Marker Number: 7953
Marker Text:
William J. Gause (1829-1914), born in Alabama, moved to Texas in 1849, to the Brazos region in 1856, and to this locality in 1872. Buying lumber in Montgomery, he gave his friend Dan Fowler half in return for hauling it here. The two built the first homes in this settlement. In 1873, Gause gave right of way and 100 acres of land to the International & Great Northern Railroad, and the town was platted. Gause Post Office opened in 1874, with James S. Reynolds as postmaster. The I. G. N. freighted out great quantities of cotton, and the town thrived. Cotton gins, stores, blacksmith shops, a lumber yard, a bank, hotels, livery stables, a newspaper and other businesses were established. Besides W. J. Gause, civic leaders included Dr. J. E. Brown, Richard Cox, Dr. James dollar, Lafayette Ely, Bill Faubian, Dan Fowler, J. C. Lister, C. C. Moore, Dr. John Porter, Frank Thomas, and T. L. Watts. Churches were organized and a Masonic Lodge chartered. The county's first independent school was established in Gause. Good highways, mechanized farming, and decline of railroading halted commerce in the town of Guase. It survives, however, as a residential site chosen by descendants of the pioneers and by commuters of industrial plants and businesses in this vicinity.
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