[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 172 (Friday, October 2, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE EARLY DEER PARK SETTLERS TEXAS HISTORICAL MONUMENT 
                               DEDICATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BRIAN BABIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 2, 2020

  Mr. BABIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the dedication of 
the Deer Park Early Settlers Texas State Historical Marker in Deer 
Park, Harris County, Texas. The text of marker reads as follows:

       In 1928, Shell Oil Company purchased land in Deer Park, 
     Texas for a new petrochemical refinery. Surveyors discovered 
     a marble headstone broken into four pieces. Shell reassembled 
     the headstone and maintained the area as an actual gravesite. 
     In 1976, Shell was given permission from the Texas Historical 
     Commission, as well as the Harris County attorney and Harris 
     County judge to relocate the marker and disinter any remains. 
     In March of 1977, the marble headstone and a small cement 
     casket, from the original site, were moved to Dow Park in the 
     City of Deer Park.
       The inscription on the headstone gave the name of two 
     siblings, Mary W. Jackson and William Wilson. These early 
     settlers died in 1834. William Wilson purchased land in the 
     early 1830's and built a cabin on the bank of the Buffalo 
     Bayou with his wife and children. This was adjacent to what 
     became the site of the Battle of San Jacinto that secured 
     Texas' independence from Mexico in 1836. William Wilson also 
     owned land near the settlement of Crosby. Humphrey Jackson, 
     one of the ``Old 300'' settlers, owned land near the Wilson 
     property in Crosby. It was presumed that Mary W. Jackson was 
     somehow associated with Humphrey, based on a judgement 
     recorded in Harris County records in 1852. This could explain 
     why Mary Wilson became Mary W. Jackson.
       The 186-year-old headstone is one of the oldest marked 
     headstones in Harris County and Deer Park's oldest artifact. 
     The historical marker reflects the history of Deer Park, as 
     well as the history of Texas. The historical marker presents 
     a glimpse of ordinary people in Texas in the 1830's and 
     commemorates these early Deer Park settlers.

  As a former member of the Texas Historical Commission, I know that 
this is a great honor for the community. I wish all of my friends in 
Deer Park well as they celebrate the dedication on October 20th.

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