The Isaac Conroe Property

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, Isaac Conroe wasn't a Texas man by birth. He came into this world in New Jersey, back in 1834, and before he ever set foot in the Piney Woods, he wore a Union army uniform through the Civil War.

When the fighting was done, he didn't go back north. He came south, moving to Southeast Texas in 1866 with his wife Margaret, born a Richardson, and they put down roots at Lynchburg and then Houston. But Isaac Conroe was not a man who sat still for long.

In 1878, he built a sawmill down at a place called Haltom, about twelve miles south of where we're standing. Three years later, he picked up that business and moved it again, this time to the Beach community, about two and a half miles east. He ran a tram line from that mill out to the main line of the International and Great Northern Railroad, which, in those days, was just about as good as a handshake with the future.

A town grew up around that intersection. They called it Conroe. And Isaac Conroe became its first postmaster.

Now, in 1885, Conroe purchased this very site and built the original section of this residence. Two stories, frame construction, outside stairway. Simple, sturdy, the kind of place that means business.

Four years after he bought it, he contracted with the county commissioners to use the property as a temporary courthouse. County records and offices were hauled in from Montgomery, seventeen miles to the west, and this house held them until a new courthouse was completed in 1891. Think about that.

The seat of Montgomery County, right here, in a two-story frame house with an outside stairway. In 1896, Conroe sold the house to his son William Munger Conroe, born in 1870, a prominent lumberman and oil man in his own right. Major additions came later, changing the shape of the place over time.

Isaac Conroe died in 1897, the year after Margaret passed in 1896. He left behind a town with his name on it, a mill, a post office, and a house that had once held the law for an entire county. Not bad for a Jersey boy who came south after the war.

What the marker says

Temporary Montgomery County Courthouse. A native of New Jersey, Isaac Conroe (1834-1897) served with the Union army during the Civil War. Moving to Southeast Texas with his wife Margaret (Richardson) (1846-1896) in 1866, he lived at Lynchburg and Houston. In 1878 he built a sawmill at Haltom (12 mi. S) and three years later moved his business to the Beach community (2.5 mi. E). A tram line connected the mill with the main line of the International and Great Northern Railroad. The town of Conroe grew up around the intersection and Isaac conroe became the first postmaster of the new settlement. The original section of this residence was built by Conroe shortly after he purchased the site in 1885. Four years later he contracted with the county commissioners to use the property as a temporary courthouse.County records and offices were moved from Montgomery (17 mi. W) and remained here until a new courthouse was completed in 1891. In 1896 Conroe sold the house to his son William Munger Conroe (1870-1947), a prominent lumberman and oil man. Major additions were later made to the home, which was originally a two-story frame structure with an outside stairway.