Near Site of Dance Gun Shop
East Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Started on Brazos River in 1850 by brothers J. H., George, and David Dance. Shop produced guns which helped arm the Confederacy during Civil War, 1862-65. The firearms were noted for precision. Shop also made machinery for grist mills, cotton gins, sugar refineries, and sawmills. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Brothers J. H., George, and David Dance opened a shop on the Brazos River in 1850 that would become one of Texas's few native arms makers. During the Civil War the shop produced revolvers to help arm the Confederacy, prized for their precision. In peacetime the Dances also built machinery for grist mills, cotton gins, sugar refineries, and sawmills.
Why it matters
Confederate-made Dance revolvers are rare artifacts of the South's scramble to manufacture its own weapons, and the shop illustrates how frontier industry served both war and everyday economy.
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Related people
- · J. H. Dance
- · George Dance
- · David Dance
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Cedar Lake Salt Works
Brazoria vicinity, TX
Built in 1861–62, the Cedar Lake Salt Works supplied a resource the Confederacy could not do without — salt to preserve meat for its armies and civilians. In November 1862, Federal landing parties from Gulf ships raided the works, destroying buildings, kettles, and boilers and ruining stored salt. When they struck again the next day at a nearby plant, Texas cavalry and Moseley's Battery of the 7th Texas Artillery Battalion drove the raiders back to their boats.
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Raised between 1837 and 1841 for farmer and landholder William Aldridge, this East Columbia house passed through several owners, including J. H. Dance and Co., a firm that manufactured arms for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Businessman Thomas Masterson Smith and his wife Mary leased the home from 1908 and bought it in 1917, keeping it in the Smith family for generations. The dwelling survives as a local landmark from the earliest years of Anglo settlement in Brazoria County.
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