Recreation and Tourism
2010 5th Avenue North
Texas City, TX 77590

Recreation & Tourism

• Parks Rules
• General Information
• Parks Listing

Recreation Activities

• Child
• Youth
• Adult
• Senior
• All Ages

Recreation Facilities

• Centers/Pavilions
• Gymnasiums
• Golf Course
• Playgrounds
• Swimming Pools
• Fitness Center
• Lowry Fitness Trail
• Baseball Fields
• Tennis Courts
• Basketball Courts
• Picnic Spots
• Hike and Bike Trail
• Shooting Range
• Texas City Dike

Birding and Birding Trails

Cultural Arts Foundation

Texas City Museum

Street of Memories

Texas City | Heritage Square | Davidson Home | Engineer's Cottage | Moore Home | Lee Dick Home

TEXAS CITY

Texas City 's roots go back to the coming of the first Anglo-Americans to Texas.

One early settlement near the present city was by Lt. Jim Campbell, a follower of Jean LaFitte. Another was by James Perry, brother-in-law of Steven F. Austin.

In 1892, the three Myers brothers of Duluth , Minn. , and Capt. A.B. Wolvin bought most of the surrounding land, and changed the name of the small town from SHOAL POINT to TEXAS CITY .

These developers brought Frank Davidson to be resident manager of the Texas City Improvement Company. He and his wife Florence completed their home in 1897. This house is the one shown on the front cover and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

TEXAS CITY HERITAGE ASSOCIATION

The Texas City Heritage Association was formed in 1972 for the avowed purpose of restoring the Davison home for public use. Money was raised by private donations, and the purchased house was deeded to the city. The TCHA oversees the operation and restoration of the houses under the auspices of the City Government. The association was the 1980 Winner of the Texas Recreation and Park Society and the Southwest District National Recreation and Park Association Service Club Awards. 

RESTORATION

Restoration has gone forward since 1972 with money from Community Development Funds, and grants from Atlantic- Richfield, Moody Foundation, Union Carbide Corporation, Union Carbide Volunteers and contributions from many local citizens and groups.

ACTIVITIES

More than just a museum of homes, the homes are a site for popular activities, and continue to fill the role as a center of community life in Texas City . Many marriage ceremonies, receptions, tea parties and birthday parties are held here each year, and the fees collected support the upkeep of the homes.

SCHEDULES AND ARRANGEMENTS

HERITAGE SQUARE

The houses at Heritage Square are open on the first Sunday of each month from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. A short video is shown which tells the history of the original owners.

The Heritage Association offers a open house at Christmas time on the 2^nd Sunday in December. Various organizations decorate the houses for the season.

Arrangements can be made to rent the houses for special occasions and parties. Call 409 643-5990 for details and reservations.

CITY BY THE BAY TOURS

Tour guides are available at $5.00 per person for tour buses with 15 people or more. The tour includes the history of Texas City, points of interest, and guided tours of Heritage Square and the Texas City Museum . The tour lasts approximately 5 1/2 hours. Tours can also be customized for shorter lengths. Call 409 643-5799 for reservations.

SPECIAL THANKS

A special thanks to the College of the Mainland Drama Department, for costumes, and to the students who participated in making some of the pictures in this brochure.

The Davison Home is constructed of cypress wood brought by ship from Louisiana . Railroad ties and steel reinforce the foundation. Construction began in 1895 and took two years to complete. It is the only house in Heritage Square that is on its original site.

Visitors to the area were often accommodated in the three-story home, and it became a setting for parties and social events. It is still available today for weddings, parties, and other organizational meetings.

Occupied continuously by three generations of the same family for over seventy-five years, the structure is a fine example of late Victorian architecture as revealed in homes of the upper middle-class. Not quite a mansion, it has beautiful woodwork, double parlors, a large dining room, high ceilings and a graceful entry hall and stairway.

Deep porches embrace the front side, and a round tower alcove was a favorite spot on all three floors. Much of the furniture is original.

THE ENGINEER'S COTTAGE

This Victorian-style cottage was built by the Texas City Improvement Company prior to 1895, for an employee of the company. Originally located at 206 2 nd Avenue North in the "First Addition", it became known as the Engineer's House because of the tragic fate of an early resident. Goodson G. Chamberlin (1846-1895), a contractor for the Port, was killed by James A. Muse (1835-1900), a former lighthouse keeper of Half Moon Shoal Lighthouse, as a result of a land dispute. Muse was later acquitted of the murder. The home was brought by William Moore and John Sieber, and later owned by the John Holmstrom family of Canada . Changing ownership several times, the house was bought by Donald W. and Barbara White in 1984. The Whites deeded the house to the Texas City Heritage Association prior to it move to Heritage Square in 1991.

The Moore home is a beautiful Victorian cottage and housed one of the more prominent families of Texas City who helped shape the path of our city's growth. Mr. William Moore was born in Canada in 1861. He married Annie Grace Sloan and moved to Minnesota to seek his fortune. He later moved to Galveston . After a visit to Texas City , he saw the tremendous potential of the area, and decided to make his home here. He was in the lumber and Marine business and was involved in the building of the Galveston Causeway and also the installation of the foundation for the Texas City Dike. He was also one of the original directors of the Texas City National Bank. One of his daughters, Margaret Moore Noble was the first woman CEO of a bank in the state of Texas .

The house was built on another location here in Texas City and later moved here and restored. The furnishings inside the house are not the original but were hand picked by the Heritage Association to be consistent with those times.

This house, originally located on Sixth Avenue South , was built by Robert Lee Dick and his wife Mabel Parr Dick in 1907-08. Mrs. Dick was a descendant of Jim Campbell of Campbell 's Bayou, who was a privateer with Jean LaFitte.

Mr. Dick was a rancher and cattleman with four daughters. Bertha Wetzel, one of the daughters, with her son and his family, were the last to live in the home. This house was moved to Heritage Square in 1995.

The small structure to the left of the house was used by Mr. Dick to sell meat to the neighbors. The young ladies appear to be waiting for their daily supply of meat.

In the front yard, is a rose bush with green blossoms. This bush was moved here with great care from the yard of the Dick home because of it's history. It is elieved that a seaman brought a cutting to Mrs. Dick's family at Campbell 's Bayou.

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