Industry

The town's name probably came from its first product. Ernst grew tobacco on his league and rolled it into cigars that he sold in San Felipe, Houston and Galveston, and the settlers were described as very industrious; the cigar trade is the likeliest source of the name. The republic authorized a post office in December 1837. Between 1846 and 1850 Ernst F. G. Knolle and his brother Frederick bought 3,000 acres of the neighboring John F. Pettus league, and by the 1850s cotton was the main crop. By the 1890s twelve gins were working in the vicinity.

What the plaque says

Industry Site of the first permanent German settlement in Texas, 1831. Founded by Friedrich Ernst, born at Varel, Oldenburg, Germany. Immigrated to America, 1829 and to Texas in 1831. Died here in 1858. The town was laid out in 1838.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway — 24 mi
  Two park units on an 11,000-acre lake between Austin and College Station, joined by a thirteen-mile trailway for hikers, cyclists and riders with primitive camps along the way.
• Independence and Old Baylor Park — 25 mi
  A crossroads north of Brenham that was the richest town in Texas when it won Baylor University in 1845, refused the railroad, and lost the college to Waco and Belton in 1886.
• Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site — 32 mi
  The townsite on the Brazos where delegates met in a cold, unfinished hall in March 1836 to declare Texas independent, with Independence Hall rebuilt and Anson Jones's Barrington farm worked as in 1850.
• Star of the Republic Museum — 32 mi
  A star-shaped museum of the Republic of Texas years, 1836 to 1846, built at Washington-on-the-Brazos after a Brenham campaign and opened on March 1, 1970.

More markers nearby

• Friedrich Ernst — steps away
• Industry State Bank — 0.4 mi
• Lindemann Store — 0.6 mi
• Education in Industry — 0.8 mi