Tait Compound
Columbus, Colorado County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Charles William Tait (1815-1878), A physician, civil engineer, U.S. Naval officer (1838-1843), came to Texas from Alabama in 1844, surveyed extensive lands for railroads and opened 6,000-acre Sylvania Plantation. Here he grew cotton, corn, cane and produced lime. His slaves hewed logs and fired brick in plantation kiln, then built headquarters compound 1847. Originally beside the family cemetery (1 mi. S), the headquarters was relocated on higher ground at present site. Double log barn and slave cabin were moved here and restored in 1969-70 by a grandson, Robert Elbert Tait. (1973)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Physician and civil engineer Charles William Tait came from Alabama in 1844 and opened the 6,000-acre Sylvania Plantation, growing cotton, corn, and cane and firing brick and lime. Enslaved workers hewed the logs and fired the brick that built the plantation headquarters compound in 1847. A grandson relocated and restored the double log barn and slave cabin here in 1969–70.
Why it matters
The compound is a tangible record of the enslaved labor that built and sustained the antebellum Texas cotton economy.
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Related people
- · Charles William Tait
Themes & tags
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