DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker at Harrisburg tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little Texas wind behind it. Now, some stories start with a dream that doesn't quite make it off the ground — and that's exactly where this one begins. Back in 1840 and 1841, a merchant by the name of Andrew Briscoe, along with the Harris family who founded Harrisburg itself, tried to build a railroad from right here out to the Brazos River, to move the commerce flowing off those rich plantations.
Tried — and didn't make it. The attempt fell short, the dream sat idle, and their holdings, including the Harrisburg townsite itself, were sold off in 1847. Sold to a group of Bostonians and Texans, headed up by a man who knew something about bold moves — General Sidney Sherman, a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto.
And here's where the story shifts gears, because that group? They succeeded. The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway was chartered on February 11, 1850.
Construction materials were shipped all the way from Boston down to Galveston, then hauled up Buffalo Bayou on barges. Chief engineer John A. Williams began his survey in May of 1851.
Then they started layin' track. And when those first few miles were down, something happened on April 21, 1853, that nobody in Texas had ever experienced before. The first passengers ever to ride a train in Texas climbed aboard and rode out to Thomas Point — three miles to the west — for a celebration.
And they didn't just wave and cheer. They brought out the Twin Sisters, the very cannon that had roared at the Battle of San Jacinto back in 1836, and fired salutes. Think about that.
The guns of one revolution saluting the birth of another kind of progress. Four months after that, the tracks reached Stafford's Point, and the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado operations officially began, with Harrisburg as the terminal. One block north of where that marker stands today, there was a depot, a roundhouse, and docks.
And a half block to the south? The site of the 1836 Texas Capitol. History layered on history, right there on the bayou.
The road was sold in 1870, the name changed to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio, and eventually it became part of the Southern Pacific system. One dream fell short in 1840. Another picked it up, and it rolled all the way into a railroad that crossed Texas.
Not bad for a stretch of bayou that had already seen a republic born.
What the marker says
Building of a railroad from here to the Brazos, to handle commerce of rich plantations, was attempted unsuccessfully in 1840-41 by early merchant Andrew Briscoe and the Harrises who founded Harrisburg. Their holdings, including Harrisburg townsite, were sold in 1847 to a group of bostonians and Texans-- headed by San Jacinto hero Gen. Sidney Sherman-- who succeeded in building the first railroad in Texas. The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railway was chartered Feb. 11, 1850. Construction materials, shipped from Boston to Galveston, came up Buffalo Bayou by barges. Chief engineer John A. Williams began survey in May 1851. When a few miles of track were laid, the first passengers ever to ride a train in Texas went to Thomas Point (3 mi. W), April 21, 1853, to a celebration featuring salutes from "Twin Sisters" cannon used in 1836 Battle of San Jacinto. Four months later tracks reached Stafford's Point, and B. B. B. & C. operations officially began, with Harrisburg as the terminal. One block north of here were depot, roundhouse and docks; a half block south, site of 1836 Texas Capitol. The road was sold in 1870, and name was changed to Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio. It eventually became part of the Southern Pacific system.