Charles A. Westbrook Plantation

The house stands on private land, so this is a story to read rather than a stop. The Handbook of Texas says Lorena was laid out in 1881 as the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line was built and named for Lorena Westbrook. By 1890 it had a hotel, a school, a steam gin and gristmill, two churches and about 250 residents. A private bank opened in 1894 and a second in 1914; they merged in 1922, and the First National Bank closed in 1928. Interstate 35 later turned Lorena into a town for Waco commuters.

What the plaque says

Charles A. Westbrook Plantation Charles Alexander Westbrook (1838-1895) came to Texas from Mississippi in 1859. He settled first at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where he married Mary Virginia Whitsitt. They eventually were the parents of thirteen children. After his service in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Westbrook moved his family to McLennan County and established a large cotton plantation along Cow Bayou. He built a large family home here in the 1870s. Constructed of locally quarried stone, the three-story structure featured six fireplaces and square Doric columns. Although the house was significantly altered in the 20th Century, it is a reminder of the once-thriving Westbrook Cotton Plantation. The stage road from Waco to San Antonio traversed the Westbrook property, and the family often hosted travelers in their home. The plantation also included a number of outbuildings. Charles Westbrook served as County Commissioner from 1876 to 1878. One of the first schools in the area was established on his plantation. When the railroad was built through the area in 1881, the resulting town (1.5 mi. NW) was named for the Westbrooks' daughter, Lorena. (1990)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Armstrong Browning Library — 14 mi
  A three-story Italian Renaissance library on the Baylor campus built to hold A. J. Armstrong's Browning collection, dedicated in December 1951 and now, by its own account, the world's largest of Browning material.
• Dr Pepper Museum — 14 mi
  The 1906 bottling plant of the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company, built where Dr Pepper outgrew a Waco drugstore soda fountain, now the Dr Pepper Museum.
• Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum — 14 mi
  The official state repository of Texas Ranger memorabilia, opened in 1968 in Fort Fisher Park on the Brazos, named for a Ranger post of 1837 whose site no one has located.
• Waco Suspension Bridge — 15 mi
  A Brazos crossing opened in January 1870 as the longest single-span suspension bridge west of the Mississippi, tolled until 1889, closed to vehicles in 1971 and now walked.

More markers nearby

• Lorena Cemetery — 1.2 mi
• Martin Irons — 3.0 mi
• Site of Bruceville Methodist Church — 3.2 mi
• Bruceville Baptist Church — 3.3 mi