These are the Undertold Markers in Brazoria County. There are many topics in our county that would be competitive applicants for this no-cost marker. Contact BCHC@Brazoriacountytx.gov for more info.
Charlie Brown (Atlas Number 5507018127), 325 West Brazos Avenue, West Columbia
Charlie Brown, born a slave in the late 1820s, came to the Brazoria County area from Virginia before the Civil War. Despite being illiterate and using an X for his mark beside his name on legal transactions, Brown acquired a vast amount of land according to the Brazoria County tax records. Between 1889 and 1910, he owned approximately 3,000 acres, including much of the land in West Columbia. He donated some parcels for area churches and schools. In 1896, Brown deeded land in School District Sixteen (Colored) within the city limits of West Columbia. This school at West Bernard and Brown Street, was the first in the community to serve African American students and was later named Charlie Brown School in his honor. Brown married Isabella, a former slave from the Dance Plantation. When he died in 1920, he owned several businesses, including grist, sugar and saw mills and the countys first cotton gin. A Houston Post article identified him as a millionaire and the wealthiest African American in the state. Brown was the single largest landowner and taxpayer in Brazoria County and was appreciated by a diverse citizenship of West Columbia. He was buried in Brown Family Cemetery at Danciger. The City of West Columbia formally honored Brown at least twice. At a special session of the City Council on February 28, 1955,, Brown Street was named for him. The city also proclaimed August 30, 2014, to be observed as Charlie Brown Day. On February 24, 2015, the State of Texas recognized Brown when the 84th Texas Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution 58 for this man whose life and legacy are indeed worthy of tribute. His impact on his neighbors and his community continues to be felt today. (2015)
Dr. Sofie Deligath Herzog (Atlas Number 5507017059), 1001 North Market Street, Brazoria
Austrian-born Sofie Deligath (1846-1925) wed Dr. Moriz Herzog at the age of 14 and in 1878 emigrated with her family to the U.S., where she attended the eclectic Medical College of the city of New York in May 1895. After the death of her husband, she moved to Brazoria with the family of her youngest daughter, Elfriede Marie Herzog Prell. one of the most colorful of a new class of professional women to emerge in Texas in the early twentieth century, at a time of limited opportunities, she became a successful local surgeon and civic leader. An eccentric individual with an independent spirit, Herzog pushed the boundaries of proper societal behavior for women at that time. As a skilled surgeon, though, she gained acceptance into several professional organizations, including the Texas Medical Association, the South Texas Medical Society – in which she was the first female member and later a Vice President – and the local Brazoria County Medical Association. Herzog further gained the respect of local citizens and colleagues in 1907 when she was hired as surgeon of the local line of the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway. In the course of her earlier work, she utilized handcars, locomotives, and other forms of speedy transportation to answer medical emergencies, and also introduced innovative techniques for bullet extraction. In 1909, she served as the only female railroad surgeon in the world. Railway officials once attempted to dismiss her on the premises of gender, but undaunted, Herzog replied they might do so only if they found her performance unsatisfactory, and so she remained. She had a prosperous 18-year career with the company and resigned at the age of 79. She died in 1925 after suffering a stroke. 175 Years of Texas Independence * 1836-2011
