Chocolate Bayou is an unincorporated community in eastern

Brazoria County Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statis ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. According to the

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President ...

, the community had a population of 60 in 2000. It is located within the

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

metropolitan area.

History

Chocolate Bayou is located near the bayou of the same name. This area was originally part of a land grant to

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo-Americans, Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the success ...

and

James Franklin Perry James Franklin Perry (1790–1853) was an American who was an early settler and prominent citizen of Texas. James married to Emily Austin Perry, and together they operated Peach Point Plantation. He was involved in Texas land distribution. Life Ja ...

. Perry's sister,

Emily Austin Perry Emily Austin Bryan Perry (June 22, 1795 – 1851) was the sister of Stephen F. Austin and an early settler of Texas. She was an heir to Austin's estate when he died in 1836. She achieved significant political, economic and social status as a woma ...

, operated the

Peach Point Plantation Peach Point Plantation is a historic site, it was a plantation and the homestead and domicile of many early Texas settlers, located in Jones Creek, Brazoria County, Texas. The land was operated as a working slave plantation from 1832 until 1863 ...

. It produced

cotton Cotton 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 cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

and sugar. By 1911, Chocolate Bayou gained its first post office, and three years later, the

St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway Chartered on June 6, 1903, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway (also known as the ''Brownie'') was a 200-mile (321 km) U.S. railroad that operated from Brownsville, Texas, to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston, Texas. It served numerous ...

established service through the area. During that time, it had 25 residents, a general store, and two

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

shippers. The discovery of oil occurred in 1946. The post office closed in 1950 and the population dropped to 50. Its only business closed in 1966. In 1920, the community counted 150 residents, its highest population total through 1990 and 2000 when it counted 60 people.

Geography

Chocolate Bayou is located on Farm to Market Road 2917 between

Texas State Highway 35 State Highway 35 (SH 35) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas, maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). It runs primarily south–north, paralleling the Gulf of Mexico for much of its length, from a junction with I ...

and FM 2403 in eastern Brazoria County.

Education

The

Alvin Independent School District Alvin Independent School District is a school district based in Alvin, Texas, U.S. Alvin ISD is a large suburban school district south of Houston in Alvin, Manvel, Hillcrest, Iowa Colony, Liverpool, and portions of Pearland. It also serves A ...

operates schools in the area. Children attend R.L. Stevenson Primary School, Walt Disney Elementary School, Alvin Junior High School, and

Alvin High School Alvin High School is a public high school located in the city of Alvin, Texas, United States and classified as a 6A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is a part of the Alvin Independent School District located in central ...

Notable person

* James Elijah Brown Perry (born May 17, 1830, in

Potosi, Missouri Potosi is a city in Washington County, Missouri, United States. Potosi is seventy-two miles southwest of St. Louis. The population was 2,660 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Located in the Lead Belt, the cit ...

; died February 14, 1831, in Chocolate Bayou)

References

External links

* {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Brazoria County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas