Rosharon, Texas, Brazoria County. (original) (raw)

The Hay Station
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine , July 2007

History in a Pecan Shell

It is believed that Rosharon had no name during its early years since the land was occupied by numerous cotton and sugar plantations. It wasn't until the Columbia Tap Railroad was completed in 1859 that a stop on the line required a name. The nearest plantation was owned by a man named Masterson and for several years the stop was called Masterson's Station. It was also unofficially known to trainmen as "Buttermilk Station" since a resident sometomes treated the crew to a bucket of buttermilk.

George Wetmore Colles bought property here around 1900 and called his estate the Rose of Sharon Garden Ranch because of the abundant Cherokee roses that grew in hedges. The town later became the shortened variation of Rosharon when a post office was requested in 1912. This post office closed, reopened and then closed for good in 1920. A cotton gin from Houston provided the towns first industry and enough power was generated to provide (limited) electricity.

The South Texas Water Company built freshwater irrigation canals for rice cultivation in the 1930s. Population figures are hard to come by but by the late 1980s, Rosharon had an estimated population of 500. The farming and ranching economy is bolstered by the Texas Department of Corrections which operates four units nearby.

Brazoria County 1920s map showing Rosharon (N of Angleton) on the RR line
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

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