94-Year-Old Brenham Funeral Home Gets Historic Marker

From KHOU TV Houston --

The Hogan Funeral Home, a Brenham landmark for the last 94 years, became part of Texas history. . .The marker, awarded by the Texas Historical Commission, tells part of the story of how Brenham’s first African American owned funeral home opened its doors to Buffalo Soldiers and other blacks. . .

The Hogans are a family with generations of service, passed from founder C.H. Hogan to his son Booker T, who died in 1986. Since then, Booker T’s 92-year-old widow and other family members have kept the tradition alive, earning them the first and only state recognition of the contributions of African American’s in Brenham.

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Del Rio: Property owner uproots, hides state historical marker

Home for sale: 2 brdm, 1 bath, 1 historical marker

Perry Denison cares deeply about the history and traditions of Del Rio, as evidenced by his family’s 43-year stewardship of what may be the oldest standing structure in Val Verde County still retaining a semblance of historic integrity.

But now, Denison believes a commemorative plaque threatens to cost him a minor fortune. Denison, a San Antonio medical equipment repairman, owns the Taylor-Rivers House, 100 Hudson Drive, in the heart of south Del Rio’s historic residential neighborhoods.

In 1983, a handsome, cast-metal marker was planted in the side yard of the unassuming, stuccoed home at the intersection of Nicholson Road and Hudson Drive.

Now the plaque has been taken down and stashed away in darkness, considered by Denison as a liability to his effort to sell the property for an “asking price” of $95,000.

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Beaumont to Honor Big Bopper with Historical Marker

Memorializing Chantilly Lace at Forest Lawn

BEAUMONT - Nearly 48 years after his death in rock 'n' roll's first major tragedy, pop star J.P. Richardson - known better as The Big Bopper - will have something more than a headstone to mark his place in Beaumont's history.

Next week, the day before a Port Arthur concert pays tribute to the Beaumont radio deejay who struck gold with the 1959 hit, "Chantilly Lace," a historical marker will be installed at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

But the plaque won't be at Richardson's grave. It will be erected nearby at a specially chosen site where the remains of The Bopper (and possibly his widow Teetsie) will be moved later.

Richardson was only 28 on the snowy night in Clear Lake, Iowa, when a small plane carrying The Bopper, and rockers Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens crashed minutes after take-off. The Feb. 3, 1959, tragedy was later immortalized by singer Don McLean as "the day the music died" in his pop dirge "American Pie."

Read full story in the Beaumont Enterprise

Matagorda Cemetery: Another Marker for History

Matagorda Cemetery, Matagorda listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Matagorda Cemetery — founded in 1830 and one of Texas’ oldest — has been placed on the prestigious National Register of Historic Places.

Local historical group officials expect two other Matagorda County sites will soon share the notable recognition — the Hensley-Guzman House, built in 1905, and the World War II-era Bay City U.S.O. Building, today’s Bay City Service Center. The 7.2-acre cemetery, at the northeast edge of Matagorda, was first used soon after the town was founded in 1829.The cemetery, which received a Texas Historical Marker in 1970, shows the town’s remarkable, with grave stone inscriptions telling about frontier hardships.

The marker’s text said those buried include: victims of 1862 yellow fever epidemic; soldiers of the Texas Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War; also Karankawa Indian victims. Early Texas leaders buried at the cemetery include Texas Secretary of Navy, Samuel Rhoads Fisher — a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence — Texas’ first Lt. Governor, Albert Clinton Horton, and George Morse Collinsworth, who commanded the Texans at the capture of Goliad in 1835.

The National Register of Historic Places is a service of the National Parks System. Visit their website

Read full article from the Bay City Tribune