City of Baytown

The plaque's 1948 consolidation came about through a legal maneuver. Humble's Baytown had never incorporated, so in December 1945 Pelly adopted a home-rule charter and annexed it, fearing Goose Creek, which had been annexing land for five years. A year's court fight followed over whether a city could annex a water district, and the Texas Supreme Court upheld Pelly. Both towns voted to consolidate on February 15, 1947, and a straw vote favored the name Baytown. A special federal census then counted Pelly at 11,030 and Goose Creek at 9,928, so Goose Creek merged into Pelly.

What the plaque says

City of Baytown Located in the Gulf Coast region and situated mostly within Harris County plus a small portion of Chambers County, the city of Baytown is bordered by eight bays: Burnet, Crystal, Scott, Mitchell, Black Duck, San Jacinto, Tabbs and Galveston Bay. The first residents in the area were Indian tribes known as the Attakapas, Akokisa, Bisai and Karankawas, utilizing the waterways for transportation and food. Pioneers began to settle the area in 1822, gathering near Lynch's Ferry on the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou. Other ferries included Cedar Bayou Ferry, Durain Ferry near Busch's Landing on Goose Creek and the Morgan's Point Ferry. Rice farming and brickyards using high-quality clay found in the riverbeds and streams further developed the area throughout the 19th century. During the Texas Revolution, the Lynchburg Volunteers organized to serve the cause, as well as during the Civil War with the Bayland Guards. Men and women from Baytown continue to serve their country. In 1908, an oil boom spurred the rapid development of the communities of Goose Creek, Pelly, and Bay Town that became one community known as Baytown at consolidation in 1948. The Goose Creek Oilfield (1903) is known as one of the first offshore drilling operations in the nation, attracting others to the oil business. The area transformed into a desirable residential area with recognized schools, libraries, churches, recreation, business and industry. Baytown's rich history and heritage in the transportation, oil, military and agricultural industries contributed to the development of Baytown and eastern Harris County. (2018)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site — 6.7 mi
  The 1,200 acres of coastal prairie and marsh where the Texas Revolution ended in eighteen minutes, and the 567-foot shaft of fossil-studded limestone that has stood over them since 1939.
• Space Center Houston — 15 mi
  The visitor center of NASA's Johnson Space Center at Clear Lake, with flown capsules, a shuttle replica riding a 747, and tram tours to Mission Control and a Saturn V.
• Emancipation Park — 24 mi
  The Third Ward park that freedpeople bought for Juneteenth in 1872, rebuilt in 2017 on Emancipation Avenue and still the center of the city's June 19 celebration.
• Sam Houston Park and the Heritage Society — 24 mi
  Ten historic buildings gathered in a downtown park below the skyscrapers, among them the 1870 house of the Reverend Jack Yates, built five years after emancipation.

More markers nearby

• Lee College — 0.5 mi
• George Washington Carver High School — 0.7 mi
• The Baytown Sun — 0.8 mi
• Baytown Mexican School — 1.1 mi