Old River

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Old River, out in Chambers County. Now, before Texas had railroads crisscrossing every corner of the state, before highways and interstates, the land itself had to do the hauling. And one stretch of water, quiet and winding, carried the weight of a whole community on its back.

That water is Old River. It rises up in southwestern Liberty County, born from a channel of the meandering Trinity River, and it flows southeast until it rejoins the Trinity in northwestern Chambers County. A river that starts from a river and comes back to it.

There's a kind of poetry in that, if you're inclined to listen. Back in the eighteen twenties and eighteen thirties, this tributary was the beating heart of early settlement in the area. Among the very first pioneers to make the journey here were Robert and Eleanor Wiseman, Eleanor born a Dorsett, who settled on nearby land grants in 1827.

Think about what that took. Coming to a place that offered no guarantees, just soil and grass and a river that hadn't yet told you all its secrets. But the soil turned out to be fertile, and the grassland turned out to be abundant, and folks found they could farm and raise cattle, and Old River became an important early agricultural center of southeast Texas.

Now, a community that produces things needs somewhere to send them, and Old River sent plenty. Animal skins, timber, charcoal, all of it shipped out to market in Galveston. That commerce drew ambitious people, and one of them was Dr.

James P. Alford, who pioneered the area's shipping and business trade with Galveston. That work helped lead to the development of shipbuilding firms, including that of a man named Capt.

William Icet. And it didn't stop there. P.

Almeras ran a brick kiln out here. River ferry operations kept people and goods moving. The settlement was building itself layer by layer, the way a good story does.

What those early residents set in motion, those patterns of residential and industrial growth, are still evident today. Descendants of the pioneer southeast Texas settlers still live in the area. Old River keeps flowing, southeast toward the Trinity, carrying all of it forward.

What the marker says

Formed as a channel of the meandering Trinity River, Old River rises in southwestern Liberty County and flows to the southeast, joining the trinity in northwestern Chambers County. During the 1820s and 1830s the tributary was the center of early area settlement. Among the first pioneers to migrate here were Robert and Eleanor (Dorsett) Wiseman, who settled on nearby land grants in 1827. Fertile soil for farming and abundant grassland for raising cattle made the Old River area an important early agricultural center of southeast Texas. Goods from the community, including animal skins, timber and charcoal, were shipped to market in Galveston. Commercial activity in the Old River settlement grew as the population increased. Dr. James P. Alford pioneered in the area's shipping and business trade with Galveston, which led to the development of shipbuilding firms such as that of Capt. William Icet. Other significant businesses here included the brick kiln of P. Almeras and river ferry operations. The early residents of Old River set patterns of residential and industrial growth which are evident today. Descendants of the pioneer southeast texas settlers still live in the area.