Bryan, Texas - History

History

The area around Bryan, Texas was part of a land grant to Moses Austin by Spain. Moses Austin's son, Stephen F. Austin helped bring settlers to the area. Among the settlers was William Joel Bryan, the nephew of Stephen F. Austin. The town of Bryan was founded in 1821. It grew quickly when the Houston and Texas Central Railroad arrived in 1860. In 1866, the county seat of Brazos County, Texas was changed from Boonville, Texas to Bryan. A short time later, in 1871, the City of Bryan became incorporated.

Timeline

• 1820s: Area settled by members of Stephen F. Austin's colony.
• 1859: The Houston and Texas Central Railroad is built in the area.
• 1866: A post office was granted and Bryan replaced Boonville, Texas as the Brazos County seat.
• 1867: The railroad that had stopped at Millican, Texas because of delays during the Civil War reached Bryan.
• 1871: The first Bryan courthouse was built.
• 1872: Bryan is incorporated.
• 1876: Texas A&M College opens nearby in what became College Station, Texas.
• 1877: The Bryan Independent School District was established.
• 1889: Bryan obtained electric lighting and a waterworks.
• 1892: Bryan's fifth Brazos County Courthouse was built.
• 1900: The International-Great Northern Railroad arrived in Bryan.
• 1902: Bryan's Carnegie Library was opened with a $10,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie.
• 1910: Bryan builds an interurban railroad to College Station, Texas, which is abandoned in 1923.
• 1913 Bryan's first synagogue, Temple Freda, is completed.
• 1930s: North Oakwood merges with Bryan so Bryan and College Station, become "twin" cities.
• 1936: State Highway 6 is built through Bryan.
• 2006: The Texas A&M University System announces the new Texas A&M Health Science Center campus will be built in Bryan near the new Traditions Golf Course development.
• 2009: A fire at the El Dorado Chemical Co. caused the evacuation of 70,000 residents due to the ammonium nitrate burning possibly causing minor respiratory problems. However the city only requested that "anyone who can smell smoke or see smoke to evacuate their homes and businesses" and did not enforce an evacuation except for a 500 homes in the nearby vicinity of the fire. Less than 1,000 residents chose to evacuate, taking shelter at Texas A&M University, which closed its campus for the day to ease traffic problems. City fire officials chose to let the fire burn down before tackling it as the chemicals are water reactive. The evacuation, which started at 2:30 pm CST ended at 7 pm except for a small, defined area immediately around the fire, where approximately 100 Bryan residents live. In the end, only 500 residents were under a mandatory evacuation, and 35 people were treated for respiratory problems from the smoke, while officials from El Dorado said there was never any danger from the smoke or fire. The warehouse, valued at just under $1 million, was destroyed.
• 2010: Brazos County District Attorney's Office starts enforcement of a gang safety Zone in response to an escalation in violence in and around Bryan. Major US papers and ABC news covered this history-making move. Cities like Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California look to the Bryan model of safety enforcement surrounding gang violence. The injunction declares a 3.2-mile area in Bryan. This placed about half of downtown in this area.