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EGYPT, TEXAS

The oldest community in Wharton County

Wharton County, Texas Gulf Coast

29° 24' 18" N, 96° 14' 13" W (29.405, -96.236944)

Farm Road 102
Houston US 59 South 61 miles to Wharton,
then FM102 North 11 miles through Glen Flora
ZIP code 77436
Area code 979
Population: 26 est. (2010, 2000, 1990)

Book Hotel Here › Wharton Hotels

Egypt, Texas road sign on FM102
Egypt road sign on FM102
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009

History in a Pecan Shell

John C. Clark was the first settler in the area in 1822.

Robert Kuykendall, Thomas Rabb and John Clark were the three landowners for a large part of what is now Wharton, Colorado and Fayette Counties. They were among the first of the "Old 300".

The land along the Colorado River was Karankawa Indian Country and these three men became Indian fighters - making settlement of the land possible.

Egypt Texas post office  and gas station
Egypt Texas Post Office & Gas Station
1978 photo courtesy John Germann

A timeline of significant historical events in Egypt

1829: Eli Mercer established Mercer's Crossing - a plantation and ferry on the Colorado. After providing corn to the drought-stricken area, people started calling it Egypt for the biblical reference.

1832: William J. E. Heard started Egypt Plantation on land he purchased from John C. Clark and built his home in Egypt. The land is still owned by his heirs today.

1835: The post office was opened with Eli Mercer as postmaster. Egypt became a central point since four different Texas mail routes were passing through the town.

1836: Heard established a cotton gin and Captain Thomas Rabb recruited a company of men that became Co. F of the First Regiment of Texas Volunteers. At San Jacinto, Company F captured the Mexican artillery.

1837: The republic opened Post Colorado at Egypt.

1839: a stagecoach line, operated by Andrew Northington, served Egypt. Northington was the son-in-law of Heard.

1846: Egypt becomes part of the newly established Wharton County breaking away from Colorado County.

1848: Entrepreneurs in Egypt built a mule (or horse) drawn railroad to Columbus.

1881: George H. Northington and Green C. Duncan built a large general store in Egypt. The post office moved to the new store when it was built and remained there for 100 years.

During the 1930s until World War II - a racetrack operated in Egypt.



Egypt, Texas
Landmarks & Attractions


Egypt TX Plantation House
Egypt Plantation House
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009


Egypt TX - Egypt Plantation & Heard-Northington Museum  sign
Egypt Plantation & Heard-Northington Museum sign
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009

More Texas Museums


Egypt TX - William Jones Elliot Heard and Egypt Plantation
William Jones Elliot Heard and Egypt Plantation
On FM 1161, off FM 102. 4/10 mile E of Egypt

Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009

Historical Marker:

William Jones Elliot Heard and Egypt Plantation

William Jones Elliot Heard was born in Tennessee in 1801, the first of Stephen R. and Jemima M. Heard's nine children. Sometime in the 1820s Heard moved to Alabama where he married America Morton.

Heard received a land certificate from Stephen F. Austin in 1830 and in 1832 settled here on 2,222 acres he acquired from John C. Clark, one of Austin's "Old 300" settlers. The area's rich soil prompted early settlers to name their town for the biblical Egypt and later to refer to Heard's property as "Egypt Plantation."

On April 21, 1836, about a month after Egypt Plantation had narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of the advancing Mexican army, Heard commanded Company F in Sam Houston's army at the Battle of San Jacinto.

After the war, Heard built a cotton gin at Egypt Plantation and raised cattle, cotton, corn, and sugar cane. He registered his first cattle brand in 1837. In 1840 he joined Colonel John H. Moore in a campaign against the Indians in the upper Colorado River area.

In 1846 Heard was elected chief justice of Wharton County. He died in 1874 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery at Chappell Hill in Washington County. A red brick residence built here by Heard in 1849-54 had by the early 1990s housed six generations of his family.
(1994)

cemetery in Egypt, Texas
The Heard/ Northington Family Cemetery at Egypt
TE photo 2001


Egypt Tx - Mt Gilead Baptist Church
Mt Gilead Baptist Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009
More Texas Churches


Egypt TX - Wharton County Historical Museum Research Site
Wharton County Historical Museum Research Site
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009


Egypt Tx Silo
Silo
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009
More Texas Grain Elevators


Egypt TX - Welcome Sign
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009


Egypt TX - Old mill
Old mill
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009


Egypt TX - Old mill
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009


Egypt TX - Barn
Barn
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009


Egypt TX - Abandoned house
Abandoned house
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009

Egypt Texas post office
The Former Egypt Post Office
TE photo 2001
Egypt old store
An old store
TE photo 2001
Old plantation in Egypt Texas
TE photo 2001
Egypt Texas old barn
A well-ventilated barn at Egypt
TE photo 2001



Egypt, Texas Forum
My grandparents once lived in Egypt, Texas where my paternal grandfather owned a meat market. This market stood close to a saloon which ordered sausages from the S.M. Gupton shop. In order to increase his sales of beer the saloon keeper would implore my grandfather with these words. "Make that sausage salty Buff". - Hank Gupton Anahuac, Texas, July 12, 2006



Take a road trip
Texas Gulf Coast

Egypt, Texas Nearby Cities:
Wharton the county seat
Glen Flora
Houston

See Wharton County towns

Book Hotel Here:
Wharton Hotels | More Hotels
Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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