The Key to Knowledge: Libraries in Fort Bend County

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORY | By Joan Frances –   How many places in this world can one go to escape the harsh realities of the day? There is a place that makes no demands and costs no money to visit. Peace and quiet are the rules, and there are endless possibilities to be entertained and to explore....

“Texas Tea” in Fort Bend County

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORY | By Joan Frances Photos from The End and the Myth by Paul O’Neil. The state of Texas has more than 700 miles of land from Texarkana to El Paso and over 800 miles from the North Texas line at the city of Texline to the southernmost town of Southmore. The state is blessed with...

Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar: The Father of Texas Education

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORY | By Joan Frances Photos from The Old West: The Texans – “The cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy and, while guided and controlled by virtue, the noblest attribute of man. It is the only dictator that freemen acknowledge and the only security that...

The Fort Bend County Courthouse: Justice for All

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORY | By Joan Frances | Photos from Fort Bend County Texas: A Pictorial History.\-  When Stephen F. Austin and the Old Three Hundred families began settling in the Fort Bend area, residents established homesteads along the Brazos River, Big Creek, Oyster Creek, Buffalo Bayou and the...

Spiritual Growth in Fort Bend County

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORY  | By Joan Frances  | Photos from First Baptist Church  in Richmond –  The progress of Fort Bend County settlers began with small steps. People gathered with the same goal in mind: create a community to sustain life and thrive in harmony. When towns were formed, residents...

The Rosenberg Fire Department: Celebrating 100 Years of Service

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORY By Joan Frances | Photos courtesy of the Rosenberg Fire Department.  The man who created the concept of a volunteer fire department helped draft and signed the Declaration of Independence, invented bifocals and among other things, studied electricity. Benjamin Franklin began the...

Early Fort Bend County Vices and Victories

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORYBy Joan Frances | Photos from Fort Bend County Texas: A Pictorial History. The fruition of Fort Bend County, while obviously very productive, was a long and difficult period in history. Settlers encountered many variables, including hot, dry summers paired with severe storms and...

The Acquisition of Financial Institutions in Fort Bend

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORYBy Joan Frances | Photos courtesy of the Fort Bend Museum Collection. One of the first counties created by the Texas Congress, Fort Bend began development in 1822. A one-room log cabin was built near Richmond and named Fort Settlement and later, Fort Bend. As settlers began living in...

Beasley, Texas – An Old-Fashioned Country Town

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORYBy Joan Frances –  Fort Bend County was established in 1837. Harris County was founded in 1836. Both communities strived to encourage growth in commerce and agriculture. Famous men named the areas and became leaders in society. Fort Bend was named for a blockhouse at the bend...

The Jaybird Woodpecker War: Divergence and Reconciliation

A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORY | By Joan Frances – The amalgamation of Fort Bend County was not an easy task to complete. During the early days, the Karankawa Indians were a constant threat to commerce in the area. They resided on the river bottoms of the Brazos and later moved south to start again....