The Gibbs-Powell Home, Huntsville, TX, in Spring with Bluebonnets
Historic Walker County
Walker County is one of the most historic counties in Texas. Best known
as the home of General Sam Houston, hero of the Texas Revolution and
the leading political figure in early Texas, Walker County is brimming
with history aside from General Houston.
The “Mount Vernon” of Texas
Walker County’s principal city Huntsville was the leading cultural
center of Texas prior to the Civil War. Leaders in law, education and
business flocked to Huntsville and seeded other parts of Texas as it
deveoped in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Because of its cultural
influence and status as home of Texas’ greatest hero and first
President, the area came to be known as the “Mount Vernon of Texas.”
The Commission
Walker County Historical Commission Office:
1301 Sam Houston
Ave.
Rm.
218
Huntsville, TX 77340
(Courthouse Annex)
Telephone: (936) 435-2497
WCHC Online: Send Email or mailto:history@co.walker.tx.us
Meetings:
3rd Monday of Each Month
5:30 P.M.
(except June & August)
Walker County Museum
Museum
Gibbs-Powell
Home
1228 11 St. at Avenue
M
Huntsville, TX
77340
Telephone: (936) 295-2914
Hours: Tues-Fri 12-5 PM and Sat 12-4 PM (Commission meetings, and Group
Tours by
Appointment)
TX-30 / US-190 East toward 11th St 0.8 mi
Turn right onto US-190 E / TX-30 / 11th st toward HUNTSVILLE UNIT / Livingston / Tourist Info 1.1 mi
Turn left onto Avenue M / FM-247 72 ft
Arrive at Avenue M / FM-247, The last intersection before your destination is US-190 W / TX-30 / TX-75 / 11th st
Education
Walker County and Huntsville were a cradle of learning and education in
early Texas. The first history of Texas, History of Texas from Its
First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in
1846, was written by Walker County pioneer Henderson Yoakum.
The earliest school in Huntville was the Huntsville Academy, probably
also known as the “Brick Academy,” was founded in 1845. Austin College,
which is now located in Sherman, Texas, was founded in Huntsville in
1849 by Presbyterian minister, Daniel Baker, and Sam Houston was one of
the first trustees. Andrew Female College, a pioneering institution for
educating women, was founded in 1852 by the Methodist Church.
Sam Houston Normal Institute, now known as Sam Houston State
University, was founded in 1879 on the site of the former Austin
College.
Huntsville can be also considered the birthplace of the University of
Texas. In 1859 Dr. Pleasant Williams Kittrell of Walker County
introduced a bill in the State Legislature to create a state
university. It passed, but the disruptions of the Civil War and its
aftermath prevented it from being implemented. In 1879 Gov. Oran
Roberts visited Huntsville for the dedication of Sam Houston Normal
Institute. While Gov. Roberts dined with a group of civic leaders at
the Steamboat House, then owned by prison superintendent, T. J. Goree,
the conversation turned to the need for a state university. Gov.
Roberts was convinced and returned to Austin where he began to advocate
creation of the University of Texas, which finally occurred in 1883.
George Washington Baines, Jr., great-grandfather of President Lyndon
Johnson, was a Baptist minister in Huntsville and later President of
Baylor University.
Law
Walker County was also an early leader in law. Sam Houston was
Huntsville’s most famous lawyer. Three of the four largest law firms in
Houston were co-founded by natives of Huntsville. James A. Baker helped
form Baker and Botts, and Judge James A. Elkins was a founding member
of the Vinson Elkins firm. Tom Ball was one of the founding partners of
the Andrews Kurth firm.
Publishing
The Huntsville Item is the second oldest newspaper in Texas. Marcellus
E. Foster, the Huntsville native who founded the Houston Chronicle,
started his career at the Item.
Business
Walker County and Huntsville also produced successful businesspeople.
The Gibbs brothers, Thomas and Sandford, founded Gibbs Brothers &
Co., the oldest business in Texas still operating under the same
ownership in the same location. Several people who made their fortunes
in the Texas oil business. These include James Smither Abercrombie and
descendants of the Evander Theophilus Josey family.
