DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Steele's Store Community, out here in Brazos County. Now, every good Texas community deserves a good origin story, and this one's got a name that tells you everything you need to know about the land before the legend took hold. Anglo settlement in this area traces back to 1851.
Four years later, in 1855, a man named Henry B. Steele decided the residents of this rural stretch needed a place to gather, trade, and gossip — so he built himself a general merchandise store. The community had a name already, mind you.
They called it Mudville. And before you laugh, consider: the Brazos River flooded frequently enough that folks saw fit to put that fact right in the name of the place they called home. That's not pessimism.
That's honest. The store became the center of everything out here. And when a post office was established there in 1878, the settlement got a new name to go with its new sense of itself — Steele's Store.
Henry B. Steele had put his mark on the map, literally. But here's where the story takes a turn nobody in Mudville could've predicted.
Starting in the 1870s, Italian immigrants began arriving, primarily from the provinces of Trapani and Palermo. They came, they stayed, and they put down roots the way people do when they mean it — they farmed. Many of the families established large farms, and by the early twentieth century, the Italian community at Steele's Store had grown into one of the largest Italian communities in the entire United States.
Let that settle on you for a moment. Out here in Brazos County, in what used to be called Mudville. The community kept building itself up.
A one-room schoolhouse went up in 1889, and as the population grew, it was replaced with larger structures. Eventually the school was consolidated with the Brazos County Independent School District. The settlers were predominantly Roman Catholic, and for a time, priests made the journey out from St.
Anthony's Church in Bryan to serve them. That arrangement held until 1903, when San Salvador Catholic Church was built right there in the community. The church became the focal point of life at Steele's Store, and each March, traditional Sicilian celebrations were held to honor St.
Joseph — a piece of the old country carried faithfully into the Texas soil. And those families didn't just pass through. Many descendants of the area's pioneer Italian families still reside in the vicinity today.
From a flood-prone stretch of Brazos County riverland, to Mudville, to Steele's Store, to one of the largest Italian communities in the United States — all of it rooted right here. Not bad for a place that started out named for the mud.
What the marker says
Anglo settlement in this area can be traced to 1851. Henry B. Steele built a general merchandise store in 1855 to serve residents of the rural community, originally called Mudville because of frequent Brazos River floods. The store became the center of the community, and when a post office was established there in 1878 the settlement was renamed Steele's Store. Italian immigrants, primarily from the provinces of Trapani and Palermo, began settling here in the 1870s. Many of the families established large farms, and by the early 20th Century the Italian community here was one of the largest in the United States. A one-room schoolhouse built in 1889 was later replaced with larger structures as the population grew. The school eventually was consolidated with the Brazos County Independent School District. Predominantly Roman Catholic, the settlement was served by priests from St. Anthony's Church in Bryan until 1903, when San Salvador Catholic Church was built. The church became the focal point of the community, with traditional Sicilian celebrations held each March to honor St. Joseph. Many descendants of the area's pioneer Italian families still reside in the vicinity. (1992)