Charles A. Westbrook Plantation

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to honor every word. Charles Alexander Westbrook was born in 1838, and by 1859 he had made his way out of Mississippi and into Texas. He put down his first roots at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where he met and married Mary Virginia Whitsitt.

Now, thirteen children. That's not a family, that's a delegation. And the Westbrooks built one.

After his service in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Charles loaded up that growing family and headed to McLennan County, where he established a large cotton plantation along Cow Bayou. In the 1870s he put up a home worthy of the land. Three stories tall, quarried from local stone, six fireplaces to hold back the Texas winters, and square Doric columns out front standing at attention like they knew what the place was supposed to mean.

It was the kind of house that said: we are staying. The stage road from Waco to San Antonio ran right across Westbrook property, which meant strangers were always passing through, and the Westbrook family, being who they were, opened the door. Travelers came in off that road and found a meal, a fire, one of those six fireplaces doing its job.

Beyond the main house there were outbuildings scattered across the plantation, a whole working world unto itself. And Charles wasn't just farming. From 1876 to 1878 he served as County Commissioner.

One of the first schools in the area was established right there on his plantation. Then 1881 arrived, and with it the railroad. When a town grew up about a mile and a half to the northwest, it was named for the Westbrooks' daughter, Lorena.

Charles Westbrook died in 1895. The house he built was significantly altered in the twentieth century, but it's still standing out there along Cow Bayou, stone and column and memory, a reminder of a cotton plantation that once ran deep in McLennan County soil. Some places hold a name long after the people are gone.

Lorena, Texas does exactly that.

What the marker says

Charles Alexander Westbrook (1838-1895) came to Texas from Mississippi in 1859. He settled first at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where he married Mary Virginia Whitsitt. They eventually were the parents of thirteen children. After his service in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Westbrook moved his family to McLennan County and established a large cotton plantation along Cow Bayou. He built a large family home here in the 1870s. Constructed of locally quarried stone, the three-story structure featured six fireplaces and square Doric columns. Although the house was significantly altered in the 20th Century, it is a reminder of the once-thriving Westbrook Cotton Plantation. The stage road from Waco to San Antonio traversed the Westbrook property, and the family often hosted travelers in their home. The plantation also included a number of outbuildings. Charles Westbrook served as County Commissioner from 1876 to 1878. One of the first schools in the area was established on his plantation. When the railroad was built through the area in 1881, the resulting town (1.5 mi. NW) was named for the Westbrooks' daughter, Lorena.