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Gulf Prairie
Cemetery, Church and Ghost Town
Tales from River’s End – Passport
to Adventure
by Janice R. Edwards
Click on
any photo to enlarge
Greetings from River’s End.
Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE living in
Brazoria County? Every time I think I have
located all the rabbit trails of history that I
want to investigate and travel down on my mind’s
map something – or in this case, someone –
points to an unexpected place. The place I found
this time is hiding from us all – in plain
sight!
Roy and I and Darrell and Gloria Powell were at
the Brazoria Co. Shoreline Restoration Task
Force meeting last week when I overheard part of
a conversation about little known historical
places in the county and it lead to the cemetery
in Jones Creek where Stephen F. Austin was first
interred – Gulf Prairie Cemetery. So, since we
had to pass that way on Hwy. 36 to go home, we
made a detour – really not expecting too find
much. None of us had ever heard about this place
right here in our midst – so how important could
it possibly be? Were we ever wrong!
 How
many times have we passed by the Gulf Prairie
Presbyterian Church sign as we were traveling to
and from Freeport? Roy and I have even stopped
at the state historical markers at the
intersection of Hwy. 36 and Gulf Prairie Road
(where you turn to go to the cemetery). There’s
even a sign there that says Stephen F. Austin
had been buried in that cemetery. But when we
turned off the road, parked in the church’s
parking lot, and got out to investigate, we
walked out of today and into a page of our
county’s past. There, cradled by the Gulf
Prairie Presbyterian Church and ancient oak and
pecan trees, was a well kept cemetery waiting to
reveal its secrets.
A treasure chest of stories stared back at us
from the rows of ornate headstones. People from
many parts of Texas’ past are buried there –
from the original plot that held Steven F.
Austin, to soldiers from the Civil War, to one
of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders have all
found eternal rest in that shady grove. I had to
know more. It never ceases to amaze me that
Brazoria County is just packed with pre-20th
century history – but not much of the tangible
evidence of that history is still here. I think
we found an exception in this cemetery and by
reading the headstones, our area’s history began
to come alive.
Gulf (originally spelled Gulph)
Prairie, Texas was a settlement that predated
the Texas Revolution. By the 1830’s the Bryan,
Perry and Austin families lived there. A post
office operated there from 1848 – 1866. As late
as 1906, the school taught forty-one students.
Today, nothing remains of the community but the
church and the cemetery. And I thought you had
to go to west Texas or Indianola to find a ghost
town!
But it was the cemetery that talked to us all
and Gloria and I had make another trip to take
pictures to share with you. The cemetery ground
was once part of Peach Point Plantation and was
used as early as 1829. Peach Point Plantation
was the residence of James F. Perry and Emily
Austin Bryan Perry (Stephen F. Austin’s sister).
All of these people are buried in this cemetery
– except Stephen, who the state of Texas moved
to the state cemetery in Austin, Texas in 1910.
You’ll also find the markers for
William Joel Bryan, son of Emily Austin Bryan
Perry and her first husband, James Bryan and the
nephew of Stephen F. Austin who established
Durazno (Spanish for Peach) Plantation in 1840
and his wife, Lavinia (niece of his stepfather,
James F. Perry). So many names of people who
pioneered this land we are all proud to call
home. The headstones tell you just part of the
story, though. As you walk through the grounds,
the winds through the trees whisper a siren’s
song, begging you to come back and discover more
and they plead for you to grab a history book
and find out the rest of the stories.
The church that guards the historic cemetery
also has a story to tell. After James Franklin
and Emily Austin Perry moved to Peach Point
Plantation (around Christmas of 1832) a one room
log cabin was built – but not dedicated – where
the family, slaves and visitors worshipped. The
church service was provided by any Protestant
minister, who came through this part of the
country – mostly by the itinerant Methodist
minister.
On June 7, 1877 a small building was erected on
a site that Mrs. Sarah B. Perry had given which
was located at the cemetery which had been
formed in August 1833 when Emily’s daughter (by
her first marriage) died from cholera. This was
the first dedicated church on this location and
the beginning of a church organization that goes
on today. This little church met the needs of
the congregation from 1877 until 1909 when a
hurricane passed through this section of the
Texas coast and destroyed the building. But the
community decided to rebuild. Through the effort
of the community, funds were raised and W.B. and
Charlie Hanson (carpenters) supervised the
church’s construction by the men of the
community while the women found ways to provide
the funds for the necessary building materials.
In 1946 the officers of the Gulf Prairie
Presbyterian Church launched a new building
program. The old building was sold and moved to
Durazno Plantation after the new building was
completed. People of the community again stepped
up and made a new church. The sanctuary was
dedicated March 22, 1950, and with only a few
additions (like the new chime system, and
stained glass windows) the church you see at
Gulf Prairie today remains as it was built. The
church and cemetery are still in use and were
today when Gloria and I visited to take the
pictures in this post.
Here, right under our noses, is Gulf Prairie
Presbyterian Church and Cemetery – so full of
stories of our past. Each of us has overlooked
this treasure as we go about our daily lives –
making our own history, I guess. But next time
you drive down Hwy. 36 through Jones Creek, take
a minute to slow down for something besides the
speed trap. Take that turn onto Gulf Prairie
Road and look to your left. The little cemetery
waits in the shade ready to reveal another piece
of this area’s history puzzle. But don’t go
unless you have some time to tarry, these
stories are more like a novel – not a short
story.
So, now what’s happening at the end of the
river? Check back in a while and maybe I’ll
FINALLY get around to regaling you with some
exciting adventures of Jean Lafitte – that
rabbit hole has taken some interesting twists
and turns. Until then, here’s wishing a shady
grove, a sense of adventure, a full belly, a
stretched fishing line, a good story and your
own River’s End.
One
of F.O.R.'s primary functions is to
educate the public regarding the
issues concerning the San Bernard
River and it's Communities. Contact
Pat Webb
pat@sanbernardriver.com
to schedule a guest speaker for your
group or special event.
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