West Columbia, Texas
Population: 4,372
Located in Brazoria County
Welcome to West Columbia Texas, Where Texas began - History of West Columbia, Texas Beginning as a major river port and commercial center for Austin's original colony. Marion (or Bell's Landing as it was called) continued as a major business around 1900. The Republic of Texas was born at Columbia (now called West Columbia) on October 3, 1836 with the inauguration of Sam Houston as the Republic's first President and Stephen F. Austin as Secretary of State and the Swearing in of the Republic's first congress. Columbia was established in 1826, also by Josiah H. Bell. Colleges: Colleges within commuting distance: University of Texas Medical Branch University of Houston Houston Baptist Rice South Texas School of Law Houston Community College Brazosport Community College Alvin Community College Wharton Jr. College Major Employers (name and product) Phillips Petroleum Refining-Gasoline DOW Chemical Chemical Manufacturing South Texas Project Nuclear Power Plant Sweetbriar Development Center Development Center Columbia Lakes Resort Conference Center/Resort Amoco Production Gas Distribution BASFColumbia Brazoria ISD Chemicals Education Climate Annual Avg. Temp. 77 Annual Rainfall 49 January Avg. Temp. 53 Annual Snowfall 0 August Avg. Temp. 83 THE LEGEND OF BRIT BAILEY Most Brazoria County residents probably remember more about James B. "Brit" Bailey than about historical character. Bailey's colorful life - and even more unusual burial and "reappearance" - have become a favorite legend. This is due in large part to a talented storyteller, the late Catherine Munson Foster, who related the tale to three generations of children, and reduced it to writing in her book, GHOSTS ALONG THE BRAZOS. Bailey, who was a native of North Carolina, lived in Tennessee and Kentucky before coming to Texas sometime in the 1820s with his wife and six children. They settled between the present Angleton and West Columbia, on what is now known as Bailey's Prairie. A successful cattleman and cotton grower, Bailey took part in the Battle of Velasco, but the reputation that has bee- passed down through time is of a hot-tempered, heavy drinking troublemaker. But bailey ensured a lasting place in Texas' lore through his instructions about his burial. He signed a will on October 4, 1832, directing that he be buried near his home on the prairie, with "this particular request and injunction on my friends and executors, to have my remains interd (sic) erect with my face fronting the west?" He died on December 6, 1832, and was buried in an eight-foot deep grave resembling a well. Legend has it that his powder horn, rifle, pistols and bullets were buried with him. When a servant also attempted to place a jug of whiskey in the coffin, however, he was foiled by the widow, who felt Brit had imbibed enough while alive. The first written account indicating that Brit's spirit had not found rest is that of Ann Raney Thomas, who lived on the place a few years after Bailey's death. She and her husband both reportedly felt an eerie coldness and awoke to see a ghostly figure hovering nearby. The first account of the ghost having taken the form of a mysterious light was in the 1850s, when Col. Mordello Munson, a plantation owner at Bailey's Prairie, saw a ball of fire bobbing across the prairie about four miles away and unsuccessfully chased the elusive light all night. Other members of the Munson family have also reported seeing the light, as have several other persons, giving rise to the legend that the light is Bailey's lantern, illuminating his path as he searches for his jug of whiskey.
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