The Seward Plantation is a historic site built in 1855, a Southern

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

-turned-ranch located in

Independence, Texas Independence is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 140 in 2000. It is located about an hour northwest of the Greater Houston metropolit ...

. The Seward Plantation has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since January 29, 2013. It was documented as part of the Historical American Buildings Survey. It has a Texas Centennial Marker.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/state-historical-markers/1936-texas-centennial-markers

Location

The plantation is located east of

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

near Brenham in

Washington County, Texas Washington County is a county in Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 35,805. Its county seat is Brenham, which is located along U.S. Highway 290, 72 miles northwest of Houston. The county was created in 1835 as a municipality o ...

. It is off

Farm to Market Road 390 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

, also known as La Bahía Road (later Old Washington Road). The La Bahia Road was originally an east-west Indian trail also used by Spanish explorers in the 17th century. One can still see remnants of the La Bahia Road on the Seward Plantation.

History

Between 1832 and 1833, Samuel Seward (1794–1870) moved from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Mexican Texas Mexican Texas is the historiographical name used to refer to the era of Texan history between 1821 and 1836, when it was part of Mexico. Mexico gained independence in 1821 after winning its Mexican War of Independence, war against Spain, whi ...

with Stephen F. Austin. Seward purchased of land, then more. In the 1850s, after

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

had become a state, the land passed to his son, John Hoblett Seward (1822–1892). John Seward was married Laura Jane Roberts (1838–1920) of Houston. The main house on the plantation was built in 1855. The plantation house was originally built as a one-story building 1/4 mile from Sam Seward's house. One year after its completion the house was rolled on large cottonwood logs 3/4th of a mile, to its current location because the original location was found to be inaccessible during the rainy seasons and unhealthful during the cold seasons. The house was constructed almost entirely from cedar trees growing within sight of the original location. It sits securely on a stone base. The Seward family added a second story soon after the house was moved, and made other additions through the years. After it was enlarged, the plantation home became the largest house in Washington County. The property also included barns, log cabins for

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, a smokehouse, a corn crib and a blacksmith's shop, many of which are still standing. It was used as a

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

plantation prior to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

of 1861 to 1865. After the war, it became a cattle ranch. The house survived the storm of 1900. The Seward Plantation remained in the Seward family until 2017, when it was purchased by a family from Houston who is restoring the property and using the house as a private home.

References

External links

{{NRHP in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Texas Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Houses in Washington County, Texas Houses completed in 1855 Museums in Washington County, Texas Historic house museums in Texas Cotton plantations in Texas

Location

History

See also

References

External links