John P Coles Cabin and Spring Wildflowers at Independence - Old Baylor Park Brenham Texas
by Silvio Ligutti
Title
John P Coles Cabin and Spring Wildflowers at Independence - Old Baylor Park Brenham Texas
Artist
Silvio Ligutti
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Independence is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. Located twelve miles northeast of Brenham, it was founded in 1835 in Austin's colony of Anglo-Americans. It became a Baptist religious and educational center of the Republic of Texas. In 1846 it became the first site of Baylor University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
The wealthiest community in Texas in 1845, Independence declined later in the century after refusing to give a right-of-way to the Santa Fe Railroad. It was bypassed by the increasingly important railroads and started a long decline after the university moved away. It retains significant historic structures and sites of the nineteenth century. Its residents included many prominent people of early Texas history, including Sam Houston while he was a U.S. Senator. The Houston family were well-known members of the Independence Baptist Church.
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Built just a short distance northwest of this location, the Independence Historical Society moved the John P. Coles Cabin and the Independence Log House to Old Baylor Park (near the columns), to ensure their preservation and to make them accessible to the public.
COLES CABIN In 1822, John and Mary Eleanor Coles migrated from Georgia to Texas with their two children and three slaves. Coles was given extensive holdings when the Mexican government issued land grants, making him one of the “Old Three Hundred” to settle in Texas. Around 1825, the family came to what is now the Independence area and established Coles Settlement.
The Coles’ house was the center of land and political activity because John Prince Coles (1793-1847) served as a personal agent of “the Father of Texas,” Stephen F. Austin, and was appointed first Alcalde in the upper portion of Austin’s colony when Texas was a Mexican territory. In 1836, he was appointed the first Chief Justice of Washington County by Sam Houston, first President of the Republic of Texas.
It was in this house that John and Mary Coles raised their large family and managed their farm operations. Coles also took an active interest in establishing educational institutions in the area. The Coleses and seven of their twelve children are buried in the Old Independence Cemetery.
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April 6th, 2015
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