Carter, Richard, Homesite
College Station, Brazos County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1831, Richard Carter (1789-1863), Virginia native and War of 1812 veteran, came from Alabama and received a grant of land within the Stephen F. Austin Colony at the site of what is now the City of College Station. He became one of the area's wealthiest land and slave owners, raising cattle, corn, and cotton during the years before the Civil War. Carter was appointed to the first Board of Commissioners after Brazos County was created in 1841 and helped survey Boonville, its first county seat. Evidence of the Carter home and the family cemetery has been found in this area.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A Virginia native and War of 1812 veteran, Richard Carter came from Alabama in 1831 to claim land in Stephen F. Austin's colony, on ground that is now College Station. He grew into one of the area's wealthiest landowners and enslavers, raising cattle, corn, and cotton in the years before the Civil War. Named to Brazos County's first Board of Commissioners in 1841, he helped survey its first county seat at Boonville, and traces of his home and family cemetery survive nearby.
Why it matters
Carter's homesite marks the plantation society that Anglo colonists built in early Texas—prosperity founded, as the marker plainly notes, on enslaved labor.
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Related people
- · Richard Carter
Themes & tags
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