Montgomery County

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Montgomery County, straight from the record. Now, every county has its origin story, and Montgomery County, Texas, has one worth sitting with for a spell. It was created from Washington County, on December 14, 1837.

Same year it was created, it was organized. No dawdling, no delay. They had business to attend to, and they got after it.

The county seat was Montgomery, established right there in 1837. Then, in 1888, that honor passed to Conroe, and there it has remained. But here is the piece of this story that reaches back the furthest, the name itself.

Montgomery County was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, who lived from 1736 to 1775, and who served as a Brigadier General in the Continental Army. Think about that. A county carved out of the Texas frontier, fresh from Washington County, named for a man who wore the uniform of the Continental Army in a war fought long before Texas was even a notion.

The marker doesn't dress that up, and neither will I. Sometimes the plainest facts carry the most weight. Richard Montgomery, Brigadier General, 1736 to 1775.

A county organized the very year it was born. And a seat of government that moved once, in 1888, and has held ever since.

What the marker says

Created from Washington County -- December 14, 1837 -- Organized the same year -- Named in honor of -- Richard Montgomery -- 1736-1775 -- Brigadier General in -- the Continental Army -- County seat, Montgomery, 1837 -- Conroe, since 1888