The Texas Almanac for 1867 with Statistics, Descriptive and Biographical Sketches, etc., Relating to Texas. Page: 82
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82 TEXAS ALifMAlAC.
BRAzoIIA CouTY.-(By M.I S.. Munson, Rep.)
COuNTY-SEAT, BRAzoRIA.-This county is tolerably well supplied with
common-schools in all the settlements. A high-school for females is soon to
be established in Brazoria, having been endowed by the will of Mrs. Perry.
In Brazoria there is one Methodist and one Catholic church; at Columbia, a
Methodist and Presbyterian church; also one at Sandy Point, and one at
Liverpool, and four others in the county. There are a few fine springs of
excellent water in the eastern part of the county, but none elsewhere, nor are
there known to be any minerals or mineral springs in Brazoria. There is,
however, quite a: natural curiosity, known as Damon's Mound, which is
worthy of note. It is a round conical elevation, about 200 feet above the sur-
rounding level prairie. This mound covers an area of about half a mile in
diameter, with a gradual and nearly a uniform ascent on every side. It is
some 20 miles from the nearest part of the Gulf, and is situated between the
Brazos and Bernard rivers, 10 miles from the former and 4 from the latter,
the whole country being nearly a level with thissingle exception. It is con-
tiguous to the largest and finest body of timber in the country, consisting
chiefly of cedar of superior quality. The mound is composed extensively of
the finest limestone, covered with earth. The quantity is sufficient to supply
the State with lime, and it has often been carried to considerable distances.
There is no other limestone or stone of any kind known to exist within 50
miles of the coast. On a part of this mound is found an acid earth, nearly
the same as that of Sour Lake, a little of which, when put in water, acidified it
so strongly that it operates an ordinary telegraph battery as well as the acids
produced for that purpose. In digging into this mound, Mr. Damon has
found a deep fissure or opening, the depth of which he could not ascertain,
and a stone dropped into it returns no sound of having reached the bottom.
Products.-Cotton and sugar are the chief products for export. About four
fifths of all the sugar made in Texas is produced in this county. There are a
good many expensive sugar-mills and machinery. The other products are
corn, oats, rye, millet, the Hungarian and other grasses, the native and Cali-
fornia clover, all of which do well. Sweet and Irish potatoes, peas, beans, and
all varieties of vegetables are grown abundantly. Fruits.-Peaches, pears,
figs, quinces, plums, etc. Black and dewberries grow wild in the greatest
abundance, and strawberries are cultivated. The climate is salubrious and
pleasant, being tempered with a sea-breeze day and night, often making
covering necessary in the warmest season. The soil is of various kinds, and
nearly all is the most productive in the world. The county is nearly twice
the size of average counties, and nearly one half of it is covered with the best
timber. The prairie has here and there groves of post-oak, live-oak, and
cedar, and affords the best kind of stock range, as the grass continues green
nearly through the winter, while the contiguous woodlands and bottoms
afford excellent shelter for the stock in winter. The herds of cattle are very
large, and it is believed that the stock of Brazoria is equal in value to its
agricultural products. The seasons are generally quite uniform, though sub-
ject to occasional excesses of rain and. drought. The live-oak of Brazoria is
the best in the country, and affords the best ship timber in the world, nearly
all of which is contiguous to navigable water. The average size of the trees
is five feet diameter, and thirty feet high to the first limb. The rivers are the
Brazos, Oyster creek, Bastrop bayou, Chocolate bayou, and the Bernard, all of
which are navigable for light-draught vessels. The Houston Tap and Brazoria
Railroad has been in operation to Columbia for seven or eight years, and
passes nearly through the middle of the county. The present crops are but
about half an average, owing entirely to the impossibility of getting the ne-
groes to work, for the season has been one of the best ever known. The
negroes do not do more than about one fourth as much as when slaves. The
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The Glaveston News. The Texas Almanac for 1867 with Statistics, Descriptive and Biographical Sketches, etc., Relating to Texas., book, December 1866; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123772/m1/84/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.