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Friendswood: The Struggle for the Promised Land
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Frank J. Brown found what he considered the ideal location. It was "drained by four creeks – Chigger, Coward's, Mary's, and Clear […]" (Kleiner 5). As Brown said, it was "located about halfway between Houston and Galveston. It is at the head of tide water on Clear Creek which is a navigable stream – giving a chance for cheap transportation" (qu. in McGinnis, Promised Land 100). McGinnis said Brown "visioned Clear Creek as a great ship channel." In fact, "before cheap motor transportation and good roads, large barges pulled up to the mouth of Coward's Creek hauling rice and lumber." They also liked the fertile soil (McGinnis, Promised Land 100, 94).
From a lone settler family in the area, "they learned that the large expanse of green prairie, framed by creeks and beautiful trees, which they were admiring, contained about 1,500 acres that belonged to John C. League, a Galveston land baron [whom League City was later named for]" (Baker 10). According to Kenyon, "Several families were living in the [nearby] town of Clear Creek in 1890 when John C. League purchased the remainder of the land originally granted Muldoon from Allen McCoy." He wished "to develop the town and purchased various parts of the land previously sold as well as some of the adjoining land. He sold several tracts of land to new residents and exchanged parcels with some who had purchased earlier" (23). After learning that he owned their desired land, T.H. Lewis and Frank J. Brown immediately went to Galveston. However, they were not even permitted to see J.C. League. They waited, and caught him as he came out of his office. He took some interest in their Quaker colony plans, as his mother's family had been Quakers. He was also impressed by Frank J. Brown's persuasiveness and T.H. Lewis' gentlemanly manner (McGinnis, Promised Land 95-99). Unfortunately, "Lewis and Brown had no cash to invest." Finally, "after numerous trips to Galveston to see John C. League, persistence paid off, and Lewis and Brown were able to strike a deal with League" (Baker 10). In return for the land, Brown and Lewis would sell off several hundred acres of League's land nearby (McGinnis, Promised Land 98). "J.C. League agreed to have the desired tract of land […] surveyed and subdivided at his expense by Civil Engineer R.W. Luttrell. He also agreed to deed a sixty-foot right-of-way to Galveston County for a road through the middle of the tract." Both sides fulfilled their part of the deal, and the Quakers received 802.5 acres (Baker 12). Lewis and Brown, who had "helped with the surveying" (McGinnis, Promised Land 100), began building their homes near Mary's Creek; Alistus Lewis built his next to T.H.'s (Baker 12).
"The good news of this available land spread back to Estacado, and very soon the families of Isaiah and Nancy Cox (in their sixties), and Madison and Cassie Hadley (in their forties), came in covered wagons to join the Browns and Lewises." The Hadleys made a home near Coward's Creek, and the Coxes moved into "an abandoned three-room log house which had been restored to livable condition and used by the surveyors." The "lumber and materials" needed to build a settlement "had to be hauled by horse and wagon across the prairie from a railroad town, usually Alvin" (Baker 12). The Friends soon began meeting for church at the Browns' house, and they began praying for a minister (McGinnis, First Quakers 34). They advertised their new colony in the American Friend, a Quaker periodical, and a number of new families moved in" (Baker 13). Frank J. Brown suggested that they name the community Friendswood, in honor of the Society of Friends (McGinnis, Promised Land 100).
On top of the chiggers that the Friends had to contend with, malaria struck tiny Friendswood (McGinnis, Promised Land 102, 110). Then, John Wright of Michigan arrived in response to the ads in the American Friend. Baker writes, "The little colony considered him a godsend, because, not only was he a medical doctor who understood the malaria fevers, but he was also a recorded Friends minister." Friendswood quickly housed him and he went to work (13).
Friendswood continued to grow. Once Monthly Meetings were established, Frank J. Brown, Alistus Lewis and his wife Nancy began to talk Quakers in the vicinity to join the Friendswood church and community (Minutes of 4-18-1896). A school/church building was constructed, and Minnie Allen became "Friendswood's first schoolteacher. She taught one school session, and was succeeded by Grace Lewis (the sister of T.H. Lewis) who taught for five years" (Baker 14). New bridges were built, and roads were improved. McGinnis wrote, "Most all public improvements in those days were done by donation work. The industrious pioneers were raising good crops of sweet potatoes, peanuts, and feed. The strawberries and truck were good money crops" (Promised Land 122). "All these products had to be hauled over trails to the railroad in a neighboring town. No one was getting rich. […] But their needs were supplied, and their wants were simple" (Baker 17). "To help along this prosperity, Frank bought or traded for a saw-mill which was set up on Clear Creek […]" (McGinnis, Promised Land 122). Friendswood next received a branch of the U.S. Postal Service, with Paris Cox as mail carrier. This cut out the trip to Alvin for the mail (Baker 17).
Then came the storm. "On Saturday, September 8, 1900, the deadly Galveston Hurricane, the greatest natural disaster in the history of the United States, arrived in Friendswood unannounced. Its wind gusts up to 120 m.p.h. and its storm tide of fifteen-feet killed more than 6,000 persons on the island and the mainland […]" The storm "devastated Galveston, and left Friendswood in shambles" (Baker 18). No one was killed in Friendswood, but the damage was awful. As Edith McGinnis recalled, "The little school and church house was blown to pieces. […] Some places in the timber great swaths of trees were mowed down; while in other places they were left standing. But most of the larger pines fell before the onslaught. Some seemingly strong houses were blown to smithereens and other weaker ones left standing" (Promised Land 134-135). The community pulled together to fix and rebuild houses, and help the victims of the storm (Baker 18). Frank J. Brown's sawmill played a large part in the rebuilding process.
The great pine trees blown down by the hurricane were used to construct a new building for education and worship: the Friendswood Academy (Kleiner 5). Financial aid was requested in the American Friend (Minutes of 9-15-1900). Not wanting to come up short, each Friendswood household agreed to pay a percentage of the cost, with the percentages adding up to 103% (Minutes of 2-16-1901). Professor Alfred T. White, a college graduate at age sixty, came from Indiana and taught the Academy (McGinnis, Promised Land 138).
The storm had destroyed most gardens and crops, and the Friendswood economy changed a little. According to Kleiner, "Some residents worked in dairying or raised poultry, but the principal agricultural staples were Satsuma oranges, strawberries, figs, and rice, and the Quakers operated several processing plants […]" (5).
There were many struggles in the early days of Friendswood, as well as the time before it was founded. The Quakers who founded the colony led difficult lives, even in Estacado. Finding Frank J. Brown's "Promised Land" was not easy, and obtaining it took perseverance and faith. The early days of the settlement were filled with dangers such as malaria and chiggers, and there were also lumbering accidents. Earning a living so far from easy transportation was hard. Then, the Storm of 1900 came and smashed their material possessions. Still, the Friends pressed on, and over 30,000 people are currently enjoying the fruit of their labor.
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Works Cited
City of Friendswood Online
Map of Friendswood
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