Rock Island, Washington County, Texas

Rock Island[1] is a historical settlement located on the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States, northeast of Chappell Hill, and northwest of Hempstead. It emerged from a pre-Texas Republic era plantation named Rock Island for a small island in the Brazos. Conflicting histories place the site either east of the Brazos River in Waller County or west of the river in Washington County. This could be explained by the apparent change in the path of the river at that spot during the existence of Rock Island.

Rock Island
Ghost town
Rock Island is located in Texas
Rock Island
Rock Island
Rock Island is located in the United States
Rock Island
Rock Island
Coordinates: 30.180750°N 96.166909°W / 30.180750; -96.166909
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyWashington
Settled1830s
Post Office1849-1857
Abandoned1857
Founded byBarbara Groce Clarke, granddaughter of Jared E. Groce
Named forSmall island in Brazos River

By 1837, the plantation had a general store, inn, cotton gin, blacksmith, and a growing population but lost its bid for the county seat. The settlement benefitted by the addition of a ferry crossing and the Rock Island Academy. Rock Island had a post office 1849-1857. In 1857, the railroad was built east of the Brazos establishing the new community of Hempstead but did not cross the Brazos leading to the decline in Rock Island.[2]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rock Island, Washington County, Texas
  2. Christian, Carole E. "Rock Island, TX (Washington County)". Handbook of Texas. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 28, 2021.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.