DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this stretch of the Brazos River — so let's get into it. Now, some men come to Texas with a dream already drawn out in their heads, clean as a surveyor's line. Thomas Phillip Crosby was one of those men.
He came down from New York in 1830, and right away he got to work — surveying sections of land along the Colorado River that very same year. But his eye kept drifting east, to the Brazos. Because Thomas Phillip Crosby understood something that a lot of ambitious men learn too late: if you want to be at the center of commerce, you'd better put yourself right on the water.
So he settled on a tract along the Brazos River with one clear intention — build a landing. A place where the plantation owners of the lower Brazos could get their goods in and their goods out, connected by boat to places like Galveston and New Orleans. He knew that a site on the water itself was crucial.
Not near the water. On it. Before he could get all of that off the ground, history took a swing at him.
In 1832, Thomas was wounded at the Battle of Velasco. And yet — he came home. And he built his docks.
Shipping and receiving, receiving and shipping, serving the local landowners just as he'd planned. By 1835, Crosby's Landing was known well enough that Mary Austin Holley mentioned it in a journal entry — written during the first of her three visits to Texas. When a place makes it into somebody's journal, you know it has arrived.
Then comes 1836, and here's where the story takes on a different kind of weight. Stephen F. Austin died that year.
And his body — carried aboard the steamboat Yellowstone — was brought to Crosby's Landing, then delivered to Peach Point Plantation, the home of his brother-in-law, for burial. That dock on the Brazos, that landing Thomas Crosby built with commerce in mind, became the passage point for one of the most significant figures in Texas history. Some places carry more than cargo.
Also in 1836, the Republic of Texas government officially approved Crosby's post office — though Thomas had already been providing postal service before the ink was dry on that approval. And once you've got a post office, things have a way of following. On that same landing site stood a general store.
And by virtue of the post office location, it also became a voting precinct and a tax collection place. One landing. One man's vision.
And suddenly it's the civic center of the whole lower Brazos. Among those served by Crosby's Landing were Peach Point Plantation, the Jack Plantation, and the Abner Jackson Plantation. The Crosby family also operated one of four ferries crossing the Brazos in Brazoria County — connecting plantations on both sides of the river, keeping the whole region stitched together.
Thomas Phillip Crosby, born in 1799, was elected sheriff of Brazoria County in 1860. But he never took office. He died before he could.
That's the kind of ending that sits with you — a man who built something lasting, right up to the last chapter. But the story didn't end with him. After his death, his son and then his grandson each served in turn as postmaster.
The landing stayed in the family. And here's the detail that somehow feels like a proper Texas coda: though most of Thomas Phillip Crosby's one thousand acres were sold off over the years, the Crosby's Landing site itself — that specific patch of Brazos riverbank where it all began — remained in the Crosby family at the turn of the twenty-first century. Some things you just don't let go of.
What the marker says
Thomas Phillip Crosby (1799-1860) came to Texas from New York in 1830. After surveying sections of land along the Colorado River in 1830, he settled on this tract along the Brazos River with an eye toward building a landing for lower Brazos River plantation owners. He knew that a site on the water itself was crucial to the success of the business venture he had in mind. Wounded in the Battle of Velasco (1832), Thomas returned home to establish his docks, shipping and receiving goods for local landowners from such places as Galveston and New Orleans. Mary Austin Holley referred to Crosby's Landing in an 1835 journal entry written during the first of her three visits to Texas. When Stephen F. Austin died in 1836 his body was carried by the steamboat Yellowstone to Crosby's Landing and delivered to his brother-in-law's Peach Point Plantation for burial. Though he already was providing postal service, Crosby's post office was officially approved by the Republic of Texas government in 1836. Also on the landing site were a general store and, by virtue of the post office location, a voting precinct and tax collection place. Thomas Phillip Crosby was elected sheriff of Brazoria County in 1860, but died before taking office. After his death, Crosby's son and grandson in turn served as postmaster. Among those served by Crosby's Landing were Peach Point Plantation, the Jack Plantation, and the Abner Jackson Plantation. The Crosby family also operated one of four ferries that crossed the Brazos in Brazoria County, connecting plantations on both sides of the river. Although most of the 1,000 acres owned by Thomas Phillip Crosby were sold over the years, the Crosby's Landing site remained in the Crosby family at the turn of the 21st century. (2000)