site-Texas.htm
  • "The Courthouses of Texas by Mavis P.Kelsey Sr. and Donald H. Dyal, 2nd edition, 2007"
  • The Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Historic Sites Atlas http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-county.htm
  • Grimes County Cemetery Books, by John R. Maxwell for the Grimes County Historical Commission, 4 volumes
  • The History and Burial Records of Stoneham Cemetery, Stoneham, Texas, compiled by Frances and Lois Stoneham, 1980
  • History of Grimes County, Land of Heritage and Progress, compiled and edited by Grimes County Historical Commission, 1982, LC 82-083489 [Available at Genealogy Room of Navasota Public Library]
  • The Honor Roll of Grimes County, A tribute to men from Grimes County, Texas who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War I.
  • Montgomery County History, 1981; LC 81-83537 [Available at Genealogy Room of Navasota Public Library]
  • Montgomery County History, 2nd volume, Due out in 2008 Montgomery County Genealogical & Historical Society, Inc.
  • My Hometown: the Bedias Story, by Wallace Davis, 1953, Gulf Publishing Company, Houston
  • The Navasota Bluebonnet; Commemorating 100 years of City Growth and Development, 1854-1954, Grimes County Chamber of Commerce [Available at Genealogy Room of Navasota Public Library]
  • SAGA OF ANDERSON, The Proud Story of a Historic Texas Community, Irene Taylor Allen, 1957, Greenwich Book Publishers, NY, NY, LOC #57-14972 (This book has been indexed by Julia Brittain. Thank you Julia! She will send you scanned copies of bios in the book you might be interested in. Email her at Julia Brittain.)
  • Sabine Crossing, by Jacquelyn Thompson. Jacquelyn details members of her ancestral families coming to Texas with the Stephen F. Austin first settlers. She has donated copies to libraries in Grimes and Madison Counties. It is also available on Amazon.




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