The College Station city council is asked to decide where a new state historical marker will be located.
The council’s unanimous decision at last Thursday’s meeting (September 25) followed inconclusive results when council members were surveyed by the city’s chief of staff, Ross Brady.
The location, as recommended by a member of the city’s historical commission, will be at city hall’s main entrance, opposite the existing building dedication plaque.
A citizen group submitted the marker request in 2022. The Texas State Historical Commission, which has final approval on the language, made that decision earlier this year.
The marker arrived in July, and it will be officially dedicated on October 20th, the day after the city’s 87th birthday.
According to a city spokesman, this is the language of the marker:
IN 1831, RICHARD CARTER RECEIVED A GRANT OF 4,428 ACRES IN THE STEPHEN F. AUSTIN COLONY FROM THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT. CARTER, HIS FAMILY, AND THEIR ENSLAVED PEOPLE WERE THE FIRST TO SETTLE THE LAND NOW WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF COLLEGE STATION.
IN 1871, PIONEER HARVEY MITCHELL WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN GETTING THE STATE’S FIRST PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING LOCATED IN BRAZOS COUNTY. AFTER THE AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS (LATER TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY) OPENED IN 1876, THE HOUSTON AND TEXAS CENTRAL RAILROAD MADE REGULAR STOPS AT “COLLEGE STATION.” A POST OFFICE WITH THE SAME NAME OPENED IN 1877 WITH HENRY D. PARSONS AS THE FIRST POSTMASTER. THE COMMUNITY GREW ALONG WITH THE SCHOOL. IN AREAS SURROUNDING THE CAMPUS, A SMALL COMMERCIAL AREA BEGAN DEVELOPING IN THE NORTHGATE AREA, PLATTED NEIGHBORHOODS PROVIDED HOUSING AND CHURCH STREET BECAME HOME FOR MANY CONGREGATIONS.
BY A VOTE OF 217 TO 39, THE COMMUNITY INCORPORATED AS THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION IN 1938. THE FIRST ELECTED COUNCIL, A MAYOR AND FIVE ALDERMEN, WERE ALL FACULTY MEMBERS FROM TEXAS A&M. THROUGH THE LEADERSHIP OF TEXAS A&M FACULTY MEMBERS SUCH AS LONGTIME MAYOR ERNEST LANGFORD (1942-1966), AND A&M PRESIDENT EARL RUDDER (1959-1970), THE CITY AND UNIVERSITY GREW SIGNIFICANTLY. COLLEGE STATION CONTINUED TO GAIN NATIONAL PROMINENCE WHEN THE GEORGE H. W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM OPENED IN 1997. HISTORICALLY, THE LOCAL ECONOMY HAS BEEN BUOYED BY EDUCATION, HEALTH SERVICES, AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY. THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION HAS FLOURISHED IN ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY, WITH THE POPULATION OF THE CITY NUMBERING 2,184 IN 1940 AND EXCEEDING 120,000 BY 2020.
Click below to hear comments from the September 25, 2025 College Station city council meeting.
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