A cute pocket park in downtown Brenham preserves the early history of Brenham at a location of the town's cistern and water supply, a marvel of 19th century engineering and infrastructure and a State Archaeological landmark in this small Texas town. A total of 8 signs here detail the early development of Brenham, its growth as a railroad town, its troubled occupation by the Union Army and Freedmen's Bureau troops after the Civil War, and the founding of the city's Hook and Ladder firefighting company.
From the city's website: (
visit link)
"Toubin Park - 208 S. Park Street
Beneath Brenham streets is a State Archaeological Landmark, a large system of historic cisterns. The cisterns were built in the late 1800's to store rainwater for public fire fighting. Private cisterns were also abundant throughout early Washington County, used for bathing, drinking and cooking.
The large system of public cisterns in early Brenham was a rarity. The city was considered very progressive for using the new-fangled contraptions to fight fires. No other Texas cities were known to install public cisterns, or to provide public services so early.
Enjoy the Wild West story of why these cisterns were built. It's a tale of an early railroad, a rough Boom Town, and colorful characters who shaped Washington County's history.
Follow the intriguing details of the 1866 Burning of Brenham and the large gunfight that led to the fire.
Learn how Brenham citizens banded together to protect themselves and their properties from oppressive Union troops during Reconstruction.
See a large private cistern circa 1880 and learn how it was used.
Discover how public cisterns were built and supplied with water by innovative private businesses.
Find out about present-day cisterns and how to harvest rainwater for your landscape, water features, livestock, and even for indoor use."
The waymarked sign of history reads as follows:
"6 THE HOOK & LADDER COMPANY
After the 1866 burning of Brenham investigations, townsfolk focused on rebuilding and avoiding more trouble with the Union troops in their midst. But the atmosphere did not settle down much. Soldiers were still allowed to roam the streets at all hours, drunk and abusive to all they encountered. Hostilities remained part of daily life.
Ten days after the fire, locals were overjoyed that Captain Samuel A. Craig left Brenham for a new post in Seguin. Head of the Washington County Freedmen’s Bureau for over a year, Craig had been an instigator of the September 7 burglaries and arson.
Still, Governor James W Throckmorton and Brenham civil officials wanted to bring Brevet Major George W. Smith to trial for the September 7th events. They pursued this goal as late as February 1867. But Smith’s position, as commanding officer of the Brenham Union army post, kept him unreachable to civil courts.
Tensions continued to build through spring of eighteen sixty-seven until a second crisis erupted. On April 25th another fire was set by Union soldiers, destroying another large part of Brenham. Unlike the September fire, this incident was glossed over by officials and no investigations were recorded.
However, the second fire pushed the citizens of Brenham to their limit. On May 28, the Brenham hook and ladder company announced their organization, a force of 22 men. Their charter was to protect people and property from the lawless Union army and Freedmen’s Bureau.
On the surface, this is a volunteer firefighting team. But the group also trained as soldiers with the purpose of defending Brenham residents from further violence. Members kept water filled buckets, ladders and guns at their homes and businesses, always ready.
A church bell was used as the alarm. A short ring signaled a fire and a long, continuous ring meant, “bring a gun!”
The system must’ve worked, for no further clashes with the Union army were documented after the spring of 1867.
Within a few months after the Hook and Ladder Company was formed, the city began building Brenham’s first public cisterns for firefighting.
This photo was taken around 1877, after the first permanent fire station was built in Brenham. The building housed the Hook and Ladder Company’s horse-drawn fire wagon that was purchased in 1874 for $489.
It was difficult to fund the firefighting operation, so the horses were also used to pull the city’s garbage wagon. The fire alarm sounded during garbage pickup, the horses suddenly took off for the firehouse, spreading garbage all over Brenham streets."