Town of Douglass

Duane's take

The official marker's the word on this one, and here's how Duane tells it. Now, you're rollin' east on the Old San Antonio Road — four miles past the Angelina River, fourteen miles shy of Nacogdoches — and you pass through a little place called Douglass. Sits right on the extreme northeast corner of an old land grant, the Barr and Davenport grant, known as the San Patricio Ranch.

Sounds peaceful enough. But this town's got a story, and it starts with a man they'd come to call the Father of Douglass. Michael Costley arrived in Texas in the spring of 1832.

Four years later, in 1836, at the age of twenty-seven, he enlisted as a volunteer in the Texas Army and started patrolling that same San Antonio Road — the very stretch between the Angelina and Neches rivers you might be drivin' right now. In September of that year, General Houston himself ordered Costley and his soldiers into nearby Cherokee territory to monitor their activities. Soon enough, a formal assignment was made.

The man was in the thick of it. But Costley was already thinkin' ahead. He was anticipatin' something bigger — a town.

His town. So he brought in surveyor William Roark, had the whole thing laid out in a square, and started sellin' lots. Him and his partner Joseph S.

Able opened the first general store, Costley and Able. A river port on the Angelina was shippin' cotton down to the Gulf. A stagecoach line got established.

The pieces were fallin' into place. You could almost feel the future comin' together. Almost.

Before the town could really take off, on November 16, 1837, Michael Costley was killed in a gunfight. The man who shot him was W. R.

D. Speight — the first District Clerk of Nacogdoches. The Father of Douglass never got to see what his square-laid town would become.

The town got named — not for Costley, as you might expect — but in honor of General Kelsey Harris Douglass, a prominent early settler and Republic of Texas Congressman. And it kept growin'. By 1840 it had itself a two-story stagecoach inn, two hotels, a jail, a drugstore, a post office, saloons, and a variety of shops.

The first church had been established back in 1837 — nine people present at that very first service. Then came the fires. Devastating fires in 1943 and 1954 hit the town hard, impedin' its growth just when it might have pushed further.

Douglass never grew quite as large as its founders intended. But here's the thing — it's still here, still standin' on that old road, still servin' as what the marker calls a significant gateway for travel, trade, and communications from west to east. Same as it always was.

Some towns don't need to be big to matter. They just need to hold their ground. And Douglass has been holdin' it since 1832.

What the marker says

Located on the Old San Antonio Road four miles east of the Angelina River and fourteen miles west of Nacogdoches, the town of Douglass sits on the extreme northeast corner of the old Barr and Davenport grant called the San Patricio Ranch. Michael Costley, known as "The Father of Douglass," arrived in Texas in spring of 1832. In 1836, at the age of 27, Costley enlisted as a volunteer the Texas Army and patrolled the San Antonio Road between the Angelina and Neches rivers. In September 1836, General Houston ordered Costley and soldiers to go into nearby Cherokee territory to monitor their activities, and soon a formal assignment was made. Anticipating his new proposed town in the area to flourish, Costley had surveyor William Roark lay out the town in a square and began to sell lots. He and his partner Joseph S. Able owned the first general store named Costley & Able. A nearby river port on the Angelina shipped cotton to the Gulf and a stagecoach line was established. However, before the town took off, Costley was killed in a gunfight on November 16, 1837, by W. R. D. Speight, the first District Clerk of Nacogdoches. The town was named in honor of General Kelsey Harris Douglass, a prominent early settler and Republic of Texas Congressman. In 1840, the town consisted of a two-story stagecoach inn, two hotels, jail, drugstore, post office, saloons, and a variety of shops. The first church was established in 1837 with nine people present at the first service. Devastating fires in 1943 and 1954 impeded town growth. Although never as large as its founders intended, the town of Douglass has been a significant gateway for travel, trade and communications from west to east. (2017)