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History in
a Pecan Shell
It is believed that Rosharon had no name during its early years
since the land was occupied by numerous cotton
and sugar plantations. It wasn't until the Columbia Tap Railroad
was completed in 1859 that a stop on the line required a name. The
nearest plantation was owned by a man named Masterson and for several
years the stop was called Masterson's Station. It was also unofficially
known to trainmen as "Buttermilk Station" since a resident sometomes
treated the crew to a bucket of buttermilk.
George Wetmore
Colles bought property here around 1900 and called his estate the
Rose of Sharon Garden Ranch because of the abundant Cherokee roses
that grew in hedges. The town later became the shortened variation
of Rosharon when a post office was requested in 1912. This post
office closed, reopened and then closed for good in 1920. A cotton
gin from Houston provided
the towns first industry and enough power was generated to provide
(limited) electricity.
The South Texas Water Company built freshwater irrigation canals
for rice cultivation in the 1930s. Population figures are hard to
come by but by the late 1980s, Rosharon had an estimated population
of 500. The farming and ranching economy is bolstered by the Texas
Department of Corrections which operates four units nearby.
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