Nash-Wright House
East Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of oldest houses surviving in Stephen F. Austin colony town of Bell's Landing (East Columbia). Founded 1823 by Josiah H. Bell. Earliest part of this house was built about 1847 on cedar pole framing by George Lewis Nash, who lived here with his family for about 45 years. House was bought 1892 by Martha Caroline Wright, wife of merchant James P. Wright. The Wrights added extensive area. Their descendants own and preserve the property. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1973
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
East Columbia began in 1823 as Bell's Landing, a town in Stephen F. Austin's colony founded by Josiah H. Bell. The oldest part of this house was raised about 1847 on cedar pole framing by George Lewis Nash, whose family lived here some forty-five years. Merchant James P. Wright's wife Martha bought and expanded it in 1892, and their descendants preserve it still.
Why it matters
As one of the oldest surviving homes in Austin's original colony, it is a tangible link to the Anglo-American settlement that shaped the future of Texas.
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Related people
- · George Lewis Nash
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · Josiah H. Bell
- · Martha Caroline Wright
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Bethel Presbyterian Church
East Columbia, TX
Organized on June 13, 1840, Bethel Presbyterian Church ranks among the oldest congregations in Texas, its original land and building given by Mrs. J. H. Bell. Founded during the days of the Republic, it took root in the river-port community of East Columbia and acquired a new church home in 1932. Its long life reaches from the frontier settlement era into the modern age.
Bell's Landing
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Established in 1823 as a Brazos River landing for Josiah H. Bell's plantation, this spot grew into the town of Marion—later East Columbia—laid out in 1824. During the Texas Revolution it served as an army enlistment point and ferrying dock, and in the years of the Republic it thrived as a key river port and trade center. The Brazos was then a highway, and landings like this one were its ports.
Ammon Underwood House
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This house rose in the vanished river port of Marion during the Republic of Texas years, its first hand-hewn cedar rooms built about 1835 by colonist Thomas W. Nibbs. In 1838–39 the merchant, civic leader, and soldier Ammon Underwood bought and enlarged it, and the following year he married into one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonial families. President Anson Jones and other notables of the young republic were guests here.
M. L. Weems House
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