Bell Prairie
Baytown, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Once located southwest of this site was the home of Henry Falvel Gillette (1816-1896). A native of Connecticut, Gillette came to Texas in 1840 at the urging of his cousin, Ashbel Smith. He became a noted educator in Harris, Washington, and Polk counties. He married Lucinda Maxey (1826-1901) of Washington County in 1842. The Gillette family lived on the plantation of Lucinda's father, William Maxey, in present San Jacinto County from about 1848 until 1859, when Henry bought property on Galveston Bay. He named his plantation home Bell Prairie. The plantation included a two-story brick home, matching carriage house, and slave quarters. A wharf on the property was used for the importation of cattle from England. In addition to operating his plantation, Gillette was superintendent of the Bayland Orphan's Home on nearby Goose Creek and was a founding member and Worthy Master of the Cedar Bayou Masonic Lodge. Following Henry Gillette's death, Bell Prairie remained in the family until the mid-20th century. The plantation home was severely damaged in the 1900 hurricane and burned to the ground after being struck by lightning in the 1915 storm. (1989)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Henry Falvel Gillette, a Connecticut-born educator, came to Texas in 1840 and by 1859 had bought land on Galveston Bay for a plantation he named Bell Prairie. The estate included a two-story brick home, a carriage house, and quarters for the enslaved people whose labor sustained it, along with a wharf used to import cattle from England. Gillette also superintended a nearby orphans' home and helped found a Masonic lodge; his plantation house, battered by the 1900 hurricane, finally burned after a lightning strike in 1915.
Why it matters
It preserves the layered reality of antebellum Gulf Coast Texas — an educated planter's ambitions built on the forced labor of enslaved African Americans.
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Related people
- · Henry Falvel Gillette
- · Lucinda Maxey Gillette
- · Ashbel Smith
Related events
- · 1900 Galveston hurricane
Themes & tags
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