Stafford's Point

Duane's take

The official marker's the source for this one, and here's how I tell it. Now, every settlement out here on the Texas coastal plain has its own story, but Stafford's Point — that one goes all the way back to the very beginning of Anglo Texas, and it earns every mile of that history. William J.

Stafford was one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred — that original, legendary roster of colonists who put down roots in this territory before there was much of anything to hold onto. Born in 1764, Stafford received a land grant of 6,819.7 acres in the winter of 1824, and on that ground he founded the settlement that would carry his name.

He didn't come empty-handed. He brought his family and his slaves with him from a Louisiana sugar plantation, and by 1834 he had much of that land under cultivation, a sugar mill running, and a cotton gin in operation. The man was not wasting time.

His manager, Clement C. Dyer — born in 1800, a lawyer, a political leader, and eventually a county judge — married Stafford's daughter Sarah, born in 1809. So the ties between family and community ran deep here, the way they tend to do when folks are building something from nothing together.

Other early families filled out the settlement: the Bells, the Roarks, a Dr. P. W.

Rose, Moses Shipman, a Mr. West. Dr.

Rose had been a U.S. Army surgeon before he came here, and he kept tending the sick in this new place. In 1834 he hired a teacher for his children and ten others, all of them crowding into a one-room schoolhouse.

That's eleven young Texans getting an education at the edge of the frontier. Then came 1836 — and if you know anything about Texas history, you know what that year brought. The Runaway Scrape.

Santa Anna's army swept through this region, and the settlers and their slaves fled east, abandoning everything they'd built. Santa Anna's forces camped right here at Stafford's Point, pillaging the homes and the mills. Everything those families had worked for, left behind or taken.

But here's the thing about people who build in hard country — they come back. After the War for Independence ended, Stafford's Point was resettled, and it prospered again. And then, in 1853, something arrived that changed the calculus of every town it touched: the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railroad — the first railroad in Texas — was completed from Harrisburg all the way out to this village.

Stafford's Point was on the line. The decades kept turning. Between 1915 and 1925, a number of Sicilian families relocated here from Brazos County, adding a new thread to the fabric of the community.

And in 1956, Stafford's Point was incorporated into the town of Stafford. From a 6,819-acre land grant in the winter of 1824 to a proper incorporated town — the ground itself stayed, and the story just kept building on top of it.

What the marker says

One of Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300," William J. Stafford (1764-1840), founded the settlement of Stafford's Point on the 6819.7-acre land grant he received in the winter of 1824. Bringing his family and slaves from his Louisiana sugar plantation, he was planting much land and had a sugar mill and cotton gin in operation by 1834. His manager, Clement c. Dyer (1800-64), a lawyer, political leader, and (later) county judge, married Stafford's daughter, Sarah (1809-74). Early residents of the Stafford's Point community included families of Sam Bell, Elijah Roark, Dr. P. W. Rose, Moses Shipman, and Mr. West. Dr. Rose, a former U. S. Army surgeon, tended the sick and also hired (1834) a teacher for his children and ten others studying in a one-room schoolhouse. In the "Runaway Scrape" of 1836, the settlers and their slaves fled east as Santa Anna's Army camped here, pillaging homes and mills. Stafford's Point was resettled after the War for Independence, and again prospered. The buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado, first railroad in Texas, was completed from Harrisburg to this village in 1853. From 1915 to 1925, a number of Sicilian families moved here from brazos County. Stafford's Point was incorporated into the town of Stafford in 1956.